Today, the Mediterranean Sea is located between the Eurasian continent and Africa. It is the largest intercontinental sea in the world. It has many natural and good ports and is an important transportation route connecting the three continents. Since ancient times, maritime trade in the Mediterranean Sea has been prosperous and the navigation industry has been developed. So, was the ancient Mediterranean the same as the Mediterranean today?
Not exactly the same. During the Pangaea period, there was a trumpet-shaped sea opening eastward for a long time between Laua in the northern hemisphere and Gondwana in the southern hemisphere. It was called the Tethys Sea, also known as the PalaeoMediterranean Sea. Today's Mediterranean Sea is a remnant of the ancient Mediterranean Sea after a long period of evolution. The ancient Mediterranean has a very vast area, spanning five continents: Europe, Asia, Africa, South America and North America, and even extending eastward to eastern China. At that time, the climate in the ancient Mediterranean region was very warm, and marine animals and plants were flourishing. This is also one of the main reasons why the Middle East is rich in oil today. After the Indian Plate separated, it drifted north at a rapid rate, and the ancient Mediterranean Sea began to shrink. By the end of the Cretaceous period 65 million years ago, the Indian plate collided with the Eurasian plate, the Himalayan region began to emerge from the water, and the ancient Mediterranean began to die out.
However, what is unimaginable is that the Mediterranean Sea, a remnant of the ancient Mediterranean Sea, once dried up 6 million years ago and turned into a "desert"-a dry salt pond. When the gate to the Strait of Gibraltar was reopened, the waters of the Atlantic Ocean once again poured into the newly born Mediterranean Sea. However, the Strait of Gibraltar is currently becoming shallower and becoming a threshold, gradually blocking the connection between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. One day in the future, will the Mediterranean Sea dry up again and the spectacle of an ocean turning into a desert again?