Landforms of the Mediterranean

Calypso Deep

• The Calypso Deep is an area in the Ionian Sea off the west coast of Greece. The deepest part of the Mediterranean Sea, it has a maximum depth of 5,267 meters. The average depth of the Mediterranean is only 1,500 meters. The Deep is located where the African Tectonic Plate slides under the Eurasian Plate, creating what is known as the Hellenic Trench.

Skerki Bank

• The Skerki Bank, an area of shallow open sea, lies in the Strait of Sicily. Robert D. Ballard discovered the Skerki Bank in 1988. Since then, scientists have discovered a variety of shipwrecks, suggesting that the area marked a heavily trafficked trade route during Roman times.

Gibraltar Beaches

• The beaches of Gibraltar, a British overseas territory on the southern tip of Spain near the Strait of Gibraltar, are well-known Mediterranean landforms. The eastern beach is Gibraltar's largest beach, and the western beach has smaller beaches and rugged cliffs popular with birds.

Mediterranean Ridge

• The Mediterranean Ridge is a wide landform on the bottom of the Mediterranean that runs from just south of the island of Crete to the edge of southwestern Turkey, and stretching further eastward toward Cyprus. Like the Calypso Deep, the interaction of the African Tectonic Plate with the Eurasian Plate has likely brought about this landform.

Eratosthenes Seamount

• The Eratosthenes Seamount is an underwater mountain rising from the seafloor located south of the island of Cyprus in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. The seamount is about 2,000 meters tall in relation to the sea floor. This landform has also been brought about by movements of the tectonic plates. Scientists sometimes investigate the area to learn about its geology and the marine life that lives around it.