The Origin of the Name Atlantic Ocean. Most everyone knows the name Atlantic Ocean. ... The oldest known mention of “Atlantic” is in The Histories of Herodotus around 450 BC. In Greek, Atlantis means “Island of Atlas”, or in some context, “Sea of Atlas”.Apr 23, 2013
The Atlantic Ocean is still growing now, because of sea-floor spreading from the mid-Atlantic Ridge, while the Pacific Ocean is said to be shrinking because the sea floor is folding under itself.
The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's oceans with a total area of about 106,460,000 square kilometers (41,100,000 square miles). It covers approximately 20 percent of the Earth's surface and about 29 percent of its water surface area. It separates the "Old World" from the "New World".
The rate of North Atlantic spreading is about 25 mm/year, due to the formation of new crust at the mid-Atlantic ridge and the (relative) westward motion of the North American Plate; the Eurasian Plate is moving (relatively) eastward and sliding over the Pacific Plate and various minor plates that are sinking in the ...Jun 3, 2016
Atlantic Ocean Facts. The Atlantic Ocean borders on North America, South America, Europe, and Africa. It is the world's second largest ocean, while the Pacific Ocean is the largest. The Atlantic Ocean covers approximately 1/5th of the surface of the earth and covers approximately 29% of the world's water surface area.
It was once much wider when all the continents were joined together in the supercontinent, Pangea. The Pacific ocean basin is getting smaller because the Atlantic Ocean is opening and North America and South America are moving westward. Most of the Pacific Ocean is underlain by the Pacific plate.