Extent and data

For complete lists of marginal seas and borders of the Atlantic, see List of seas § Atlantic Ocean, and Borders of the oceans § Atlantic Ocean.

For the extent of the Southern Ocean, see Southern Ocean § Definitions and use.

Extent of the Atlantic Ocean according to the 2002 IHO definition, excluding Arctic and Antarctic regions

The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) defined the limits of the oceans and seas in 1953,^[16] but some of these definitions have been revised since then and some are not used by various authorities, institutions, and countries, see for example the CIA World Factbook. Correspondingly, the extent and number of oceans and seas varies.
The Atlantic Ocean is bounded on the west by North and South America. It connects to the Arctic Ocean through the Denmark Strait, Greenland Sea, Norwegian Sea and Barents Sea. To the east, the boundaries of the ocean proper are Europe: the Strait of Gibraltar (where it connects with the Mediterranean Sea–one of its marginal seas–and, in turn, the Black Sea, both of which also touch upon Asia) and Africa.
In the southeast, the Atlantic merges into the Indian Ocean. The 20° East meridian, running south from Cape Agulhas to Antarctica defines its border. In the 1953 definition it extends south to Antarctica, while in later maps it is bounded at the 60° parallel by the Southern Ocean.^[16]
The Atlantic has irregular coasts indented by numerous bays, gulfs, and seas. These include the Baltic Sea, Black Sea, Caribbean Sea, Davis Strait, Denmark Strait, part of the Drake Passage, Gulf of Mexico, Labrador Sea, Mediterranean Sea, North Sea, Norwegian Sea, almost all of the Scotia Sea, and other tributary water bodies.^[1] Including these marginal seas the coast line of the Atlantic measures 111,866 km (69,510 mi) compared to 135,663 km (84,297 mi) for the Pacific.^[1][17]
Including its marginal seas, the Atlantic covers an area of 106,460,000 km² (41,100,000 sq mi) or 23.5% of the global ocean and has a volume of 310,410,900 km³ (74,471,500 cu mi) or 23.3%. Excluding its marginal seas, the Atlantic covers 81,760,000 km² (31,570,000 sq mi) and has a volume of 305,811,900 km³ (73,368,200 cu mi). The North Atlantic covers 41,490,000 km² (16,020,000 sq mi) (11.5%) and the South Atlantic 40,270,000 km² (15,550,000 sq mi) (11.1%).^[4] The average depth is 3,646 m (11,962 ft) and the maximum depth, the Milwaukee Deep in the Puerto Rico Trench, is 8,486 m (27,841 ft).^[4][18]