Mar Adriático

"El mar Adriático (del latín, Mare Hadriaticum) es un cuerpo de agua localizado al sur de Europa que separa a la península Itálica (al oeste) de la península de los Balcanes (al este), y al sistema de los montes Apeninos del de los Alpes Dináricos y sus sierras colindantes. Forma parte del mar Mediterráneo. Es un golfo estrecho y alargado que mide como máximo 200 km de ancho de este a oeste, y 800 km de norte a sur. En su extremo meridional limita con el mar Jónico, del que lo separa el canal de Otranto. Su superficie total es de aproximadamente 160.000 km². La costa occidental es italiana, mientras que la oriental es en su mayor parte croata, aunque algunas secciones pertenecen a Eslovenia, Bosnia y Herzegovina, Montenegro y Albania. Algunos ríos importantes que desembocan en el Adriático son el Reno, Po, Adigio, Brenta, Piave y Neretva. La costa del Adriático es por el 60% italiana y concentra un gran número de centros turísticos, como Venecia (que recibe el nombre de «Perla del Adriático») en el norte. Tras la división de Yugoslavia, también la costa croata se ha convertido en un destino muy popular turísticamente. Existen bancos pesqueros y se llevan a cabo prospecciones petrolíferas en este mar. Durante los años 1990, varias investigaciones revelaron que sus niveles de contaminación eran muy altos. En las últimas décadas el gobierno de Italia ha intentado crear en él una barrera contra la inmigración ilegal, en su mayoría proveniente de Albania."

"The Adriatic Sea /edriætk/ is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan peninsula and the Apennine Mountains from the Dinaric Alps and adjacent ranges. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to the northwest and the Po Valley. The countries with coasts on the Adriatic are Italy, Croatia, Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Slovenia. The Adriatic contains over 1,300 islands, mostly located along its eastern, Croatian, coast. It is divided into three basins, the northern being the shallowest and the southern being the deepest, with a maximum depth of 1,233 metres (4,045 ft). The Otranto Sill, an underwater ridge, is located at the border between the Adriatic and Ionian Seas. The prevailing currents flow counterclockwise from the Strait of Otranto, along the eastern coast and back to the strait along the western (Italian) coast. Tidal movements in the Adriatic are slight, although larger amplitudes are known to occur occasionally. The Adriatic's salinity is lower than the Mediterranean's because the Adriatic collects a third of the fresh water flowing into the Mediterranean, acting as a dilution basin. The surface water temperatures generally range from 30 °C (86 °F) in summer to 12 °C (54 °F) in winter, significantly moderating the Adriatic Basin's climate. The Adriatic Sea sits on the Apulian or Adriatic Microplate, which separated from the African Plate in the Mesozoic era. The plate's movement contributed to the formation of the surrounding mountain chains and Apennine tectonic uplift after its collision with the Eurasian plate. In the Late Oligocene, the Apennine Peninsula first formed, separating the Adriatic Basin from the rest of the Mediterranean. All types of sediment are found in the Adriatic, with the bulk of the material transported by the Po and other rivers on the western coast. The western coast is alluvial or terraced, while the eastern coast is highly indented with pronounced karstification. There are dozens of marine protected areas in the Adriatic, designed to protect the sea's karst habitats and biodiversity. The sea is abundant in flora and faunamore than 7,000 species are identified as native to the Adriatic, many of them endemic, rare and threatened ones. The Adriatic's shores are populated by more than 3.5 million people; the largest cities are Bari, Venice, Trieste and Split. The earliest settlements on the Adriatic shores were Etruscan, Illyrian, and Greek. By the 2nd century BC, the shores were under Rome's control. In the Middle Ages, the Adriatic shores and the sea itself were controlled, to a varying extent, by a series of statesmost notably the Byzantine Empire, the Serbian Empire, the Republic of Venice, the Habsburg Monarchy and the Ottoman Empire. The Napoleonic Wars resulted in the First French Empire gaining coastal control and the British effort to counter the French in the area, ultimately securing most of the eastern Adriatic shore and the Po Valley for Austria. Following Italian unification, the Kingdom of Italy started an eastward expansion that lasted until the 20th century. Following World War I and the collapse of Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire, the eastern coast's control passed to Yugoslavia and Albania. The former disintegrated during the 1990s, resulting in four new states on the Adriatic coast. Italy and Yugoslavia agreed on their maritime boundaries by 1975 and this boundary is recognised by Yugoslavia's successor states, but the maritime boundaries between Slovenian, Croatian, BosnianHerzegovinian and Montenegrin waters are still disputed. Italy and Albania agreed on their maritime boundary in 1992. Fisheries and tourism are significant sources of income all along the Adriatic coast. Adriatic Croatia's tourism industry has grown faster economically than the rest of the Adriatic Basin's. Maritime transport is also a significant branch of the area's economythere are 19 seaports in the Adriatic that each handle more than a million tonnes of cargo per year. The largest Adriatic seaport by annual cargo turnover is the Port of Trieste, while the Port of Split is the largest Adriatic seaport by passengers served per year."