Top 10 Atlantic Ocean facts

Sargasso Sea. The Atlantic Ocean's Sargasso Sea was named after the Sargassum seaweed, which floats en masse on the surface there. Although it was formerly thought to cover the entirety of the Sargasso Sea, making navigation impossible, it has since been found to occur only in drifts. The historic incidents of sailing ships being trapped there are now considered due to the often calm winds of the horse latitudes.

On Tenerife (Canary Islands). Mount Teide is the highest peak of Tenerefe in the Canary Islands and at the same time of Spain. Teide is 3,718 meter (12,198 ft) high stratovulcano. It's also the highest peak of all Atlantic islands. Measured from the ocean floor it reaches about 7,500 meters (24,600 ft).

Iceland. The Cod Wars were disputes running from the 1950s to the 1970s over fishing rights in the North Atlantic. Each of the disputes ended with Iceland's victory. As a result, the already declining British fisheries were hit hard by being excluded from their prime fishing grounds with thousands of fishermen and people being put out of work.

Post-glacial. Sable Island is believed to have formed from a terminal moraine deposited on the continental shelf near the end of the last Ice Age. It emerges from vast shoals and shallows which, in tandem with frequent fog and sudden storms, have caused over 350 recorded shipwrecks

Tristan da Cunha lies in the south Atlantic Ocean, 2,816 kilometers (1,750 mi) from the nearest land, South Afric. In 1816 the United Kingdom formally annexed the islands, to ensure that the French would be unable to use the islands as a base for a rescue operation to free Napoleon Bonaparte from his prison in Saint Helena. Today, the main island has a permanent population of 275.

Africa and South America. Bacause of the ongoing spreading of the Atlantic Ocean, Africa and South America (just like Europe and North America) are moving away from each other at the rate of about 3 centimeters (1,2 inch) per year.

Puerto Rico Trench is deep at 9219 m below sea level (Atlantic), Tonga Trench is deep at 10882 m below sea level, Romanche Furrow is deep at 7761 m below sea level, New Britain Trench is deep at 9140 m below sea level.

For the fastest liner. The term “Blue Riband of the Atlantic” did not come into use until the 1890's, and the history of the trans-Atlantic competition, which was compiled retrospectively, was regarded as starting with the crossings by the steamships Sirius and Great Western in 1838.Sirius in 1838 needed 18 days 14 hours. 22 min. The last SS United States did this in 3 days 10 hours. 40 minutes

Around 14 km. The Strait of Gibraltar connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Europe from Africa by 7.7 nautical miles (14.3 km) at the strait's narrowest point. Ferries cross between the two continents every day in as little as 35 minutes.

Portugeuse man o' war. The Atlantic Portuguese man o' war, also known as the man-of-war or floating terror, is a marine hydrozoan found in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans. Despite its appearance, it is not a true jellyfish but a siphonophore. Its venomous long tentacles deliver a painful sting, which on extremely rare occasions has been fatal to humans.