The Mediterranean is a large sea that separates Europe from Africa. It stretches from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to Asia in the east. Many early civilizations developed in the Mediterranean region.

The Mediterranean Sea covers about 970,000 square miles (2,510,000 square kilometers). In the west a narrow waterway called the Strait of Gibraltar connects the Mediterranean with the Atlantic Ocean. The Dardanelles Strait, the Sea of Marmara, and the Bosporus Strait connect the Mediterranean to the Black Sea in the northeast. In the southeast the Suez Canal links the Mediterranean to the Red Sea. The large islands of the Mediterranean include Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily, Crete, and Cyprus. The region has mild, wet winters and hot, dry summers.

Some parts of the Mediterranean have their own names. For example, the Aegean Sea lies between Greece and Turkey. The Adriatic Sea separates Italy from the Balkan Peninsula.

Tourism is a major source of money for many countries around the Mediterranean. Tuna, sardines, and anchovies are valuable fish catches. Some Mediterranean countries produce petroleum (oil) and natural gas.

The Egyptians, the Phoenicians, the Greeks, and other peoples created great civilizations in the Mediterranean region in ancient times. They sailed across the sea to trade with other peoples. They also used the sea as a route to expand their territories. The Romans did this for almost 1,000 years, beginning in about 500 bce. They called the Mediterranean Sea Mare Nostrum, which means “our sea.” Beginning in the 600s ce Muslim Arabs began to move from Arabia into North Africa. In the centuries that followed, the sea continued to serve as a trading route for all the people of the region.

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