With an area exceeding 41 million square miles, the Atlantic Ocean covers about one-third of the world's ocean and more than one-fifth of the world's total surface area. While it has no specific north or south boundaries, the Atlantic touches Europe and Africa on its eastern side, and North and South America form its western boundary. US states bordering the Atlantic are.
The Romans named it after the Atlas Mountains, located at the western end of the Mediterranean Sea, which were the limits of the known world at that time.
Because the world's largest industrial countries are located along its coasts, the Atlantic is the most important ocean for commerce. It was the first to be crossed by ship and airplane.
