Mediterranean Sea Mediterranean Sea as follows: 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: Being nearly landlocked affects conditions in the Mediterranean Sea: for instance, tides 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 and river runoff in the Mediterranean, a fact that is central to
Mediterranean Sea addition, the Gaza Strip and the British Overseas Territories of Gibraltar and Akrotiri and Dhekelia have coastlines on the sea. The Ancient Greeks called the Mediterranean simply 'the Sea' or sometimes 'the Great Sea', 'Our Sea', or 'the sea around us'. The Romans called it "Mare Magnum" 'Great Sea' or "Mare Internum" 'Internal Sea' and, starting with the Roman Empire, "Mare Nostrum" 'Our Sea'. The term "Mare Mediterrāneum" appears later: Solinus apparently used it in the 3rd century, but the earliest extant witness to it is in the 6th century, in Isidore of Seville. It means 'in the middle of