Iles de Lérins (Sainte Marguerite) and Estérel in background
The Mediterranean sea takes its name from the Latin mediterraneus, the sea in the middle (medius) of the lands (terra).
Several tens of millions of years ago, Europe (Eurasian plate) and Africa collided causing the formation of the Alps and the Pyrenees as well as the isolation of a part of the ancient ocean Thetys, at the location of the current Mediterranean sea.
Then, around 6 million years ago, the Strait of Gibraltar closed: the isolated sea dried up into a large salt lake.
Finally, 5 million years ago, the strait opened causing the surge of hundreds of millions of m3 per hour which formed in less than two years the current Mediterranean sea, with a rise in water level estimated at ten meters per day.
