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The North Sea is a marginal, epeiric sea of the Atlantic Ocean on the European continental shelf. It is more than 970&_160;kilometres (600&_160;mi) long and 560&_160;kilometres (350&_160;mi) wide, with an area of around 570,000&_160;square kilometres (220,000&_160;sq&_160;mi). A large part of the European drainage basin empties into the North Sea including water from the Baltic Sea. The North Sea connects with the rest of the Atlantic through the Dover Strait and the English Channel in the south and through the Norwegian Sea in the north. Much of the sea's coastal features are the result of glacial movements. Deep fjords and sheer cliffs mark the Norwegian and parts of the Scottish coastline, whereas the southern coasts consist of sandy beaches and mudflats. These flatter areas are particularly susceptible to flooding, especially as a result of storm tides. Elaborate systems of dikes have been constructed to protect coastal areas. The development of European civilization has been heavily affected by the maritime traffic on the North Sea. The Romans and the Vikings sought to extend their territory across the sea. The Hanseatic League, the Netherlands, and finally the British sought to dominate commerce on the North Sea and through it to access the markets and resources of the world. Commercial enterprises, growing populations, and limited resources gave the nations on the North Sea the desire to control or access it for their own commercial, military, and colonial ends. In recent decades, its importance has turned away from the military and geopolitical to the purely economic. Traditional economic activities, such as fishing and shipping, have continued to grow and other resources, such as fossil fuels and wind energy, have been discovered and developed.
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