Sargasso Sea
Sargasso Sea, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies mainly east and south of Bermuda and occupies some 2,000,000 square miles (5,180,000 km2). Ocean currents circulate clockwise around the Sargasso Sea, enclosing a vast, central area of nearly motionless water. The sea is named for the sargassum (or gulfweed), a seaweed that floats on the surface. (Stories about ships being trapped in large patches of sargassum are untrue; the patches are never thick enough to impede even the smallest craft.) The Sargasso Sea is the home of some rare species of marine animals, including the sargassum fish, and is the spawning area of certain eels and flying fish.