North Atlantic islands

The North Atlantic Ocean can be defined as the waterbody that stretches from southern Iceland in the north to the equator in the south. It is bordered in the north by the Arctic Ocean, as well as many other smaller water bodies including the North, Labrador, Sargasso and Caribbean Seas. The surface waters of the North Atlantic Ocean have a higher salinity than any other ocean in the world.

The Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the longest mountain range in the world, runs through the centre of the Atlantic Ocean from Iceland to the Bouvet Islands. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is the separation point of the tectonic plates that once held the supercontinent Pangaea together around 180 million years ago. The movement of these tectonic plates caused the initial separation of the continental landmasses and created the space between North and South America and Europe and Africa that is now the Atlantic Ocean. Located in the western Caribbean is the deepest point in any of the world’s oceans, the Puerto Rico Trench, which reaches depths of around 8,648 metres.

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