Mediterranean Basin

In biogeography, the Mediterranean Basin /ˌmɛdɪtəˈreɪniən/ (also known as the Mediterranean region or sometimes Mediterranea) is the region of lands around the Mediterranean Sea that have a Mediterranean climate, with mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers, which supports characteristic Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub vegetation.

As a rule of thumb, the Mediterranean Basin is the Old World region where olive trees grow. However olive trees grow in other corners of the world which have a Mediterranean climate, and there are many areas around the Mediterranean Sea which do not have a Mediterranean climate and where olive trees cannot grow.

The Mediterranean basin covers portions of three continents Africa, Asia, and Europe.

It has a varied and contrasting topography. The Mediterranean Region offers an ever changing landscape of high mountains, rocky shores, impenetrable scrub, semi-arid steppes, coastal wetlands, sandy beaches and a myriad islands of various shapes and sizes dotted amidst the clear blue sea. Contrary to the classic sandy beach images portrayed in most tourist brochures, the Mediterranean is surprisingly hilly. Mountains can be seen from almost anywhere.

The Mediterranean Basin extends into Western Asia, covering the western and southern portions of the peninsula of Turkey, excluding the temperate-climate mountains of central Turkey. It includes the Mediterranean climate Levant at the eastern end of the Mediterranean, bounded on the east and south by the Syrian and Negev deserts.

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