View source for Mediterranean Sea

{{Redirect|Mediterranean|other uses|Mediterranean (disambiguation)}}
{{Redirect|Mediterranea|the 2015 film|Mediterranea (film)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}
{{Infobox body of water
| name               = Mediterranean Sea
| image              = Mediterranee 02 EN.jpg
| caption            = Map of the Mediterranean Sea
| image_bathymetry   =
| caption_bathymetry =
| coords             = {{Coord|35|N|18|E|region:XZ_type:waterbody_scale:25000000|display=inline,title}}
| type               = [[Sea]]
| inflow             = [[Atlantic Ocean]], [[Sea of Marmara]], [[Nile]], [[Ebro]], [[Rhône]], [[Chelif River|Chelif]], [[Po (river)|Po]]
| outflow            =
| catchment          =
| basin_countries    = {{hidden | fw1=normal | headerstyle=text-align:left
  | header  = about 60
  | content = <div class="hlist hwrap">
* [[Abkhazia]] {{small|(independence disputed, claimed by Georgia)}}
* [[Albania]]
* [[Algeria]]
* [[Andorra]]
* [[Austria]]
* [[Belarus]]
* [[Belgium]]
* [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]]
* [[Bulgaria]]
* [[Burundi]]
* [[Chad]]
* [[Republic of the Congo]]
* [[Croatia]]
* [[Cyprus]]
* [[Czech Republic]]
* [[Egypt]]
* [[Eritrea]]
* [[Ethiopia]]
* [[France]]
* [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]]
* [[Germany]]
* [[Gibraltar]] ([[UK]])
* [[Greece]]
* [[Hungary]]
* [[Iraq]]
* [[Israel]]
* [[Italy]]
* [[Kenya]]
* [[Kosovo]] {{small|(independence disputed, claimed by Serbia)}}
* [[Lebanon]]
* [[Libya]]
* [[Liechtenstein]]
* [[Republic of Macedonia|Macedonia]]
* [[Malta]]
* [[Moldova]]
* [[Monaco]]
* [[Montenegro]]
* [[Morocco]]
* [[Niger]]
* [[Northern Cyprus]] {{small|(independence disputed, claimed by Cyprus)}}
* [[State of Palestine]] {{small|(a ''de jure'' sovereign state)}}
* [[Poland]]
* [[Romania]]
* [[Russia]]
* [[Rwanda]]
* [[San Marino]]
* [[Serbia]]
* [[Slovakia]]
* [[Slovenia]]
* [[South Ossetia]] {{small|(independence disputed, claimed by Georgia)}}
* [[South Sudan]]
* [[Spain]]
* [[Sudan]]
* [[Switzerland]]
* [[Syria]]
* [[Tanzania]]
* [[Transnistria]] {{small|(independence disputed, claimed by Moldova)}}
* [[Tunisia]]
* [[Turkey]]
* [[Uganda]]
* [[Ukraine]]
* [[Vatican City]]
</div>}}
| length         =
| width          =
| area           = {{convert|2500000|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}
| depth          = {{convert|1500|m|ft|abbr=on}}
| max-depth      = {{convert|5267|m|ft|abbr=on}}
| volume         = {{convert|3750000|km3|cumi|abbr=on}}
| residence_time = 80–100 years<ref name="Water Flow in Semienclosed Seaways">{{cite book|title=Invitation to Oceanography |first=Paul R. |last=Pinet |page=220 |publisher=Jones & Barlett Learning |year=2008 |isbn=0-7637-5993-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6TCm8Xy-sLUC&pg=PA220&lpg=PA220}}</ref>
| shore          =
| elevation      =
| frozen         =
| islands        = [[List of islands in the Mediterranean|3300+]]
| cities         = [[Alexandria]], [[Algiers]], [[Athens]], [[Barcelona]], [[Beirut]], [[Carthage]], [[Dubrovnik]], [[İzmir]], [[Rome]], [[Split, Croatia|Split]], [[Tangier]], [[Tel Aviv-Jaffa|Tel Aviv]], [[Tripoli]], [[Tunis]] ''([[List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea|full list]])''
| reference      =
}}
<!-- leave redlink to prevent ambiguous "(genus)" -->
The&nbsp;'''Mediterranean Sea''' is a [[sea]] connected to the [[Atlantic Ocean]], surrounded by the [[Mediterranean Basin]] and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by [[Southern Europe]] and [[Anatolia]], on the south by [[North Africa]], and on the east by the [[Levant]]. Although the sea is sometimes considered a part of the Atlantic Ocean, it is usually identified as a separate body of water. Geological evidence indicates that around 5.9 million years ago, the Mediterranean was cut off from the Atlantic and was partly or completely desiccated over a period of some 600,000 years before being refilled by the [[Zanclean flood]] about 5.3 million years ago.

The name Mediterranean is derived from the [[Latin]] ''mediterraneus'', meaning "inland" or "in the middle of land" (from ''medius'', "middle" and ''terra'', "land"). It covers an approximate area of 2.5 million km<sup>2</sup> (965,000&nbsp;sq&nbsp;mi), but its connection to the Atlantic (the [[Strait of Gibraltar]]) is only {{convert|14|km|mi|abbr=on}} wide. The Strait of Gibraltar is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates [[Gibraltar]] and Spain in Europe from [[Morocco]] in Africa.  In [[oceanography]], it is sometimes called the ''Eurafrican Mediterranean Sea'' or the ''European Mediterranean Sea'' to distinguish it from [[mediterranean sea (oceanography)|mediterranean seas]] elsewhere.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.ifremer.fr/lobtln/OTHER/ext_abstr_East_Sea_workshop_TLM.pdf |title=Microsoft Word&nbsp;— ext_abstr_East_sea_workshop_TLM.doc|format=[[Portable Document Format|PDF]]|accessdate=23 April 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://ec.europa.eu/research/headlines/news/article_09_03_19_en.html|title=Researchers predict Mediterranean Sea level rise&nbsp;— Headlines&nbsp;— Research&nbsp;– European Commission|publisher=Europa|date=19 March 2009|accessdate= 23 April 2010}}</ref>

The Mediterranean Sea has an average depth of {{convert|1500|m|ft|abbr=on}} and the deepest recorded point is {{convert|5267|m|ft|abbr=on}} in the [[Calypso Deep]] in the [[Ionian Sea]]. The sea is bordered on the north by [[Europe]], the east by [[Asia]], and in the south by [[Africa]].  It is located between latitudes [[30th parallel north|30°]] and [[46th parallel north|46° N]] and longitudes [[6th meridian west|6° W]] and [[36th meridian east|36° E]]. Its west-east length, from the Strait of Gibraltar to the Gulf of Iskenderun, on the southwestern coast of Turkey, is approximately 4,000&nbsp;km (2,500 miles). The sea's average north-south length, from Croatia’s southern shore to Libya, is approximately 800&nbsp;km (500 miles). The Mediterranean Sea, including the [[Sea of Marmara]] (connected by the [[Dardanelles]] to the [[Aegean Sea]]), has a surface area of approximately 2,510,000 square km (970,000 square miles).<ref>{{Cite web|title = Mediterranean Sea|url = http://www.britannica.com/place/Mediterranean-Sea|website = Encyclopædia Britannica|accessdate = 2015-10-23}}</ref>

The sea was an important route for merchants and travellers of ancient times that allowed for trade and cultural exchange between emergent peoples of the region. The [[history of the Mediterranean region]] is crucial to understanding the origins and development of many modern societies.

The [[List of Mediterranean countries|countries with coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea]] are [[Albania]], [[Algeria]], [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]], [[Croatia]], [[Cyprus]], [[Egypt]], [[France]], [[Greece]],
[[Iraq]], [[Israel]], [[Italy]], [[Lebanon]], [[Libya]], [[Malta]], [[Morocco]], [[Monaco]], [[Montenegro]], [[Palestine]], [[Slovenia]], [[Spain]], [[Syria]], [[Tunisia]] and [[Turkey]]. In addition, the [[Gaza Strip]] and the [[British Overseas Territories]] of Gibraltar and [[Akrotiri and Dhekelia]] have coastlines on the sea.

==Name==
[[File:EFS highres STS034 STS034-86-96.jpg|thumb|right|With its highly indented coastline and large number of islands, Greece has the longest Mediterranean coastline.]]
The term ''Mediterranean'' derives from the [[Latin]] word ''mediterraneus'', meaning "amid the earth (note: [[Soil|earth]] in the sense "soil", ''not'' Planet [[Earth]])" or "between land" (''medi-''; adj. ''medius'', ''-um -a'' "middle, between" + ''terra'' f., "land, earth"): as it is between the continents of [[Africa]], [[Asia]] and [[Europe]]. The [[Ancient Greek language|Ancient Greek]] name ''Mesogeios'' (Μεσόγειος), is similarly from μέσο, "between" + γη, "land, earth").<ref>{{cite web|url=http://old.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3D%2366422|title=entry μεσόγαιος |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091202133428/http://old.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3D |archive-date=2 December 2009 |publisher=[[Liddell & Scott]]}}</ref> It can be compared with the Ancient Greek name ''[[Mesopotamia]]'' (Μεσοποταμία), meaning "between rivers".

The Mediterranean Sea has historically had several names. For example, the [[Carthaginians]] called it the "Syrian Sea" and latter Romans commonly called it ''[[Mare Nostrum]]'' ("Our Sea"), and occasionally ''Mare Internum''<ref>[[Sallust]], ''The Jugurthine War '' 17.</ref> and in Greek as the "Mare Magnum", meaning "Great Sea".<ref name="melitensia"/>

In ancient [[Syrian]] texts, [[Phoenician language|Phoenician]] epics and in the Hebrew [[Bible]], it was primarily known as the "Great Sea" (הַיָּם הַגָּדוֹל, HaYam HaGadol, [[Book of Numbers|Numbers]] 34:6,7; [[Book of Joshua|Joshua]] 1:4, 9:1, 15:47; [[Book of Ezekiel|Ezekiel]] 47:10,15,20), or simply "The Sea" ([[1 Kings]] 5:9; ''comp.'' [[1 Macc.]] 14:34, 15:11); however, it has also been called the "Hinder Sea" (הַיָּם הָאַחֲרוֹן), due to its location on the west coast of [[Greater Syria]] or the [[Holy Land]], and therefore behind a person facing the east, sometimes translated as "Western Sea", ([[Deuteronomy|Deut.]] 11:24; [[Book of Joel|Joel]] 2:20). Another name was the "Sea of the [[Philistines]]" (יָם פְּלִשְׁתִּים, [[Book of Exodus|Exod.]] 23:31), from the people inhabiting a large portion of its shores near the [[Israelites]].

In [[Hebrew language|Modern Hebrew]], it has been called ''HaYam HaTikhon'' (הַיָּם הַתִּיכוֹן), "the Middle Sea", reflecting the Sea's name in ancient Greek (''Mesogeios''), Latin ''Mare internum'' (Inner Sea) or ''Mare Nostrum'' (Our Sea), and modern languages in both Europe and the Middle East (''Mediterranean'', etc.).<ref name="melitensia"/>

Similarly, in [[Arabic language|Modern Arabic]], it is known as ''{{transl|ar|ALA|al-Baḥr [al-Abyaḍ] al-Mutawassiṭ}}'' (<span dir="rtl">{{lang|ar|البحر [الأبيض] المتوسط}}</span>), "the [White] Middle Sea", while in Islamic and older Arabic literature, it was referenced as ''{{transl|ar|ALA|Baḥr al-Rūm}}'' ({{lang|ar|بحر الروم}}), or "the Roman/[[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] Sea."<ref name="melitensia"/>

In [[Ottoman Turkish language|Ottoman Turkish]], it has also been called ''Bahr-i Sefid'', meaning the "Pure White Sea".

In [[Turkish language|Turkish]], it is known as ''Akdeniz'',<ref>[[Özhan Öztürk]] claims that in Old Turkish ''ak'' also means "west" and that ''Akdeniz'' hence means "West Sea", while ''Karadeniz'' (Black Sea) means "North Sea". [[Özhan Öztürk]]. {{cite book|url=http://www.karalahana.com/makaleler/kitap/pontus-antik-cagdan-gunumuze-karadeniz-etnik-siyasi-tarihi.htm |title=Pontus: Antik Çağ’dan Günümüze Karadeniz’in Etnik ve Siyasi Tarihi Genesis Yayınları |place=Ankara |year=2011 |pages=5–9 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120915062836/http://www.karalahana.com/makaleler/kitap/pontus-antik-cagdan-gunumuze-karadeniz-etnik-siyasi-tarihi.htm |archivedate=15 September 2012 |df= }}</ref> meaning "the White Sea", to distinguish it from the [[Black Sea]].<ref name="melitensia">{{cite journal|journal=Hyphen|last=Vella|first=Andrew P.|date=1985|title=Mediterranean Malta|url=http://melitensiawth.com/incoming/Index/Hyphen/Hyphen.%204(1985)5/02.pdf|volume=4|issue=5|pages=469–472|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170329163002/http://melitensiawth.com/incoming/Index/Hyphen/Hyphen.%204%281985%295/02.pdf|archive-date=29 March 2017|deadurl=yes|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

==History==
{{Unbalanced|images|date=September 2017}}
{{Main|History of the Mediterranean region}}

===Ancient civilisations===
[[File:AntikeGriechen1.jpg|thumb|right| Greek (red) and Phoenician (yellow) [[colonies in antiquity]] c. the 6th century BCE]]
[[File:Roman Empire Trajan 117AD.png|thumb|right|The [[Roman Empire]] at its farthest extent in AD 117]]
Several ancient civilisations were located around the Mediterranean shores, and were greatly influenced by their proximity to the sea. It provided routes for trade, colonisation, and war, as well as food (from fishing and the gathering of other seafood) for numerous communities throughout the ages.<ref>{{cite book|author=David Abulafia|title=The Great Sea: A Human History of the Mediterranean|publisher= [[Oxford University Press]]|year=2011}}</ref>

Due to the shared climate, geology, and access to the sea, cultures centered on the Mediterranean tended to have some extent of intertwined culture and history.

Two of the most notable Mediterranean civilisations in [[classical antiquity]] were the [[Ancient Greece|Greek]] [[city state]]s and the [[Phoenicia]]ns, both of which extensively colonised the coastlines of the Mediterranean. Later, when [[Augustus]] founded the [[Roman Empire]], the Romans referred to the Mediterranean as ''[[Mare Nostrum]]'' ("Our Sea").

[[Darius I of Persia]], who conquered [[Ancient Egypt]], built a canal linking the Mediterranean to the [[Red Sea]]. Darius's canal was wide enough for two [[trireme]]s to pass each other with oars extended, and required four days to traverse.<ref>Rappoport, S. (Doctor of Philosophy, Basel). History of Egypt (undated, early 20th century), Volume 12, Part B, Chapter V: "The Waterways of Egypt", pages 248–257 ([https://archive.org/stream/historyofegyptch12masp#page/248/mode/2up online]). London: The Grolier Society.</ref>

===Middle Ages and empires===
[[File:Battle of Lepanto 1571.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Battle of Lepanto]], 1571, ended in victory for the European [[Holy League (1571)|Holy League]] against the Ottoman Turks.]]
The [[Western Roman Empire]] collapsed around AD 476. Temporarily the east was again dominant as Roman power lived on in the [[Byzantine Empire]] formed in the 4th century from the eastern half of the [[Roman empire]]. Another power arose in the 7th century, and with it the religion of [[Islam]], which soon swept across from the east; at its greatest extent, the [[Caliphate|Arab Empire]] controlled 75% of the Mediterranean region and left a lasting footprint on its eastern and southern shores.

Europe started to revive, however, as more organised and centralised states began to form in the later [[Middle Ages]] after the [[Renaissance of the 12th century]].

[[File:De Engels-Nederlandse vloot in de Baai van Algiers ter ondersteuning van het ultimatum tot vrijlating van blanke slaven, 26 augustus 1816. Rijksmuseum SK-A-1377.jpeg|thumb|The [[Bombardment of Algiers (1816)|bombardment of Algiers]] by the Anglo-Dutch fleet in support of an ultimatum to release European slaves, August 1816]]
[[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] power based in Anatolia continued to grow, and in 1453 extinguished the Byzantine Empire with the [[Conquest of Constantinople]]. Ottomans gained control of much of the sea in the 16th century and maintained naval bases in [[Ottoman occupation of Toulon|southern France]], Algeria and Tunisia. [[Hayreddin Barbarossa|Barbarossa]], the famous Ottoman captain is a symbol of this domination with the victory of the [[Battle of Preveza]] (1538). The [[Battle of Djerba]] (1560) marked the apex of Ottoman naval domination in the Mediterranean. As the naval prowess of the European powers increased, they confronted Ottoman expansion in the region when the [[Battle of Lepanto]] (1571) checked the power of the [[Ottoman Navy]]. This was the last naval battle to be fought primarily between [[galley]]s.

The [[Barbary pirates]] of North Africa preyed on Christian shipping and coastlines in the Western Mediterranean Sea.<ref>{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/?id=5q9zcB3JS40C&pg&dq#v=onepage&q=&f=false |title= Christian Slaves, Muslim Masters: White Slavery in the Mediterranean, the Barbary Coast and Italy, 1500–1800 |author= Robert Davis |publisher= Palgrave Macmillan |date= 5 December 2003|accessdate= 17 January 2013|isbn= 9780333719664}}</ref> According to Robert Davis, from the 16th to 19th centuries, pirates captured 1 million to 1.25 million Europeans as slaves.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/empire_seapower/white_slaves_01.shtml |title= British Slaves on the Barbary Coast |publisher= Bbc.co.uk |date= |accessdate= 17 January 2013}}</ref>

The development of oceanic shipping began to affect the entire Mediterranean. Once, most trade between Western Europe and the East had passed through the region, but after the 1490s the development of a sea route to the Indian Ocean allowed the importation of Asian [[Spice trade|spice]]s and other goods through the Atlantic ports of western Europe.<ref>C.I. Gable – [http://www.boglewood.com/timeline/ottomans.html Constantinople Falls to the Ottoman Turks] -'' Boglewood Timeline'' – 1998 – Retrieved 3 September 2011.</ref><ref>[http://www.sephardicstudies.org/ottoemp.html "History of the Ottoman Empire, an Islamic Nation where Jews Lived"] – ''Sephardic Studies and Culture'' – Retrieved 3 September 2011.
</ref><ref>
Robert Guisepi – [http://history-world.org/ottoman%20empire.htm The Ottomans: From Frontier Warriors To Empire Builders] – 1992 – ''History World International'' – Retrieved 3 September 2011.
</ref>

===21st century and migrations===
{{CSS image crop
|Image       = BlackMarble20161km.jpg
|bSize       = 2200
|cWidth      = 270
|cHeight     = 110
|oLeft       = 1055
|oTop        = 265
|Description = [[Satellite imagery|Satellite image]] of the Mediterranean Sea at night
|Alt         =
}}
In 2013 the Maltese president described the Mediterranean sea as a "cemetery" due to the large amounts of migrants who drowned there after their boats capsized.<ref>{{cite web|title=Migrant deaths prompt calls for EU action|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2013/10/migrant-deaths-prompt-calls-eu-action-2013101361646517233.html|website=Al Jazeera&nbsp;— English|accessdate=12 December 2014|date=13 October 2013}}</ref> European Parliament president [[Martin Schulz]] said in 2014 that Europe's migration policy "turned the Mediterranean into a graveyard", referring to the number of drowned refugees in the region as a direct result of the policies.<ref>{{cite web|title=Schulz: EU migrant policy 'turned Mediterranean into graveyard'|url=http://euobserver.com/tickers/121894|website=EUobserver|accessdate=12 December 2014|date=24 October 2013}}</ref> An Azerbaijani official described the sea as "a burial ground ... where people die".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://topnews.az/en/news/148766/Novruz-Mammadov-The-Mediterranean-become-a-burial-ground.html|title=Novruz Mammadov: The Mediterranean become a burial ground|publisher=}}</ref>

Following the [[2013 Lampedusa migrant shipwreck]], the [[Letta Cabinet|Italian government]] decided to strengthen the national system for the patrolling of the Mediterranean Sea by authorising "[[Operation Mare Nostrum]]", a military and humanitarian mission in order to rescue the migrants and arrest the traffickers of immigrants. In 2015, more than one million migrants crossed the Mediterranean Sea into Europe.<ref>{{cite web|title=Over one million sea arrivals reach Europe in 2015 |url=http://www.unhcr.org/news/latest/2015/12/5683d0b56/million-sea-arrivals-reach-europe-2015.html |website=UNHCR – The UN Refugee Agency |date=30 December 2015  }}</ref>

==Geography==
{{multiple image
| width    = 180
| footer   =
| image1   = STS059-238-074 Strait of Gibraltar.jpg
| alt1     =
| caption1 = A satellite image showing the Mediterranean Sea. The [[Strait of Gibraltar]] can be seen in the bottom left (north-west) quarter of the image; to its left is the [[Iberian Peninsula]] in [[Europe]], and to its right, the [[Maghreb]] in [[Africa]].
| image2   = Gallipoli peninsula from space.jpg
| alt2     =
| caption2 = The [[Dardanelles]] [[Turkish Straits|strait]] in [[Turkey]]. The north side is [[Europe]] with the [[Gelibolu Peninsula]] in the [[Thrace]] region; the south side is [[Anatolia]] in [[Asia]].
}}
The Mediterranean Sea is connected to the Atlantic Ocean by the [[Strait of Gibraltar]] (known in [[Homer]]'s writings as the "[[Pillars of Hercules]]") in the west and to the [[Sea of Marmara]] and the [[Black Sea]], by the [[Dardanelles]] and the [[Bosporus]] respectively, in the east. The Sea of Marmara ([[Dardanelles]]) is often considered a part of the Mediterranean Sea, whereas the Black Sea is generally not. The {{convert|163|km|mi|abbr=on}} long artificial [[Suez Canal]] in the southeast connects the Mediterranean Sea to the [[Red Sea]].<ref name="melitensia"/>

Large islands in the Mediterranean include [[Cyprus]], [[Crete]], [[Euboea]], [[Rhodes]], [[Lesbos Island|Lesbos]], [[Chios]], [[Kefalonia]], [[Corfu]], [[Limnos]], [[Samos]], [[Naxos Island|Naxos]] and [[Andros]] in the [[Eastern Mediterranean]]; [[Sicily]], [[Cres]], [[Krk]], [[Brač]], [[Hvar]], [[Pag (island)|Pag]], [[Korčula]] and [[Malta Island|Malta]] in the central Mediterranean; and [[Sardinia]], [[Corsica]], [[Ibiza]], [[Majorca]] and [[Menorca]] (the [[Balearic Islands]]) in the Western Mediterranean.

The typical [[Mediterranean climate]] has hot, humid, and dry summers and mild, rainy winters. Crops of the region include [[olive]]s, [[grape]]s, [[orange (fruit)|orange]]s, [[tangerine]]s, and [[cork (material)|cork]].

===Extent===
The [[International Hydrographic Organization]] defines the limits of the Mediterranean Sea as follows:<ref name="IHO">{{cite web|url=http://www.iho.int/iho_pubs/standard/S-23/S-23_Ed3_1953_EN.pdf|title=Limits of Oceans and Seas, 3rd edition|year=1953|publisher=International Hydrographic Organization|accessdate=20 April 2016}}</ref>

Stretching from the [[Strait of Gibraltar]] in the west to the entrances to the [[Dardanelles]] and the [[Suez Canal]] in the east, the Mediterranean Sea is bounded by the coasts of Europe, Africa and Asia, and is divided into two deep basins:
*Western Basin:
**On the west: A line joining the extremities of [[Cape Trafalgar]] (Spain) and [[Cape Spartel]] (Africa).
**On the northeast: The west coast of Italy. In the [[Strait of Messina]] a line joining the north extreme of Cape Paci (15°42'E) with Cape Peloro, the east extreme of the Island of [[Sicily]]. The north coast of Sicily.
** On the east: A line joining Cape Lilibeo the western point of Sicily ({{coord|37|47|N|12|22|E|display=inline}}), through the Adventure Bank to [[Cape Bon]] (Tunisia).
*Eastern Basin:
**On the west: The northeastern and eastern limits of the Western Basin.
**On the northeast: A line joining Kum Kale (26°11'E) and [[Cape Helles]], the western entrance to the Dardanelles.
**On the southeast: The entrance to the [[Suez Canal]].
**On the east: The coasts of [[Syria]] and [[Israel]].

===Oceanography===
[[File:MEDCURR.GIF|thumb|365px|Predominant surface currents for June]]

Being nearly landlocked affects conditions in the Mediterranean Sea: for instance, [[tide]]s are very limited as a result of the narrow connection with the Atlantic Ocean. The Mediterranean is characterised and immediately recognised by its deep blue colour.

[[Evaporation]] greatly exceeds [[precipitation (meteorology)|precipitation]] and river runoff in the Mediterranean, a fact that is central to the water circulation within the basin.<ref>{{citation|last=Pinet|first=Paul R.|year=1996|title=Invitation to Oceanography|location=St Paul, Minnesota|publisher =West Publishing Co.|isbn=0-314-06339-0|edition=3rd|page=202}}</ref> Evaporation is especially high in its eastern half, causing the water level to decrease and [[salinity]] to increase eastward.<ref>Pinet 1996, p. 206.</ref> The salinity at 5 m depth is 3.8%.<ref name=tempandsal>{{cite journal | year = 2000 | title = Temperature and salinity variations of Mediterranean Sea surface waters over the last 16,000 years from records of planktonic stable oxygen isotopes and alkenone unsaturation ratios | url = http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download;jsessionid=D7A5D77327CBA292B6FD3CA2F3D7DC7E?doi=10.1.1.378.4964&rep=rep1&type=pdf | journal = Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology | volume = 158 | issue = 3–4| pages = 259–280 | doi=10.1016/s0031-0182(00)00053-5| last1 = Emeis | first1 = Kay-Christian | last2 = Struck | first2 = Ulrich | last3 = Schulz | first3 = Hans-Martin | last4 = Rosenberg | first4 = Reinhild | last5 = Bernasconi | first5 = Stefano | last6 = Erlenkeuser | first6 = Helmut | last7 = Sakamoto | first7 = Tatsuhiko | last8 = Martinez-Ruiz | first8 = Francisca | bibcode = 2000PPP...158..259E }}</ref>

The [[pressure gradient]] pushes relatively cool, low-salinity water from the Atlantic across the basin; it warms and becomes saltier as it travels east, then sinks in the region of the [[Levant]] and circulates westward, to spill over the [[Strait of Gibraltar]].<ref>Pinet 1996, pp. 206–207.</ref> Thus, seawater flow is eastward in the Strait's surface waters, and westward below; once in the Atlantic, this chemically distinct Mediterranean Intermediate Water can persist thousands of kilometres away from its source.<ref>Pinet 1996, p. 207.</ref>

The temperature of the water in the deepest part of the Mediterranean Sea is {{convert|13.2|°C}}.<ref name=tempandsal/>

===Coastal countries===
{{Main list|List of Mediterranean countries}}
[[File:Mediterranean Relief.jpg|thumb|365px|Map of the Mediterranean Sea]]

The following countries have a coastline on the Mediterranean Sea:
*'''Northern shore''' (from west to east): [[Spain]], [[France]], [[Monaco]], [[Italy]], [[Slovenia]], [[Croatia]], [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]], [[Montenegro]], [[Albania]], [[Greece]] and [[Turkey]].
*'''Eastern shore''' (from north to south): Turkey, [[Syria]], [[Lebanon]], [[Israel]].
*'''Southern shore''' (from west to east): [[Morocco]], [[Algeria]], [[Tunisia]], [[Libya]], [[Egypt]].
*'''Island nations''': [[Malta]], [[Cyprus]].

Several other territories also border the Mediterranean Sea (from west to east): The [[British overseas territory]] of [[Gibraltar]], the Spanish autonomous cities of [[Ceuta]] and [[Melilla]] and [[plazas de soberanía|nearby islands]], the [[Sovereign Base Areas]] on Cyprus, and the [[Gaza Strip]].

[[File:Barcelona skyline.jpg|thumb|[[Barcelona]], the largest metropolitan area on the Mediterranean Sea and also the headquarters of the [[Union for the Mediterranean]]]]
[[File:Attica 06-13 Athens 36 View from Lycabettus.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Acropolis of Athens]] with the Mediterranean Sea in the background]]
[[File:Coast of Tel Aviv-Yaffo.JPG|thumb|The ancient port of [[Jaffa]] (now part of [[Tel Aviv-Yafo]]) in Israel: according to the [[Bible]], where [[Jonah]] set sail before being swallowed by a whale<ref>''Israel'', By Sue Bryant, (New Holland Publishers, 2008), page 72</ref>]]
[[File:Alexandria coast (2715600220).jpg|thumb|right|[[Alexandria]], one of the largest cities on the Mediterranean]]
[[File:Catania-etna.JPG|thumb|Catania, Sicily, with [[Mount Etna]] in the background]]
[[File:View of Konaj Square.jpg|thumb|[[İzmir]], the third metropolis of [[Turkey]] after [[Istanbul]] and [[Ankara]]]]

===Coastal cities===
{{Main list|List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea}}
Major cities (municipalities) with populations larger than 200,000 people bordering the Mediterranean Sea are:
{| class="wikitable" style="width:60%; text-align:left; font-size:90%; margin-left:1em;"
|- style="background:#efefef;"
!Country
!Cities
|-
|Algeria
|[[Algiers]], [[Annaba]], [[Oran]]
|-
|Egypt
|[[Alexandria]], [[Port Said]]
|-
|France
|[[Marseille]], [[Nice]]
|-
|Greece
|[[Athens]], [[Piraeus]], [[Patras]], [[Thessaloniki]]
|-
|Israel
|[[Ashdod]], [[Haifa]], [[Netanya]], [[Rishon LeZion]], [[Tel Aviv]]
|-
|Italy
|[[Bari]], [[Catania]], [[Genoa]], [[Messina]], [[Naples]], [[Palermo]], [[Rome]], [[Taranto]], [[Trieste]], [[Venice]]
|-
|Lebanon
|[[Beirut]], [[Tripoli, Lebanon|Tripoli]]
|-
|Libya
|[[Benghazi]], [[Khoms, Libya|Khoms]], [[Misrata]], [[Tripoli]], [[Zawiya, Libya|Zawiya]], [[Zliten]]
|-
|Morocco
|[[Tétouan]], [[Tangier]]
|-
|Palestine
|[[Gaza City]], [[Khan Yunis]]
|-
|Spain
|[[Alicante]], [[Badalona]], [[Barcelona]], [[Cartagena, Spain|Cartagena]], [[Málaga]], [[Palma, Majorca|Palma]], [[Valencia]].
|-
|Syria
|[[Latakia]]
|-
|Tunisia
|[[Sfax]], [[Sousse]], [[Tunis]]
|-
|Turkey
|[[Antalya]], [[Adana]], [[İzmir]], [[Mersin]]
|-
|}

===Subdivisions===
[[File:Bucht & Straße von Gibraltar.jpg|thumb|Africa (left, on horizon) and Europe (right), as seen from Gibraltar]]
According to the [[International Hydrographic Organization]] (IHO), the Mediterranean Sea is subdivided into a number of smaller waterbodies, each with their own designation (from west to east):<ref name="IHO"/>

*the [[Strait of Gibraltar]];
*the [[Alboran Sea]], between Spain and [[Morocco]];
*the [[Balearic Sea]], between mainland Spain and its [[Balearic Islands]];
*the [[Ligurian Sea]] between [[Corsica]] and [[Liguria]] (Italy);
*the [[Tyrrhenian Sea]] enclosed by [[Sardinia]], [[Italian peninsula]] and [[Sicily]];
*the [[Ionian Sea]] between Italy, [[Albania]] and Greece;
*the [[Adriatic Sea]] between Italy, [[Slovenia]], [[Croatia]], [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]], [[Montenegro]] and [[Albania]];
*the [[Aegean Sea]] between Greece and Turkey.

====Other seas====
[[File:Positano - 01.jpg|thumb|[[Positano]], [[Tyrrhenian Sea]]]]
Although not recognised by the IHO treaties, there are some other seas whose names have been in common use from the ancient times, or in the present:
*the [[Sea of Sardinia]], between [[Sardinia]] and [[Balearic Islands]], as a part of the [[Balearic Sea]]
*the [[Sea of Sicily]] between [[Sicily]] and [[Tunisia]],
*the [[Libyan Sea]] between [[Libya]] and [[Crete]],
*In the [[Aegean Sea]],
**the [[Thracian Sea]] in its north,
**the [[Myrtoan Sea]] between the [[Cyclades]] and the [[Peloponnese]],
**the [[Sea of Crete]] north of Crete,
**the [[Icarian Sea]] between [[Kos]] and [[Chios]]
*the [[Cilician Sea]] between Turkey and [[Cyprus]]
*the [[Levantine Sea]] at the eastern end of the Mediterranean

Many of these smaller seas feature in local myth and folklore and derive their names from these associations.

====Other features====
[[File:Beirut-Sannine.jpg|thumb|View of the Saint George Bay, and snow-capped [[Mount Sannine]] from the [[Corniche Beirut|Corniche]], Beirut]]
[[File:Port Autonome de Marseille.JPG|thumb|The Port of Marseille seen from [[L'Estaque]]]]
[[File:CIty of Saranda Albania 2016.jpg|thumb|[[Sarandë]], Albania is situated on an open sea gulf of the [[Ionian sea]] in the central Mediterranean.]]
In addition to the seas, a number of [[Headlands and bays|gulfs]] and [[strait]]s are also recognised:

*the [[Saint George Bay]] in Beirut, Lebanon
*the [[Ras Ibn Hani]] cape in [[Latakia]], [[Syria]]
*the [[Ras al-Bassit]] cape in northern Syria.
*the [[Minet el-Beida]] ("White Harbour") bay near ancient [[Ugarit]], [[Syria]]
*the [[Strait of Gibraltar]], connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Spain from [[Morocco]]
*the [[Bay of Gibraltar]], at the southern end of the [[Iberian Peninsula]]
*the [[Gulf of Corinth]], an enclosed sea between the Ionian Sea and the [[Corinth Canal]]
*the [[Pagasetic Gulf]], the gulf of [[Volos]], south of the Thermaic Gulf, formed by the [[Mount Pelion]] [[peninsula]]
*the [[Saronic Gulf]], the gulf of [[Athens]], between the Corinth Canal and the [[Mirtoan Sea]]
*the [[Thermaic Gulf]], the gulf of [[Thessaloniki]], located in the northern Greek region of [[Macedonia (Greece)|Macedonia]]
*the [[Kvarner Gulf]], [[Croatia]]
*the [[Gulf of Lion]], south of France
*the [[Gulf of Valencia]], east of Spain
*the [[Strait of Messina]], between [[Sicily]] and the toe of Italy
*the [[Gulf of Genoa]], northwestern Italy
*the [[Gulf of Venice]], northeastern Italy
*the [[Gulf of Trieste]], northeastern Italy
*the [[Gulf of Taranto]], southern Italy[[File:Souostroví Pakleni otoci.jpg|thumb|The [[Paklinski Islands]] off the coast of Croatia; the Adriatic Sea contains over [[List of islands in the Adriatic|1200 islands and islets]]]]
*the [[Gulf of Salerno]], southwestern Italy
*the [[Gulf of Gaeta]], southwestern Italy
*the [[Gulf of Squillace]], southern Italy
*the [[Strait of Otranto]], between Italy and [[Albania]]
*the [[Gulf of Haifa]], northern Israel
*the [[Gulf of Sidra]], between [[Tripolitania]] (western Libya) and [[Cyrenaica]] (eastern Libya)
*the [[Strait of Sicily]], between [[Sicily]] and [[Tunisia]]
*the [[Corsica Channel]], between [[Corsica]] and Italy
*the [[Strait of Bonifacio]], between [[Sardinia]] and [[Corsica]]
*the [[Gulf of İskenderun]], between [[İskenderun]] and [[Adana]] (Turkey)
*the [[Gulf of Antalya]], between west and east shores of Antalya (Turkey)
*the [[Bay of Kotor]], in south-western [[Montenegro]] and south-eastern [[Croatia]]
*the [[Malta Channel]], between Sicily and Malta
*the [[Gozo Channel]], between Malta Island and [[Gozo]]

===10 largest islands by area===
[[File:Tunisia - Sicily - South Italy.jpg|thumb|The two biggest islands of the Mediterranean: [[Sicily]] and [[Sardinia]] ([[Italy]])]]
{{Main|List of islands in the Mediterranean}}
{| class="wikitable" style="width:40%; text-align:center; font-size:90%; margin-left:1em;"
|- style="background:#efefef;"
!Country
!Island
!Area in km<sup>2</sup>
!Population
|-
|Italy
|[[Sicily]]
|25,460
|5,048,995
|-
|Italy
|[[Sardinia]]
|23,821
|1,672,804
|-
|Cyprus
|[[Cyprus]]
|9,251
|1,088,503
|-
|France
|[[Corsica]]
|8,680
|299,209
|-
|Greece
|[[Crete]]
|8,336
|623,666
|-
|Greece
|[[Euboea]]
|3,655
|218.000
|-
|Spain
|[[Majorca]]
|3,640
|869,067
|-
|Greece
|[[Lesbos]]
|1,632
|90,643
|-
|Greece
|[[Rhodes]]
|1,400
|117,007
|-
|Greece
|[[Chios]]
|842
|51,936
|}

===Climate===
{{wide image|Koppen World Map (Mediterranean Sea area only).png|769px|Map of climate zones in the areas surrounding the Mediterranean Sea, according to the [[Köppen climate classification]]}}

====Sea temperature====
{|class="wikitable"
|+Mean sea temperature (°C)
|-
!
!Jan
!Feb
!Mar
!Apr
!May
!Jun
!Jul
!Aug
!Sep
!Oct
!Nov
!Dec
!Year
|-
|[[Marseille]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.weather2travel.com/climate-guides/france/marseille.php|title=Marseille Climate: Monthly Weather Averages – France|first=|last=Weather2Travel.com|publisher=}}</ref>
|13
|13
|13
|14
|16
|18
|21
|22
|21
|18
|16
|14
!16.6
|-
|[[Gibraltar]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.weather2travel.com/climate-guides/gibraltar/gibraltar.php|title=Gibraltar (Westside) Climate: Monthly Weather Averages – Gibraltar|first=|last=Weather2Travel.com|publisher=}}</ref>
|16
|15
|16
|16
|17
|20
|22
|22
|22
|20
|18
|17
!18.4
|-
|[[Málaga]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.weather2travel.com/climate-guides/spain/costa-del-sol/malaga.php|title=Malaga Climate: Monthly Weather Averages – Costa del Sol|first=|last=Weather2Travel.com|publisher=}}</ref>
|16
|15
|15
|16
|17
|20
|22
|23
|22
|20
|18
|16
!18.3
|-
|[[Athens]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.weather2travel.com/climate-guides/greece/athens.php|title=Athens Climate: Monthly Weather Averages – Greece – Greece|first=|last=Weather2Travel.com|publisher=}}</ref>
|16
|15
|15
|16
|18
|21
|24
|24
|24
|21
|19
|18
!19.3
|-
|[[Barcelona]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.weather2travel.com/climate-guides/spain/barcelona.php|title=Barcelona Climate: Monthly Weather Averages – Spain|first=|last=Weather2Travel.com|publisher=}}</ref>
|13
|13
|13
|14
|17
|20
|23
|25
|23
|20
|17
|15
!17.8
|-
|[[Heraklion]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.weather2travel.com/climate-guides/greece/crete/iraklion.php|title=Iraklion Climate: Monthly Weather Averages – Crete – Crete|first=|last=Weather2Travel.com|publisher=}}</ref>
|16
|15
|15
|16
|19
|22
|24
|25
|24
|22
|20
|18
!19.7
|-
|[[Venice]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.weather2travel.com/climate-guides/italy/venetian-riviera/venice.php|title=Venice Climate: Monthly Weather Averages – Venetian Riviera|first=|last=Weather2Travel.com|publisher=}}</ref>
|11
|10
|11
|13
|18
|22
|25
|26
|23
|20
|16
|14
!17.4
|-
|[[Valencia]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.weather2travel.com/climate-guides/spain/valencia.php|title=Valencia Climate: Monthly Weather Averages – Spain – Spain|first=|last=Weather2Travel.com|publisher=}}</ref>
|14
|13
|14
|15
|17
|21
|24
|26
|24
|21
|18
|15
!18.5
|-
|[[Malta]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.weather2travel.com/climate-guides/malta/valletta.php|title=Valletta Climate: Monthly Weather Averages – Malta – Malta|first=|last=Weather2Travel.com|publisher=}}</ref>
|16
|16
|15
|16
|18
|21
|24
|26
|25
|23
|21
|18
!19.9
|-
|[[Alexandria]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.weather2travel.com/climate-guides/egypt/alexandria.php|title=Alexandria Climate: Monthly Weather Averages – Egypt|first=|last=Weather2Travel.com|publisher=}}</ref>
|18
|17
|17
|18
|20
|23
|25
|26
|26
|25
|22
|20
!21.4
|-
|[[Naples]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.weather2travel.com/climate-guides/italy/neapolitan-riviera/naples.php|title=Naples Climate: Monthly Weather Averages – Neapolitan Riviera|first=|last=Weather2Travel.com|publisher=}}</ref>
|15
|14
|14
|15
|18
|22
|25
|27
|25
|22
|19
|16
!19.3
|-
|[[Larnaca]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.weather2travel.com/climate-guides/cyprus/larnaca.php|title=Larnaca Climate: Monthly Weather Averages – Cyprus|first=|last=Weather2Travel.com|publisher=}}</ref>
|18
|17
|17
|18
|20
|24
|26
|27
|27
|25
|22
|19
!21.7
|-
|[[Limassol]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.weather2travel.com/climate-guides/cyprus/limassol.php|title=Limassol Climate: Monthly Weather Averages – Cyprus|first=|last=Weather2Travel.com|publisher=}}</ref>
|18
|17
|17
|18
|20
|24
|26
|27
|27
|25
|22
|19
!21.7
|-
|[[Antalya]]
|17
|17
|17
|18
|21
|24
|27
|28
|27
|25
|22
|19
!21.8
|-
|[[Tel Aviv]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.weather2travel.com/climate-guides/israel/tel-aviv.php|title=Tel Aviv Climate: Monthly Weather Averages – Israel|first=|last=Weather2Travel.com|publisher=}}</ref>
|18
|17
|17
|18
|21
|24
|26
|28
|27
|26
|23
|20
!22.1
|}

==Geology==
{{Refimprove section|date=May 2012}}
{{see also|Geology and paleoclimatology of the Mediterranean Basin}}
[[File:Vrulja kod Omiša.jpg|thumb|300px|A submarine [[karst spring]], called ''vrulja'', near [[Omiš]]; observed through several ripplings of an otherwise calm sea surface.]]

The [[geology|geologic history]] of the Mediterranean Sea is complex. Underlain by [[oceanic crust]], the sea basin was once thought to be a tectonic remnant of the ancient [[Tethys Ocean]]; it is now known to be a structurally younger basin, called the [[Neotethys]], which was first formed by the convergence of the [[African plate|African]] and [[Eurasian plate]]s during the Late [[Triassic]] and Early [[Jurassic]]. Because it is a near-landlocked body of water in a normally dry climate, the Mediterranean is subject to intensive evaporation and the precipitation of [[evaporites]]. The [[Messinian salinity crisis]] started about six million years ago (mya) when the Mediterranean became landlocked, and then essentially dried up. There are salt deposits accumulated on the bottom of the basin of more than a million cubic kilometres—in some places more than three kilometres thick.<ref>{{cite journal|author1=William Ryan|title=Decoding the Mediterranean salinity crisis|journal=Sedimentology|date=2008|volume=56|issue=1|pages=95–136|doi=10.1111/j.1365-3091.2008.01031.x|bibcode=2009Sedim..56...95R}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author1=William Ryan|title=Modeling the magnitude and timing of evaporative drawdown during the Messinian salinity crisis|journal=Sedimentology|date=2008|volume=5|issue=3–4|page=229|url=http://eesc.ldeo.columbia.edu/courses/w4937/Readings/Ryan_Messinian_Stratigraphy_2008.pdf}}</ref>

Scientists estimate that the sea was last filled about 5.3 million years ago (mya)  in less than two years by the [[Zanclean flood]].  Water poured in from the Atlantic Ocean through a newly breached gateway now called the   [[Strait of Gibraltar]] at an estimated rate of about three orders of magnitude (one thousand times) larger than the current flow of the [[Amazon River]].<ref name="GCetal2009">Garcia-Castellanos, D., Estrada, F., Jiménez-Munt, I., Gorini, C., Fernàndez, M., Vergés, J., De Vicente, R. (10 December 2009) [http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v462/n7274/full/nature08555.html Catastrophic flood of the Mediterranean after the Messinian salinity crisis], ''[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]'' 462, pp. 778–781, {{doi|10.1038/nature08555}}</ref>

The Mediterranean Sea has an average depth of {{convert|1500|m|ft|abbr=on}} and the deepest recorded point is {{convert|5267|m|ft|abbr=on}} in the [[Calypso Deep]] in the [[Ionian Sea]]. The coastline extends for {{convert|46000|km|mi|abbr=on}}. A shallow submarine ridge (the [[Strait of Sicily]]) between the island of [[Sicily]] and the coast of [[Tunisia]] divides the sea in two main subregions: the Western Mediterranean, with an area of about 850 thousand&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> (330 thousand&nbsp;mi<sup>2</sup>); and the Eastern Mediterranean, of about 1.65 million&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> (640 thousand&nbsp;mi<sup>2</sup>). A characteristic of the coastal Mediterranean are submarine [[karst spring]]s or {{lang|hr|''vrulja''}}s, which discharge pressurised groundwater into the coastal seawater from below the surface; the discharge water is usually fresh,  and sometimes may be thermal.<ref name="LaMoreaux2001">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.si/books?id=sjEoBmfUka0C&pg=PA58#v=onepage&q&f=false |chapter=Geologic/Hydrogeologic Setting and Classification of Springs  |page=57 |title=Springs and Bottled Waters of the World: Ancient History, Source, Occurrence, Quality and Use |first=Philip |last=Elmer LaMoreaux |year=2001 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3-540-61841-6}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|url=http://zgs.zrc-sazu.si/Portals/8/Geografski_obzornik/go_2004_2.pdf|journal=Geografski obzornik|year=2004|volume=51|issue=2|issn=0016-7274|publisher=Association of the Geographical Societies of Slovenia|language=Slovenian|first=Jože|last=Žumer|title=Odkritje podmorskih termalnih izvirov|trans-title=Discovery of submarine thermal springs|pages=11–17}} {{sl icon}}</ref>

===Tectonics and paleoenvironmental analysis===
[[File:Etapa3muda.jpg|thumb|330px|Messinian salinity crisis before the [[Zanclean flood]]]]
[[File:Crisis salina del Messiniense.ogv|thumb|330px|Animation: Messinian salinity crisis]]

The Mediterranean basin and sea system was established by the ancient African-Arabian continent colliding with the [[Eurasian]] continent. As Africa-Arabia drifted northward, it closed over the ancient [[Tethys Ocean]] which had earlier separated the two supercontinents [[Laurasia]] and [[Gondwana]].
At about that time in the middle [[Jurassic]] period a much smaller sea basin, dubbed the [[Neotethys]], was formed shortly before the Tethys Ocean closed at its western (Arabian) end. The broad line of collisions pushed up a very long system of mountains from the [[Pyrenees]] in Spain to the [[Zagros Mountains]] in Iran in an episode of mountain-building tectonics known as the [[Alpine orogeny]]. The Neotethys grew larger during the episodes of collisions (and associated foldings and subductions) that occurred during the [[Oligocene]] and [[Miocene]] epochs (34 to 5.33 mya); ''see'' animation: [[Supercontinent|Africa-Arabia colliding with Eurasia]]. Accordingly, the Mediterranean [[Oceanic basin|basin]] consists of several stretched [[Tectonics|tectonic]] plates in subduction which are the foundation of the Eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea. Various zones of subduction harbour and form the [[Deep sea|deepest]] and most majestic oceanic ridges, east of the [[Ionian Sea]] and south of the [[Aegean Sea|Aegean]]. The [[Central Indian Ridge]] runs East of the Mediterranean Sea South-East across the in-between of [[Africa]] and the [[Arabian Peninsula]] into the [[Indian Ocean]]. Nevertheless, while man-made geopolitical turmoil and chaos have governed the coastlines of many various Mediterranean nations throughout the courses of [[Ancient history|ancient]], [[Modern history|modern]], [[21st century|present]] and [[Future history|foreseeable]] [[history]], the [[Plate tectonics|Plate tectonic]] status of nations bordering the Mediterranean Sea will find sharing the same geological concerns and fate.

====Messinian salinity crisis====
During [[Mesozoic]] and [[Cenozoic]] times, as the northwest corner of Africa converged on Iberia, it lifted the Betic-Rif [[mountain belt]]s across southern Iberia and northwest Africa. There the development of the intramontane Betic and Rif basins led to creating two roughly-parallel marine gateways between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. Dubbed the [[Betic corridor|Betic]] and [[Rifian corridors]], they progressively closed during middle and late Miocene times; perhaps several times.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = de la Vara | first1 = Alba | last2 = Topper | first2 = Robin P.M. | last3 = Meijer | first3 = Paul Th. | last4 = Kouwenhoven | first4 = Tanja J. | year = 2015 | title = Water exchange through the Betic and Rifian corridors prior to the Messinian Salinity Crisis: A model study | url = | journal = Paleoceanography| volume =  30| issue = 5| pages =  548–557| doi = 10.1002/2014PA002719 | bibcode = 2015PalOc..30..548V }}</ref> During late Miocene times the closure of the [[Betic Corridor]] triggered the so-called "[[Messinian salinity crisis]]" (MSC), when the Mediterranean almost entirely dried out. The time of beginning of the MSC was recently estimated astronomically at 5.96 mya, and it persisted for some 630,000 years until about 5.3 mya;<ref>{{cite journal | title = [[Astrochronology]] for the Messinian [[Sorbas basin]] (SE Spain) and orbital (precessional) forcing for evaporite cyclicity | year = 2001 | doi = 10.1016/S0037-0738(00)00171-8 |first1=W. |last1=Krijgsman |first2=A. R. |last2=Fortuinb |first3=F. J. |last3=Hilgenc |first4=F. J. |last4=Sierrod | journal = [[Sedimentary Geology (journal)|Sedimentary Geology]] | volume = 140 | pages = 43–60 | bibcode=2001SedG..140...43K}}</ref> ''see'' Animation: Messinian salinity crisis, at right.

After the initial drawdown and re-flooding there followed more episodes—the total number is debated—of sea drawdowns and re-floodings for the duration of the MSC. It ended when the Atlantic Ocean last re-flooded the basin—creating the [[Strait of Gibraltar]] and causing the [[Zanclean flood]]—at the end of the Miocene (5.33 mya). Some research has suggested that a desiccation-flooding-desiccation cycle may have repeated several times, which could explain several events of large amounts of salt deposition.<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Gargani J., Rigollet C.|title=Mediterranean Sea level variations during the Messinian Salinity Crisis.|journal=Geophysical Research Letters|date=2007|volume=34|issue= L10405|page= L10405|url=http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2007GL029885/abstract|doi=10.1029/2007GL029885|bibcode=2007GeoRL..3410405G}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author1=Gargani J. |author2=Moretti I. |author3=Letouzey J. |title= Evaporite accumulation during the Messinian Salinity Crisis : The Suez Rift Case.|journal=Geophysical Research Letters|date=2008|volume=35|issue= 2|page=  L02401|url=http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2007GL032494/abstract|doi=10.1029/2007gl032494|bibcode=2008GeoRL..35.2401G}}</ref> Recent studies, however, show that repeated desiccation and re-flooding is unlikely from a [[geodynamic]] point of view.
<ref>Govers, R. (2009). Choking the Mediterranean to dehydration: The Messinian salinity crisis Geology, 37 (2), 167–170 {{doi|10.1130/G25141A.1}} [http://geology.gsapubs.org/content/37/2/167.abstract Link]</ref><ref name=GCV>Garcia-Castellanos, D., A. Villaseñor, 2011. Messinian salinity crisis regulated by competing tectonics and erosion at the Gibraltar Arc. ''Nature'', 2011-12-15 [https://docs.google.com/uc?id=0B_xuyENh5ksFN2MwYWE5YjUtNzNkOS00OGZlLWFkMDYtOWMxYTViYjRiZjc0&export=download&hl=en pdf here] [https://sites.google.com/site/daniggcc/publications Link]</ref>

====Desiccation and exchanges of flora and fauna====
The present-day Atlantic gateway, i.e. the [[Strait of Gibraltar]], originated in the early Pliocene via the [[Zanclean Flood]]. As mentioned, two other gateways preceded Gibraltar:  the [[Betic Corridor]] across southern Spain and the [[Rifian Corridor]] across northern Morocco. The ''former'' gateway closed about six (6) mya, causing the Messinian salinity crisis (MSC); the ''latter'' or possibly both gateways closed during the earlier [[Tortonian]] times, causing a "[[Tortonian salinity crisis]]" (from 11.6 to 7.2 mya), which occurred well before the MSC and lasted much longer. Both "crises" resulted in broad connections of the mainlands of Africa and Europe, which thereby normalised migrations of flora and fauna—especially large mammals including primates—between the two continents. The [[Vallesian|Vallesian crisis]] indicates a typical extinction and replacement of mammal species in Europe during Tortonian times following climatic upheaval and overland migrations of new species;<ref>{{Cite journal
 | last1 = Agusti | first1 = J
 | last2 = Moya-Sola | first2 = S
 | title = Mammal extinctions in the Vallesian (Upper Miocene)
 | journal = Lecture Notes in Earth Sciences | volume = 30 | year = 1990 | pages = 425–432
 | issn = 1613-2580 | doi = 10.1007/BFb0011163
| series = Lecture Notes in Earth Sciences
 | isbn = 3-540-52605-6
 }} (Abstract)</ref> ''see'' Animation: Messinian salinity crisis (and mammal migrations), at right.

The near-completely enclosed configuration of the Mediterranean basin has enabled the oceanic gateways to dominate seawater circulation and the environmental evolution of the sea and basin. Circulation patterns are also affected by several other factors—including climate, bathymetry, and water chemistry and temperature—which are interactive and can induce precipitation of [[evaporite]]s. Deposits of evaporites accumulated earlier in the nearby [[Geology of the Western Carpathians#Foredeep|Carpathian foredeep]] during the [[Middle Miocene]], and the adjacent [[Red Sea Basin]] (during the [[Late Miocene]]), and in the whole Mediterranean basin (during the MSC and the [[Messinian]] age). [[Diatomite]]s are regularly found underneath the evaporite deposits, suggesting a connection between their geneses.

Today, evaporation of surface seawater (output) is more than the supply (input) of fresh water by precipitation and coastal drainage systems, causing the salinity of the Mediterranean to be much higher than that of the Atlantic—so much so that the saltier Mediterranean waters sink below the waters incoming from the Atlantic, causing a two-layer flow across the [[Strait of Gibraltar|Gibraltar strait]]: that is, an outflow [[Strait of Gibraltar#Inflow and outflow|''submarine current'']] of warm saline Mediterranean water, counterbalanced by an inflow ''surface current''  of less saline cold oceanic water from the Atlantic. Herman Sörgel's [[Atlantropa]] project proposal in the 1920s proposed a hydroelectric dam to be built across the Strait of Gibraltar, using the inflow current to provide a large amount of hydroelectric energy. The underlying energy grid was as well intended to support a political union between Europe and, at least, the Marghreb part of Africa (compare [[Eurafrique|Eurafrika]] for the later impact and [[Desertec]] for a later project with some parallels in the planned grid).<ref>Politische Geographien Europas: Annäherungen an ein umstrittenes Konstrukt, Anke Strüver, LIT Verlag Münster, 2005, p.43</ref>

====Shift to a "Mediterranean climate"====
The end of the [[Miocene]] also marked a change in the climate of the Mediterranean basin. Fossil evidence from that period reveals that the larger basin had a humid subtropical climate with rainfall in the summer supporting [[laurel forest]]s. The shift to a "Mediterranean climate" occurred largely within the last three million years (the late [[Pliocene]] epoch) as summer rainfall decreased. The subtropical laurel forests retreated; and even as they persisted on the islands of [[Macaronesia]] off the Atlantic coast of Iberia and North Africa, the present Mediterranean vegetation evolved, dominated by coniferous trees and [[sclerophyllous]] trees and shrubs with small, hard, waxy leaves that prevent moisture loss in the dry summers. Much of these forests and shrublands have been altered beyond recognition by thousands of years of human habitation. There are now very few relatively intact natural areas in what was once a heavily wooded region.

==Paleoclimate==
Because of its latitudinal position and its land-locked configuration, the Mediterranean is especially sensitive to astronomically induced climatic variations, which are well documented in its sedimentary record. Since the Mediterranean is involved in the deposition of eolian dust from the [[Sahara]] during dry periods, whereas riverine detrital input prevails during wet ones, the Mediterranean marine [[sapropel]]-bearing sequences provide high-resolution climatic information. These data have been employed in reconstructing astronomically calibrated time scales for the last 9 Ma of the Earth's history, helping to constrain the time of past [[geomagnetic reversal]]s.<ref>FJ, Hilgen. Astronomical calibration of Gauss to Matuyama sapropels in the Mediterranean and implication for the Geomagnetic Polarity Time Scale, 104 (1991) 226–244 ''Earth and Planetary Science Letters'', 1991.[http://igitur-archive.library.uu.nl/geo/2007-0119-200857/hilgen_91_astronomical.pdf]</ref> Furthermore, the exceptional accuracy of these paleoclimatic records has improved our knowledge of the Earth's orbital variations in the past.

==Ecology and biota==
As a result of the drying of the sea during the [[Messinian salinity crisis]],<ref>[[Kenneth J. Hsu|Hsu K.J.]], "When the Mediterranean Dried Up" ''Scientific American'', Vol. '''227''', December 1972, p32</ref> the marine biota of the Mediterranean are derived primarily from the Atlantic Ocean. The North Atlantic is considerably colder and more nutrient-rich than the Mediterranean, and the marine life of the Mediterranean has had to adapt to its differing conditions in the five million years since the basin was reflooded.

The [[Alboran Sea]] is a transition zone between the two seas, containing a mix of Mediterranean and Atlantic species. The Alboran Sea has the largest population of [[bottlenose dolphin]]s in the Western Mediterranean, is home to the last population of [[harbour porpoise]]s in the Mediterranean, and is the most important feeding grounds for [[loggerhead sea turtle]]s in Europe. The Alboran sea also hosts important commercial fisheries, including [[sardine]]s and [[swordfish]]. The [[Mediterranean monk seal]]s live in the Aegean Sea in Greece. In 2003, the [[World Wildlife Fund]] raised concerns about the widespread [[drift net]] fishing endangering populations of dolphins, turtles, and other marine animals such as the [[Galathea strigosa|ogre cancer]].

{{See also|Specially Protected Areas of Mediterranean Importance}}

==Environmental history==
{{disputed|talkpage=Talk:Mediterranean_Sea/Archive_1#Some_controversial_additions_to_the_.22Environmental_history.22_section|what=section|date=February 2017}}
For 4,000 years, human activity has transformed most parts of Mediterranean Europe, and the "humanisation of the landscape" overlapped with the appearance of the present Mediterranean climate.<ref name =yale/> The image of a simplistic, environmental determinist notion of a Mediterranean Paradise on Earth in antiquity, which was destroyed by later civilisations dates back to at least the 18th century and was for centuries fashionable in archaeological and historical circles. Based on a broad variety of methods, e.g. historical documents, analysis of trade relations, [[floodplain]] sediments, [[pollen]], tree-ring and further archaeometric analyses and population studies, [[Alfred Thomas Grove]] and [[Oliver Rackham]]'s work on "The Nature of Mediterranean Europe" challenges this common wisdom of a Mediterranean Europe as a "Lost Eden", a formerly fertile and forested region, that had been progressively degraded and desertified by human mismanagement.<ref name =yale/> The belief stems more from the failure of the recent landscape to measure up to the imaginary past of the [[classics]] as idealised by artists, poets and scientists of the early modern [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]].<ref name =yale/>

The historical evolution of climate, vegetation and landscape in southern Europe from prehistoric times to the present is much more complex and underwent various changes. For example, some of the deforestation had already taken place before the Roman age. While in the Roman age large enterprises as the [[Latifundium]]s took effective care of forests and agriculture, the largest depopulation effects came with the end of the empire. Some{{who|date=September 2014}} assume that the major deforestation took place in modern times&nbsp;— the later usage patterns were also quite different e.g. in southern and northern Italy. Also, the climate has usually been unstable and showing various ancient and modern "[[Little Ice Age]]s",<ref>Little Ice Ages: Ancient and Modern, Jean M. Grove, Taylor & Francis, 2004</ref> and plant cover accommodated to various extremes and became resilient with regard to various patterns of human activity.<ref name =yale/>

Humanisation was therefore not the cause of climate change but followed it.<ref name =yale/> The wide ecological diversity typical of Mediterranean Europe is predominantly based on human behavior, as it is and has been closely related human usage patterns.<ref name =yale/> The diversity range was enhanced by the widespread exchange and interaction of the longstanding and highly diverse local agriculture, intense transport and trade relations, and the interaction with settlements, pasture and other land use. The greatest human-induced changes, however, came after [[World War II]], respectively in line with the '1950s-syndrome'<ref>Christian Pfister (Hrsg.), Das 1950er Syndrom: Der Weg in die Konsumgesellschaft, Bern 1995</ref> as rural populations throughout the region abandoned traditional subsistence economies. Grove and Rackham suggest that the locals left the traditional agricultural patterns towards taking a role as scenery-setting agents for the then much more important (tourism) travellers. This resulted in more monotonous, large-scale formations.<ref name =yale/> Among further current important threats to Mediterranean landscapes are overdevelopment of coastal areas, abandonment of mountains and, as mentioned, the loss of variety via the reduction of traditional agricultural occupations.<ref name =yale>The Nature of Mediterranean Europe: An Ecological History, by Alfred Thomas Grove, Oliver Rackham, Yale University Press, 2003, [http://yalepress.yale.edu/book.asp?isbn=9780300100556 review at Yale university press] [https://muse.jhu.edu/login?auth=0&type=summary&url=/journals/journal_of_interdisciplinary_history/v032/32.3fagan.pdfThe Nature of Mediterranean Europe: An Ecological History (review) [[Brian M. Fagan]], Journal of Interdisciplinary History, Volume 32, Number 3, Winter 2002, pp. 454–455 |]</ref>

===Natural hazards===
[[File:DenglerSW-Stromboli-20040928-1230x800.jpg|thumb|240px|[[Stromboli]] volcano in Italy]]
The region has a variety of geological hazards which have closely interacted with human activity and land use patterns. Among others, in the eastern Mediterranean, the [[Thera eruption]], dated to the 17th or 16th century BC, caused a large [[tsunami]] that some experts hypothesise devastated the [[Minoan civilization|Minoan civilisation]] on the nearby island of Crete, further leading some to believe that this may have been the catastrophe that inspired the [[Atlantis]] legend.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6568053.stm The wave that destroyed Atlantis] Harvey Lilley, BBC News Online, 2007-04-20. Retrieved 2007-04-21.</ref> [[Mount Vesuvius]] is the only active [[volcano]] on the European mainland, while others as [[Mount Etna]] and [[Stromboli]] are to be found on neighbouring islands. The region around Vesuvius including the [[Phlegraean Fields]] Caldera west of Naples are quite active<ref>Antonio Denti, [https://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/03/us-italy-volcano-idUSBRE8720WI20120803 "Super volcano", global danger, lurks near Pompeii], [[Reuters]], 3 August 2012.</ref> and constitute the most densely populated volcanic region in the world and eruptive event may occur within decades.<ref>{{cite journal
 | first = Roberto
 | last = Isaia
 |author2=Paola Marianelli |author3=Alessandro Sbrana
  | year = 2009
 | title = Caldera unrest prior to intense volcanism in Campi Flegrei (Italy) at 4.0 ka B.P.: Implications for caldera dynamics and future eruptive scenarios
 | journal = [[Geophysical Research Letters]]
 | volume = 36
 | issue = L21303
 | url = http://www.agu.org/pubs/crossref/2009/2009GL040513.shtml
 | doi = 10.1029/2009GL040513
 | pages = L21303
 |bibcode = 2009GeoRL..3621303I }}</ref>

Vesuvius itself is regarded as quite dangerous due to a tendency towards explosive ([[Plinian eruption|Plinian]]) eruptions.<ref name=mcguire2003>{{cite news|first=Bill|last=McGuire|title=In the shadow of the volcano|date=16 October 2003|publisher=Guardian News and Media Limited|newspaper=guardian.co.uk|url=https://www.theguardian.com/education/2003/oct/16/research.highereducation2|accessdate=8 May 2010}}</ref>
It is best known for its [[Eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79|eruption in AD 79]] that led to the burying and destruction of the [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] cities of [[Pompeii]] and [[Herculaneum]].

The large experience of member states and regional authorities has led to exchange on the international level with cooperation of NGOs, states, regional and municipality authorities and private persons.<ref name=evch>{{cite web|url=http://www.infopuntveiligheid.nl/Infopuntdocumenten/7._Eric_van_der_Horst.pdf|title=Alle kennisdossiers van het Instituut Fysieke Veiligheid|publisher=}}</ref> The [[Greek–Turkish earthquake diplomacy]] is a quite positive example of natural hazards leading to improved relations of traditional rivals in the region after earthquakes in İzmir and Athens 1999. The European Union Solidarity Fund (EUSF) was set up to respond to major natural disasters and express European solidarity to disaster-stricken regions within all of Europe.<ref>[http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/thefunds/solidarity EU Solidarity Fund Website] [http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-03-1029_en.htm?locale=FR 2003 proposal of EUR 47.6 million for Italian regions hit by natural disasters]
</ref> The largest amount of fund requests in the EU is being directed to [[forest fire]]s, followed by floodings and earthquakes. Forest fires are, whether man made or natural, an often recurring and dangerous hazard in the Mediterranean region.<ref name=evch/> Also, tsunamis are an often underestimated hazard in the region. For example, the [[1908 Messina earthquake]] and [[tsunami]] took more than 123,000 lives in Sicily and Calabria and is among the most deadly natural disasters in modern Europe.

===Biodiversity===
{{See also|List of fish of the Mediterranean Sea|List of fish of the Black Sea}}

Unlike the vast multidirectional [[Ocean current]]s in open [[Ocean]]s within their respective [[Oceanic zone]]s; [[Marine ecosystem|biodiversity]] in the Mediterranean Sea is that of a stable one due to the subtle but strong locked nature of [[Ocean current|currents]] which affects favorably, even the smallest macroscopic type of [[Hydrothermal vent|Volcanic Life Form]]. The stable [[Marine ecosystem]] of the Mediterranean Sea and [[Sea surface temperature|sea temperature]] provides a nourishing environment for [[Marine biology|life in the deep sea]] to flourish while assuring a balanced [[Aquatic ecosystem]] excluded from any external [[Deep sea|deep]] [[Ocean|oceanic factors]].

====Invasive species====
[[File:Himantura uarnak egypt.jpg|thumb|The [[reticulate whipray]] is one of the species that colonised the Eastern Mediterranean through the [[Suez Canal]] as part of the ongoing [[Lessepsian migration]].]]

The opening of the [[Suez Canal]] in 1869 created the first salt-water passage between the Mediterranean and [[Red Sea]]. The Red Sea is higher than the [[Eastern Mediterranean]], so the canal serves as a tidal [[strait]] that pours Red Sea water into the Mediterranean. The [[Bitter Lakes]], which are hyper-saline natural lakes that form part of the canal, blocked the migration of Red Sea species into the Mediterranean for many decades, but as the salinity of the lakes gradually equalised with that of the Red Sea, the barrier to migration was removed, and plants and animals from the Red Sea have begun to colonise the Eastern Mediterranean. The Red Sea is generally saltier and more nutrient-poor than the Atlantic, so the Red Sea species have advantages over Atlantic species in the salty and nutrient-poor Eastern Mediterranean. Accordingly, Red Sea species invade the Mediterranean biota, and not vice versa; this phenomenon is known as the [[Lessepsian migration]] (after [[Ferdinand de Lesseps]], the French engineer) or Erythrean invasion. The construction of the [[Aswan High Dam]] across the [[Nile]] River in the 1960s reduced the inflow of freshwater and nutrient-rich [[silt]] from the Nile into the Eastern Mediterranean, making conditions there even more like the Red Sea and worsening the impact of the [[invasive species]].

Invasive species have become a major component of the Mediterranean ecosystem and have serious impacts on the Mediterranean ecology, endangering many local and [[endemism|endemic]] Mediterranean species. A first look at some groups of exotic species show that more than 70% of the non-indigenous decapods and about 63% of the exotic fishes occurring in the Mediterranean are of Indo Pacific origin,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.issg.org/infpaper_invasive.pdf |title=IUCN Guidelines for the Prevention of Biodiversity Loss Caused by Alien Invasive Species |accessdate=11 August 2009 |year=2000 |publisher=International Union for Conservation of Nature |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090115235640/http://www.issg.org/infpaper_invasive.pdf |archivedate=15 January 2009 }}</ref> [[introduced species|introduced]] into the Mediterranean through the Suez Canal. This makes the Canal as the first pathway of arrival of "[[Introduced species|alien]]" species into the Mediterranean. The impacts of some lessepsian species have proven to be considerable mainly in the Levantine basin of the Mediterranean, where they are replacing native species and becoming a "familiar sight".

According to the [[International Union for Conservation of Nature]] definition, as well as [[Convention on Biological Diversity]] (CBD) and [[Ramsar Convention]] terminologies, they are alien species, as they are non-native (non-indigenous) to the Mediterranean Sea, and they are outside their normal area of distribution which is the Indo-Pacific region. When these species succeed in establishing populations in the Mediterranean Sea, compete with and begin to replace native species they are "Alien Invasive Species", as they are an agent of change and a threat to the native biodiversity. In the context of CBD, "introduction" refers to the movement by human agency, indirect or direct, of an alien species outside of its natural range (past or present). The Suez Canal, being an artificial (man made) canal, is a human agency. Lessepsian migrants are therefore "introduced" species (indirect, and unintentional). Whatever wording is chosen, they represent a threat to the native Mediterranean biodiversity, because they are non-indigenous to this sea. In recent years, the Egyptian government's announcement of its intentions to deepen and widen the canal have raised concerns from [[marine biologist]]s, fearing that such an act will only worsen the invasion of Red Sea species into the Mediterranean, facilitating the crossing of the canal for yet additional species.<ref>Galil, B.S. and Zenetos, A. (2002). A sea change: exotics in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, in: Leppäkoski, E. et al. (2002). ''Invasive aquatic species of Europe: distribution, impacts and management''. pp. 325–336.</ref>

====Arrival of new tropical Atlantic species====
In recent decades, the arrival of exotic species from the tropical Atlantic has become a noticeable feature. Whether this reflects an expansion of the natural area of these species that now enter the Mediterranean through the Gibraltar strait, because of a warming trend of the water caused by [[global warming]]; or an extension of the maritime traffic; or is simply the result of a more intense scientific investigation, is still an open question. While not as intense as the "lessepsian" movement, the process may be scientific interest and may therefore warrant increased levels of monitoring.{{citation needed|date=December 2011}}

===Sea-level rise===
By 2100 the overall level of the Mediterranean could rise between {{convert|3|to|61|cm|1|abbr=on}} as a result of the [[effects of global warming|effects of climate change]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Mediterranean Sea Level Could Rise By Over Two Feet, Global Models Predict|url=http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090303084057.htm|publisher=[[Science Daily]]|date=3 March 2009}}</ref> This could have adverse effects on populations across the Mediterranean:
*Rising sea levels will submerge parts of [[Malta]]. Rising sea levels will also mean rising salt water levels in Malta's groundwater supply and reduce the availability of drinking water.<ref>{{cite news|title=Briny future for vulnerable Malta|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6525069.stm|date=4 April 2007|publisher=[[BBC News]]}}</ref>
*A {{convert|30|cm|0|abbr=on}} rise in sea level would flood {{convert|200|km2|0|abbr=out}} of the [[Nile Delta]], displacing over 500,000 [[Egyptians]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Egypt fertile Nile Delta falls prey to climate change |url=http://news.egypt.com/en/201001288902/news/-egypt-news/egypt-fertile-nile-delta-falls-prey-to-climate-change.html |date=28 January 2010 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110209093815/http://news.egypt.com/en/201001288902/news/-egypt-news/egypt-fertile-nile-delta-falls-prey-to-climate-change.html |archivedate=9 February 2011 |df= }}</ref>

Coastal ecosystems also appear to be threatened by sea level rise, especially enclosed seas such as the [[Baltic Sea|Baltic]], the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. These seas have only small and primarily east-west movement [[Habitat corridor|corridors]], which may restrict northward displacement of organisms in these areas.<ref>Nicholls, R.J.; Klein, R.J.T. (2005). Climate change and coastal management on Europe's coast, in: Vermaat, J.E. et al. (Ed.) (2005). Managing European coasts: past, present and future. pp. 199–226.</ref> Sea level rise for the next century (2100) could be between {{convert|30|cm|in|abbr=on}} and {{convert|100|cm|in|abbr=on}} and temperature shifts of a mere 0.05–0.1&nbsp;°C in the deep sea are sufficient to induce significant changes in species richness and functional diversity.<ref name="greenpeace.org">{{cite web|url= http://www.greenpeace.org/international/campaigns/oceans/marine-reserves/the-mediterranean/mediterranean-other-threats|title=Other threats in the Mediterranean &#124; Greenpeace International|publisher=Greenpeace|accessdate=23 April 2010}}</ref>

===Pollution===
[[Marine pollution|Pollution]] in this region has been extremely high in recent years.{{When|date=May 2012}} The [[United Nations Environment Programme]] has estimated that {{convert|650000000|t|ST|abbr=on}} of [[sewage]], {{convert|129000|t|ST|abbr=on}} of [[mineral oil]], {{convert|60000|t|ST|abbr=on}} of mercury, {{convert|3800|t|ST|abbr=on}} of lead and {{convert|36000|t|ST|abbr=on}} of [[phosphate]]s are dumped into the Mediterranean each year.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.explorecrete.com/nature/mediterranean.html|title=Pollution in the Mediterranean Sea. Environmental issues|publisher=Explorecrete.com|accessdate= 23 April 2010}}</ref> The [[Barcelona Convention]] aims to 'reduce pollution in the Mediterranean Sea and protect and improve the marine environment in the area, thereby contributing to its sustainable development.'<ref>{{cite web|url=http://europa.eu/scadplus/leg/en/lvb/l28084.htm |title=EUROPA |publisher=Europa |accessdate=23 April 2010 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090409220807/http://europa.eu/scadplus/leg/en/lvb/l28084.htm |archivedate=9 April 2009 |df= }}</ref>
Many marine species have been almost wiped out because of the sea's pollution. One of them is the [[Mediterranean monk seal]] which is considered to be among the world's most [[endangered]] [[marine mammal]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.monachus-guardian.org/factfiles/medit01.htm|title=Mediterranean Monk Seal Fact Files: Overview|publisher=Monachus-guardian.org|date=5 May 1978|accessdate=23 April 2010}}</ref>

The Mediterranean is also plagued by [[marine debris]]. A 1994 study of the [[seabed]] using [[trawl net]]s around the coasts of Spain, France and Italy reported a particularly high mean concentration of debris; an average of 1,935 items per km<sup>2</sup>. [[Plastic debris]] accounted for 76%, of which 94% was [[plastic bag]]s.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.unep.org/regionalseas/marinelitter/publications/docs/anl_oview.pdf |title=Marine Litter: An Analytical Overview |accessdate=1 August 2008 |year=2005 |publisher=United Nations Environment Programme}}</ref>

===Shipping===
[[File:Portacontainer MSC in navigazione nello stretto di Messina.jpg|thumb|A cargo ship cruises towards the [[Strait of Messina]]]]
Some of the world's busiest shipping routes are in the Mediterranean Sea. It is estimated that approximately 220,000 [[merchant vessel]]s of more than 100 [[gross tonnage|tonnes]] cross the Mediterranean Sea each year—about one third of the world's total merchant shipping. These ships often carry hazardous cargo, which if lost would result in severe damage to the marine environment.

The discharge of chemical tank washings and oily wastes also represent a significant source of marine pollution. The Mediterranean Sea constitutes 0.7% of the global water surface and yet receives 17% of global marine oil pollution. It is estimated that every year between {{convert|100000|t|LT|abbr=on}} and {{convert|150000|t|LT|abbr=on}} of crude oil are deliberately released into the sea from shipping activities.

Approximately {{convert|370000000|t|LT|abbr=on}} of oil are transported annually in the Mediterranean Sea (more than 20% of the world total), with around 250–300 [[oil tanker]]s crossing the sea every day. Accidental [[oil spill]]s happen frequently with an average of 10 spills per year. A major oil spill could occur at any time in any part of the Mediterranean.<ref name="greenpeace.org"/>

===Tourism===
[[File:Turkey-2459 (2216286345).jpg|thumb|[[Antalya]] on the [[Turkish Riviera|Turkish Riviera (Turquoise Coast)]] received more than 11 million [[Tourism#Most-visited cities by international tourist arrivals|international tourist arrivals]] in 2014.]]

The Mediterranean Sea is arguably among the most [[cultural diversity|culturally diverse]] block basin sea regions in the world, with a unique combination of pleasant climate, beautiful coastline, rich history and various cultures. The Mediterranean region is the most popular tourist destination in the world—attracting approximately one third of the world's international tourists.{{Citation needed|date=February 2017}}

Tourism is one of the most important sources of income for many Mediterranean countries regardless of the man-made geopolitical conflicts that harbour coastal nations. In that regard, authorities around the Mediterranean have made it a point to extinguish rising man-made chaotic zones that would affect the economies, societies in neighboring coastal countries, let alone [[shipping route]]s. Naval and rescue components in the Mediterranean Sea are considered one of the very best due to the quick intercooperation of various [[List of fleets|Naval Fleets]] within proximity of each other. Unlike the vast open [[Ocean]]s, the closed nature of the Mediterranean Sea provides a much more adaptable naval initiative among the coastal countries to provide effective naval and rescue missions, considered the safest and regardless of any man-made or [[natural disaster]].

Tourism also supports small communities in coastal areas and islands by providing alternative sources of income far from urban centers. However, tourism has also played major role in the [[environmental degradation|degradation]] of the coastal and [[marine environment]]. Rapid development has been encouraged by Mediterranean governments to support the large numbers of tourists visiting the region each year. But this has caused serious disturbance to [[marine habitat]]s such as erosion and [[#Pollution|pollution]] in many places along the Mediterranean coasts.

Tourism often concentrates in areas of high natural wealth, causing a serious threat to the habitats of endangered Mediterranean species such as [[sea turtle]]s and [[monk seal]]s.  Reductions in natural wealth may reduce incentives for tourists to visit.<ref name="greenpeace.org"/>

{{see also|environmental impact of tourism}}

===Overfishing===
Fish stock levels in the Mediterranean Sea are alarmingly low. The European Environment Agency says that more than 65% of all fish stocks in the region are outside safe biological limits and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation, that some of the most important fisheries—such as [[albacore]] and [[Atlantic bluefin tuna|bluefin tuna]], [[hake]], [[marlin]], [[swordfish]], [[red mullet]] and [[sea bream]]—are threatened.{{date missing}}

There are clear indications that catch size and quality have declined, often dramatically, and in many areas larger and longer-lived species have disappeared entirely from commercial catches.

Large open water fish like tuna have been a shared fisheries resource for thousands of years but the stocks are now dangerously low. In 1999, [[Greenpeace]] published a report revealing that the amount of bluefin tuna in the Mediterranean had decreased by over 80% in the previous 20 years and government scientists warn that without immediate action the stock will collapse.

===Aquaculture===
[[File:Aquaculture Western Greece 2004.jpg|thumb|Aquaculture in western Greece]]
{{Unreferenced section|date=October 2010}}
[[Aquaculture]] is expanding rapidly—often without proper environmental assessment—and currently accounts for 30% of the fish protein consumed worldwide. The industry claims that farmed seafood lessens the pressure on wild fish stocks, yet many of the farmed species are carnivorous, consuming up to five times their weight in wild fish.

Mediterranean coastal areas are already over exposed to human influence, with pristine areas becoming ever scarcer. The aquaculture sector adds to this pressure, requiring areas of high water quality to set up farms. The installation of fish farms close to vulnerable and important habitats such as seagrass meadows is particularly concerning.

==Gallery==
<!--Please limit the images in this gallery to only 1 image per country/territory-->
<gallery mode=packed heights=120px style="text-align:center">
File:Hammametgolf.jpg|Beach of [[Hammamet, Tunisia|Hammamet]], Tunisia
File:Plage-de-la-courtade.jpg|The beach of la Courtade in the [[Îles d'Hyères]], France
File:Chia beach, Sardinia, Italy.jpg|[[Sardinia]]'s south coast, Italy
File:Malta - Birzebbuga - Triq il-Bajja s-Sabiha + Pretty Bay + Gnien Mons. Guzeppi Minuti 03 ies.jpg|Pretty Bay, Malta
File:Piran Stadtpanorama.jpg|Panoramic view of [[Piran]], Slovenia
File:Cavtat Croatia 2008-10-07.JPG|Panoramic view of [[Cavtat]], Croatia
File:Neum02451.JPG|View of [[Neum]], Bosnia and Herzegovina
File:svetistefan1756.JPG|A view of [[Sveti Stefan]], Montenegro
File:Ksamill-1.jpg|[[Ksamil Islands]], Albania
File:Panagiotis wreck.jpg|[[Navagio]], Greece
File:Marmaris TURKEY.JPG|[[Marmaris]], [[Turkish Riviera|Turquoise Coast]], Turkey
File:Petra tou romiou beach.jpg|[[Paphos]], Cyprus
File:Burjeslam.jpg|[[Burj Islam]] Beach, [[Latakia]], Syria
File:BeirutRaouche1.jpg|A view of [[Raouché]] off the coast of [[Beirut]], Lebanon
File:Bat Galim neighborhood and Haifa Bay.jpg|A view of [[Haifa]], Israel
File:Coast of Alexandria, A view From Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Egypt.jpg|Coast of [[Alexandria]], view From [[Bibliotheca Alexandrina]], Egypt

File:ForbysIbizaTown 02.jpg|Old city of [[Ibiza Town]], Spain
File:Les Aiguades.jpg|Les Aiguades near [[Béjaïa]], Algeria
File:EL Jebha1.jpg|El Jebha, a port town in Morocco
File:Gibraltar-Europa-Point-LH-from-the-sea.jpg|[[Europa Point]], Gibraltar
File:Monaco City 001.jpg|Panoramic view of [[La Condamine]], Monaco
File:شاطئ دير البلح horizon adjusted.jpg|Sunset at the [[Deir al-Balah]] beach, Gaza Strip
</gallery>

==See also==
{{portal|Mediterranean}}
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
*[[Babelmed]], the site of the Mediterranean cultures
*[[Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly]]
*[[Familial Mediterranean fever]]
*[[History of the Mediterranean region]]
*[[Holy League (Mediterranean)]]
*[[List of islands in the Mediterranean]]
*[[List of Mediterranean countries]]
*[[Mediterranean Basin]]
*[[Mediterranean climate]]
{{col-2}}
*[[Mediterranean diet]]
*[[Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub]]
*[[Mediterranean Games]]
*[[Mediterranean race]]
*[[Mediterranean sea (oceanography)]]
*[[Piri Reis]] – Early cartographer of the Mediterranean
*[[Seto Inland Sea]] –  also known as the Japanese Mediterranean Sea
*[[Suez Canal]]
*[[Tyrrhenian Basin]]
*[[Union for the Mediterranean]]
{{col-end}}

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{sister project links|voy=Mediterranean Sea}}
*[http://www.foraminifera.eu/querydb.php?area=Mediterranean+Sea&aktion=suche Mediterranean Sea Microorganisms: 180+ images of Foraminifera]
{{Navboxes
| list =
{{Countries and territories bordering the Mediterranean Sea}}
{{List of seas}}
{{Regions of the world}}
}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:European seas]]
[[Category:Geography of North Africa]]
[[Category:Marginal seas]]
[[Category:Marine ecoregions]]
[[Category:Mediterranean Sea| ]]
[[Category:Natural history of Europe]]
[[Category:Seas of the Atlantic Ocean]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]
[[Category:Seas of Africa]]