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Atlantic Ocean: Quick Facts

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News •

Iceland Runs Crisis Exercise for AMOC Ocean Current Collapse • Nov. 2, 2026, 10:30 AM ET (Gizmodo)
Google may have said no, but Trump still wants to rename the Atlantic Ocean • Oct. 27, 2026, 7:51 AM ET (Business Insider)
Donald Trump Wanted Google Maps To Change Name Of Atlantic Ocean • Oct. 23, 2026, 4:54 AM ET (Deadline)
Google Maps said no to Trump renaming the Atlantic Ocean • Oct. 22, 2026, 1:17 PM ET (USA Today)
Subtropical Storm Josephine forms in the Atlantic Ocean • Oct. 21, 2026, 3:00 AM ET (USA Today)

Did You Know?

  • The Atlantic Ocean is generally agreed to be both the first ocean crossed by ship and by plane.
  • Off the coast of Namibia in southern Africa, diamond deposits have been located in the Atlantic Ocean.
  • The Atlantic Ocean is the youngest of the five oceans, having formed during the Jurassic Period approximately 150 million years ago following the breakup of the supercontinent Pangaea.
  • The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest ocean on Earth, accounting for one fifth of the Earth's surface and 29% of the Earth's water.
  • The United States is less than one sixth the size of the Atlantic Ocean.

Photos and Videos

Atlantic Ocean, with depth contours and submarine features
Rocky, green-topped island and distant hills along the coastline near Nain, Labrador, with the Labrador Sea in the foreground under a partly cloudy sky.
Alesund, Norway
Diagram showing the physiographic divisions of the continental margin, including labeled features such as coastal plain, shoreline, continental shelf, continental slope, continental rise, submarine canyon, and abyssal plain.
São Jorge Island, Azores
Satellite view of Hurricane Hugo, showing a large, swirling white cloud mass with a distinct eye approaching the South Carolina coast near Charleston.
Map of the North Atlantic Ocean showing major ocean currents, with warm currents like the Gulf Stream and North Atlantic Drift highlighted in pink and cold currents in blue. Arrows indicate current directions and relative speeds, connecting the eastern coasts of North America, the western coasts of Europe and Africa, and the Arctic region.
White lighthouse with a red top stands on a grassy cliff overlooking the water at Cape Enrage, Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick, with sunlight illuminating the scene.
lobster fishing, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada
Fireboats battle a blaze on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico, April 2010.
Graphic of the Earth with two tidal bulges. Blue arrows point to the bulges against a white background.
Hear researcher Andy Wheeler speaking about an expedition to discover new hydrothermal vent field in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean
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