The Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is almost completely surrounded by land. It lies between three continents: Europe to the north, Asia to the east and Africa to the south. The Mediterranean is connected to the Atlantic through Gibraltar, a 14 km wide strait, where Europe and Africa meet. The Suez Canal links it to the Red Sea and the Bosporus to the Black Sea.
The Mediterranean Sea covers an area of over 2.5 million square kilometers. It is divided into different parts by islands and peninsulas. The Aegean is the sea between Greece and Turkey, the Adriatic Sea lies between Italy and the Balkan Peninsula and the Tyrrhenian Sea is between Italy and its western islands.
The coastline of the Mediterranean is made up of many bays and inlets. Three large peninsulas, the Iberian, the Italian and the Balkan reach out into the Mediterranean Sea. Among the largest islands in the Mediterranean are Sicily, Corsica, Sardinia and Crete.
The Mediterranean region is often called the cradle of civilization because many early cultures and civilizations developed along its shores.
surrounded = to be around something
strait = a narrow passage of water between two areas of land
cover = to lie over
coastline = where water meets land
bay = a part of the sea partly surrounded by land
inlet = a narrow area of water that goes into the land from a sea or lake
cradle = here: the place where something begins
shore = coast
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