Darla Jenson, age 13, of Peterson, N.J. for her question:

HOW LARGE IS THE NORTH SEA?

One of the most important waterways of the world is the North Sea, the ocean that is actually a part of the Atlantic. It forms a basin between the British Isles and Europe that extends 760 miles from north to south and has a maximum width of 340 miles.

The North Sea is connected to the Atlantic by a wide opening in the north and also by the narrow Strait of Dover and the English Channel to the south. To the east is the Baltic Sea.

Sours of the greatest rivers of Europe empty into the North Sea, Including the Thames and Humber in Great Britain and the Elbe, Rhine, Scheldt, and Weser on the Continent. This tremendous amount of fresh water makes the North Sea considerably less salty than the Atlantic Ocean.

By ocean standards, the North Sea is regarded as shallow. Its average depth is only 300 feet, although it is 2,400 feet at its greatest depth.

On or near the North Sea are such great ports as London, Hamburg, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Edinburgh and Antwerp.