Sargasso Sea

Sargasso Sea, oval region of the western North Atlantic Ocean, between the West Indies and the Azores. The Sargasso Sea is the only sea in the world bordered by ocean currents rather than by land. The four great North Atlantic currents—the Gulf Stream, the North Atlantic Current, the Canary Current, and the North Equatorial Current—flow in a clockwise direction around the Sargasso Sea. Although its limits are indefinite, the name Sargasso Sea is most commonly applied to the area between longitude 35° and 70° west and latitude 25° and 32° north. The Sargasso Sea is noted for its large expanses of comparatively still water; this phenomenon is primarily due to the fact that the North Atlantic currents rotate around the margins of the region.

The Sargasso Sea is named for one of the abundant varieties of seaweed that float on its surface, Sargassum natans, or brown gulfweed. Brown gulfweed thrives in this ocean region and creates beds that support a number of life forms. Because the sea has weak currents, low precipitation, and high evaporation, its waters are saltier than those of other seas, making them inhospitable to many species. However, eels choose to spawn in the Sargasso Sea, swimming across the Atlantic from Europe and North America. After laying their eggs deep in the sea, they die. The young eels, or elvers, spend a year or more in the Sargasso Sea, then migrate back to Europe and North America.

The Sargasso Sea has been associated with many maritime myths, including that of the lost continent of Atlantis and the Devil’s Triangle, where a number of ships have disappeared or been abandoned.