Sargasso Sea
Topic: Movements of Ocean Water: Waves, Tides and Currents · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 13 "Movements of Ocean Water"
Meaning
The Sargasso Sea is a part of the North Atlantic that has no land boundary. Instead, ocean currents form its edges: the Gulf Stream, the North Atlantic Drift, the Canary Current and the North Equatorial Current. Together they turn clockwise around it, so its water stays calm and warm. Floating brown seaweed called sargassum covers much of its surface, which gives the sea its name.
Example
The Sargasso Sea lies in the middle of the North Atlantic, east of the United States and around Bermuda. Eels from Europe and North America travel here to breed.
Don't confuse with
- Seas with coasts (such as the Arabian Sea or the Mediterranean Sea): these are bounded at least partly by land. The Sargasso Sea is bounded only by currents.
Related concepts
- Gulf Stream
- North Atlantic Drift
- Canary Current
- Labrador Current
- Brazil Current
- Falkland Current
- Benguela Current