It appeared 50 million years ago. The Mediterranean Sea was born from the collision between the Eurasian continent and the African continent. Its name comes from the Latin mediterraneus which means the center of the earth. It had other names before this one such as Mare Nostrum 'in Roman times. In the Middle Ages, we became aware of its central position, in the middle of the lands of the Western civilized world, hence its current name. Photo credit: Ben Thouard / The Explorers