Editing Mediterranean Sea (section)

===Hydrography===
<!--This section is linked from the Infobox and the [[Mediterranean Basin]] article-->
[[File:Mediterranean Basin.png|thumb|Approximate extent of the Mediterranean drainage basin (dark green). [[Nile]] basin only partially shown]]

The [[drainage basin]] of the Mediterranean Sea is particularly heterogeneous and extends much further than the Mediterranean region.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a2u4HMfAMXoC |title=The Climate of the Mediterranean Region: From the Past to the Future |publisher=[[Elsevier]] |author=Lionello, P. |year=2012 |page=lxii |isbn=978-0-12-391477-4 |quote=Geographically, the Mediterranean catchment is extremely large and heterogeneous, covering an area of approximately 5 millions km<sup>2</sup>. It extends from the equator, where the springs of the White Nile River are located, to the source of the Rhone River at approximately 48°N. In longitude, it spans about 40°, from the middle of the Iberian peninsula, at 4°W, towards southern Turkey and the Middle East coasts facing the Mediterranean Sea (35°E). |access-date=1 May 2022 |archive-date=1 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240101145323/https://books.google.com/books?id=a2u4HMfAMXoC |url-status=live }}</ref> Its size has been estimated between {{convert|4000000|and|5500000|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}},{{NoteTag|Not including the area of the Mediterranean Sea}} depending on whether non-active parts (deserts) are included or not.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/226665381 |title=Advances in the Research of Aquatic Environment |chapter=An insight to the fluvial characteristics of the Mediterranean and Black Sea watersheds |page=191 |publisher=[[Springer Nature]] |author=Poulos, Serafeim |year=2011 |quote=The drainage basin of the Mediterranean Sea, accounting for some 4,184 10<sup>3</sup> km<sup>2</sup> (including the R. Nile)}}</ref><ref name="Margat 2004 p4">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n5CGAAAAIAAJ |title=Mediterranean Basin Water Atlas |publisher=[[UNESCO]] |author=Margat, Jean F. |year=2004 |page=4 |isbn=978-2-9517181-5-9 |quote=A basin of varied geometry: Area of the entire Mediterranean Basin, including the whole of the Nile Basin = 4,562,480 km<sup>2</sup>; Area of the 'conventional' Mediterranean Basin (i.e. counting only part of the Nile Basin in Egypt) = 1,836,480 km<sup>2</sup> [...] There are few rivers with an abundant flow. Only three rivers have a mean discharge of more than 1000 m<sup>3</sup>/s: the Nile (at Aswan), the Rhône and the Po. |access-date=1 May 2022 |archive-date=1 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240101145323/https://books.google.com/books?id=n5CGAAAAIAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=Hydrological cycle of the Mediterranean-Black Sea system |author=García-García, D. |journal=[[Climate Dynamics]] |year=2022 |volume=59 |issue=7–8 |pages=1919–1938 |doi=10.1007/s00382-022-06188-2 |bibcode=2022ClDy...59.1919G |s2cid=247013753 |quote=In the continents, the drainage basins discharging into the Mediterranean and Black seas are defined according to the global continental runoff pathways scheme (Oki and Sud 1998), and they cover 5.34 × 10<sup>6</sup> and 2.43 × 10<sup>6</sup> km<sup>2</sup>, respectively |doi-access=free|hdl=10045/121760 |hdl-access=free  |issn=0930-7575}}</ref> The longest river ending in the Mediterranean Sea is the [[Nile]], which takes its sources in equatorial Africa. The basin of the Nile constitutes about two-thirds of the Mediterranean drainage basin<ref name="Margat 2004 p4" /> and encompasses areas as high as the [[Ruwenzori Mountains]].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gXgyHLT_hwIC |title=Large Rivers: Geomorphology and Management |publisher=[[John Wiley & Sons]] |author=Gupta, Avijit |year=2008 |page=275 |isbn=978-0-470-72371-5 |quote=The highest point in the Nile basin is Mount Stanley (5109 m) in the Ruwenzori Mountain range between Lake Edward and Lake Albert |access-date=1 May 2022 |archive-date=1 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240101145323/https://books.google.com/books?id=gXgyHLT_hwIC |url-status=live }}</ref> Among other important rivers in Africa, are the [[Moulouya River|Moulouya]] and the [[Chelif River|Chelif]], both on the north side of the [[Atlas Mountains]]. In Asia, are the [[Ceyhan River|Ceyhan]] and [[Seyhan River|Seyhan]], both on the south side of the [[Taurus Mountains]].<ref name="UNEP">{{cite web |url=https://www.medqsr.org/mediterranean-marine-and-coastal-environment |title=The Mediterranean Marine and Coastal Environment: Hydrological and climatic setting. |publisher=Mediterranean Action Plan of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP/MAP) |access-date=16 April 2022 |quote=The Mediterranean is an area of transition between a temperate Europe with relatively abundant and consistent water resources, and the arid African and Arabian deserts that are very short of water. |archive-date=24 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211024184710/https://www.medqsr.org/mediterranean-marine-and-coastal-environment |url-status=dead }}</ref> In Europe, the largest basins are those of the [[Rhône]], [[Ebro]], [[Po (river)|Po]], and [[Maritsa]].<ref name="UNECE">{{cite book |url=https://unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/env/water/publications/pub76.htm |title=Our Waters: Joining Hands Across Borders: First Assessment of Transboundary Rivers, Lakes and Groundwaters |publisher=[[United Nations Economic Commission for Europe]] |year=2007 |chapter=Drainage basin of the Mediterranean Sea |pages=154–181 |access-date=15 April 2022 |archive-date=15 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220415181121/https://unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/env/water/publications/pub76.htm |url-status=dead}}</ref> The basin of the Rhône is the largest and extends up as far north as the [[Jura Mountains]], encompassing areas even on the north side of the [[Alps]].<!--Lake Geneva for example--><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4ZiKCgAAQBAJ |title=The Central European Magdalenian: Regional Diversity and Internal Variability |publisher=[[Springer Publishing]] |author=Maier, Andreas |year=2015 |page=187 |isbn=978-94-017-7206-8 |quote=The major geographic features characterizing the landscape are the Rhône-Saône valley, the Jura Mountains, the Molasse basin and the northwestern slopes of the Alps. |access-date=15 April 2022 |archive-date=1 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240101145419/https://books.google.com/books?id=4ZiKCgAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> The basins of the Ebro, Po, and Maritsa, are respectively south of the [[Pyrenees]], Alps, and [[Balkan Mountains]], which are the major ranges bordering Southern Europe.

Total annual precipitation is significantly higher on the European part of the Mediterranean basin, especially near the Alps (the 'water tower of Europe') and other high mountain ranges. As a consequence, the [[Discharge (hydrology)|river discharges]] of the Rhône and Po are similar to that of the Nile, despite the latter having a much larger basin.<ref name="UNEP" /> These are the only three rivers with an average discharge of over {{convert|1000|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}.<ref name="Margat 2004 p4"/> Among large natural fresh bodies of water are [[Lake Victoria]] (Nile basin), [[Lake Geneva]] (Rhône), and the [[Italian Lakes]] (Po). While the Mediterranean watershed is bordered by other river basins in Europe, it is essentially bordered by [[endorheic basin]]s or deserts elsewhere.<!--Depending on whether or not non-active parts of the drainage basin are included-->

The following countries are in the Mediterranean drainage basin while ''not'' having a coastline on the Mediterranean Sea:

* In Europe, through various rivers:<ref name="UNECE"/> [[Andorra]],{{NoteTag|Through the [[Ebro]]}} [[Bulgaria]],{{NoteTag|Through the [[Struma (river)|Struma]], [[Maritsa]] and [[Nestos (river)|Nestos]], see [[Geography of Bulgaria#Hydrography]]}} [[Kosovo]],{{Notetag|Through the [[Drin (river)|Drin]]}} [[North Macedonia]],{{NoteTag|Through the [[Drin (river)|Drin]] and [[Vardar]]}} [[San Marino]],{{NoteTag|Through the [[Marecchia]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/San-Marino-republic-Europe |title=San Marino |publisher=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |access-date=22 April 2022 |archive-date=3 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150503170939/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/521449/San-Marino |url-status=live }}</ref>}} [[Serbia]],{{NoteTag|Through the [[Struma (river)|Struma]]}} and [[Switzerland]].{{NoteTag|Through the [[Rhône]], [[Po (river)|Po]] and [[Adige]], see [[Hydrology of Switzerland]]}}
* In Africa, through the Nile:<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rti.org/impact/nile-river-basin-initiative |title=The Nile River Basin Initiative |date=23 May 2018 |publisher=[[RTI International]] |access-date=14 March 2022 |quote=The longest river in the world, the Nile spans 35 degrees of latitude, drains three million square kilometers of land (one-tenth of the total surface area of Africa), and runs through 11 countries whose combined population totals over 300 million people: Egypt, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda, Sudan, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Nile's primary water source, Lake Victoria, is the world's second-largest body of fresh water, and the Nile Delta in northern Egypt covers over 150 miles of the Mediterranean coastline. |archive-date=21 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220321232928/https://www.rti.org/impact/nile-river-basin-initiative |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Democratic Republic of the Congo|Congo]], [[Burundi]], [[Eritrea]], [[Ethiopia]], [[Kenya]], [[Rwanda]], [[South Sudan]], [[Sudan]], [[Tanzania]] and [[Uganda]].