Atlantic Ocean

Have you ever felt cool water tickle your toes at the beach. Or tasted the salty mist that dances in the air. That’s me. I am a giant world of water, and my waves sing a whooshing song as they hug the shore and then pull away. I stretch between huge pieces of land, touching sunny, sandy beaches and cold, icy coasts. Deep inside my blue waters, playful dolphins leap and giant whales sing their beautiful, booming songs to each other. I am a home for so many wonderful creatures. My name is a big one, just like me. I am the great and wide Atlantic Ocean.

Millions and millions of years ago, all the land on Earth was connected like a giant puzzle piece. But then, it slowly broke apart, and I was born in the space between. For a very long time, people on one side of me didn't know about the people on the other side. It took very brave sailors to find out. The first ones were called Vikings. A brave explorer named Leif Erikson and his friends sailed their wooden ships across my chilly northern waters more than a thousand years ago. They were not afraid of my big waves. Hundreds of years later, in 1492, another explorer named Christopher Columbus sailed across my waters. His three small ships felt like tiny toys in my vastness, but he kept going. His journey connected two worlds, Europe and the Americas, forever. I became a bridge, helping people from different places meet for the first time.

For a long, long time, people crossed my waters on ships with big white sails that looked like puffy clouds. The wind pushed them along, but the journeys were very slow. Then, people invented something new. Big steamships that huffed and puffed smoke from tall chimneys began to travel across my surface. They were much faster. But then came an even more amazing idea. On May 20th, 1927, a very brave pilot named Charles Lindbergh decided to fly over me. All by himself, in a tiny plane called the Spirit of St. Louis, he soared through the sky from one side of me to the other without stopping. He showed everyone that you could cross me in just a day, not weeks. It was like magic.

Today, I am still a busy bridge connecting the world. Big ships carry toys, food, and clothes across my surface every single day. And deep down on my sandy floor, there are secret cables that carry messages and phone calls from one friend to another in the blink of an eye. I am a home, a highway, and a helper. I am a beautiful treasure for the whole world to share. Please help keep me clean and healthy, so my fish can swim happily and brave adventurers can explore my waters for many, many years to come.