© Michel Gunther / WWF
The Mediterranean – a sea surrounded by land
Cirali beach, on the Mediterranean Sea, one of the few remaining nesting sites for the loggerhead turtles.the beauty of the Mediterranean
Facts & Figures
- The Mediterranean Sea covers an approximate area of 2.5 million km2 (965,000 sq mi).
- Its average depth is 1,500m (4,920 ft); the deepest recorded point is 5,267m (about 3.27 miles) in the Calypso Deep in the Ionian Sea.
- The coastline extends for 46,000km (28,600 miles).
- Large islands in the Med include Cyprus, Crete, Rhodes, Corfu, Sardinia, Corsica, Sicily and Majorca.
- The name Mediterranean is derived from the Latin mediterraneanus, meaning "inland" or "in the middle of the earth".
- More than 220 million tourists visit the region each year.
- Less than 1% of the Sea is protected.
- Almost 85% of its forests have disappeared.
Seas within the Sea
The Med has a number of major internationally recognized seas within it's vast area. These are: