Oceans

Pacific Ocean



The Pacific is the world's largest ocean. Its area is greater than all of the
world's dry land put together and covers one third of the earth's surface.
Located between the continents of North America, South America, Asia,
Antarctica and Australia the Pacific Ocean is the largest of the world's four oceans.
It is commonly divided at the Equator into the North Pacific and the South Pacific.
The southern portion is dotted with thousands of small volcanic islands and coral atolls (i.e. Fuji, Tahiti).
The western rim is lined with large lines of volcanic islands (i.e. Japan, the Philippines).
To the north lies the Aleutian Islands- another line of volcanoes- and the Bering Sea. The eastern coast is marked by the Americas. The tallest mountain in the world is found in the Pacific Ocean: Mauna Kea of the Hawaiian Islands. From the base of the volcano on the ocean floor it is 33,476 feet. That is 4,441 feet higher than Mount Everest. The deepest trench in the world is also housed in the waters of the Pacific. At 36,198 feet deep, the Mariana Trench would submerge Mount Everest with 1.4 miles of water above to spare.


Atlantic Ocean


Atlantic Ocean, the second largest of the earth's four oceans and the most heavily traveled. Only the Pacific Ocean is larger.
It covers about twice the area of the Atlantic Ocean. The Atlantic is divided into two nominal sections:
The part north of the equator is called the North Atlantic; the part south of the equator, the South Atlantic.
The ocean's name is derived from Atlas, one of the Titans of Greek mythology.
The Atlantic began to form during the Jurassic period, about 150 million years ago, when a rift opened up in the supercontinent of Gondwanaland, resulting in the separation of South America and Africa


Indian Ocean



The Indian Ocean is the third largest ocean. It is surrounded by southern Asia, the Arabian Peninsula, Africa, the Malay Peninsula, the Sunda Islands, Australia and Antartica. The 20� E meridian divides it from the Atlantic and the 147� E meridian divides it from the Pacific below Australia. The Continental Shelves of the Indian Ocean are narrow compared to those of the other oceans. The Indian Ocean has an area of 73,556,000 sq km. At its widest point, between Southern Africa and Australia, it is nearly 10,000 km wide.

The main importance of the Indian Ocean has been as a trade route between Africa and Asia. Petroleum, extracted mainly from the Persian Gulf area is also important. Relatively warm surface temperatures keep the growth of phytoplankton low, which limits ocean life. Fishing is only done at the subsistence level.

Artic Ocean



This, the smallest of the four oceans, lies almost entirely above the Arctic Circle (66.5� N).
Nearly surrounded by land, its only outlets are the Bering Strait between Alaska and Russia,
Davis Strait between Greenland and Canada, and Denmark Strait and the Norwegian Sea between Greenland and Europe.
The Arctic Ocean has an area of 14,090,000 sq km and an average depth of 3,658 m off of the continental shelf.
The central part of the ocean is permanently covered in about ten feet of ice. Pressure ridges in the ice can sometimes reach three times that height. In the summer months, the icepack is surrounded by water and free-floating. During the winter, the icepack expands to nearly twice its summer area, reaching the land on all sides. Due to the extreme temperatures people thought that non-oceanic life didn't exist in the Arctic. However, marine life abounds in the open seas, and hares, polar bears, seals, gulls, and guillemots have been found as far north as 88 The lowest point is Fram Basin which is 4,665 m deep. The Artic Ocean has the widest continental shelf of all the oceans.