The average depth is 3988 m. The deepest point of the ocean (it is also the deepest point in the world) is located in the Mariana Trench and is called the Challenger Deep (11,022 m).
. Average temperature: 19-37°C. The widest part of the Pacific Ocean is located at equatorial-tropical latitudes, so surface water temperatures are significantly higher than in other oceans.
. Dimensions: area - 179.7 million sq. km, volume - 710.36 million sq. km.

To imagine how big the Pacific Ocean is, there are enough numbers: it occupies a third of our planet and makes up almost half of the World Ocean.

Salinity - 35-36 ‰.

Pacific Currents

Alaskan- washes the western coast of North America and reaches the Bering Sea. It spreads to great depths, right down to the bottom. Current speed: 0.2-0.5 m/s. Water temperature: 7-15°C.

East Australian- the largest off the Australian coast. It starts at the equator (Coral Sea) and runs along the east coast of Australia. Average speed is 2-3 knots (up to 7). Temperature - 25°C.

Kuroshio(or Japanese) - washes the southern and eastern shores of Japan, carrying the warm waters of the South China Sea to the northern latitudes. It has three branches: East Korean, Tsushima and Soya. Speed: 6 km/h, temperature 18-28°C.

North Pacific- continuation of the Kuroshio current. It crosses the ocean from west to east, and near the coast of North America it branches into the Alaskan (goes to the north) and California (to the south). Near the coast of Mexico, it turns and crosses the ocean in the opposite direction (North Trade Wind Current) - all the way to Kuroshio.

South Passatnoye- flows in the southern tropical latitudes, stretches from east to west: from the coast of South America (Galapagos Islands) to the coast of Australia and New Guinea. Temperature - 32°C. Gives rise to the Australian Current.

Equatorial countercurrent (or inter-trade current)- stretches from west to east between the North Passat and South Passat currents.

Cromwell's current- a subsurface countercurrent that passes under the South Passat. Speed ​​70-150 cm/sec.

Cold:

Californian- the western branch of the North Pacific Current, flows along the western coasts of the United States and Mexico. Speed ​​- 1-2 km/h, temperature 15-26°C.

Antarctic Circumpolar (or Western Winds Current)— circles the entire globe between 40° and 50° S. Speed ​​0.4-0.9 km/h, temperature 12-15 °C. This current is often called the "Roaring Forties", as powerful storms rage here. The Peruvian Current branches off from it in the Pacific Ocean.

Peruvian Current (or Humboldt Current)- flows from south to north from the coast of Antarctica along the western coast of Chile and Peru. Speed ​​0.9 km/h, temperature 15-20 °C.

Underwater world of the Pacific Ocean

The flora and fauna of the underwater world in the Pacific Ocean is the richest and most diverse. Almost 50% of all living organisms in the World Ocean live here. The most densely populated area is considered to be the area near the Great Balier Reef.

All ocean wildlife is located according to climatic zones - in the north and south it is scarcer than in the tropics, but the total number of each species of animal or plant is greater here.

The Pacific Ocean produces more than half of the world's seafood catch. Of the commercial species, the most popular are salmon (95% of the world catch), mackerel, anchovies, sardines, horse mackerel, and halibut. There is limited whale fishing: baleen whales and sperm whales.

The richness of the underwater world is eloquently demonstrated by the following figures:

• more than 850 species of algae;
• more than 100 thousand species of animals (of which over 3800 species of fish);
• about 200 species of animals living at a depth of more than 7 thousand km;
• more than 6 thousand species of mollusks.

The Pacific Ocean is home to the largest number of endemics (animals that are found only here): dugongs, fur seals, sea otters, sea lions, sea cucumbers, polychaetes, leopard sharks.

The nature of the Pacific Ocean has only been studied about 10 percent. Every year scientists discover more and more new species of animals and plants. For example, in 2005 alone, more than 2,500 new species of mollusks and more than 100 species of crustaceans were discovered.

Pacific exploration

According to scientific research, the Pacific Ocean is the oldest on the planet. Its formation began in the Cretaceous period of the Mesozoic, that is, more than 140 million years ago. The exploration of the ocean began long before the advent of writing. People who lived on the shores of the greatest water area have been using the gifts of the ocean for thousands of years ago. Thus, Thor Heyerdahl's expedition on the Kon-Tiki balsa raft confirmed the scientist's theory that the islands of Polynesia could have been populated by people from South America who were able to cross the Pacific Ocean on the same rafts.

For Europeans, the history of ocean exploration is officially dated from September 15, 1513. On this day, traveler Vasco Nunez de Balboa first saw the expanse of water stretching to the horizon, and dubbed it the South Sea.

According to legend, the ocean received its name from F. Magellan himself. During his trip around the world, the great Portuguese for the first time circled South America and ended up in the ocean. Having sailed along it for more than 17 thousand kilometers and without experiencing a single storm during all this time, Magellan christened the ocean the Pacific. It was only later research that proved him wrong. The Pacific Ocean is actually one of the most turbulent oceans. It is here that the largest tsunamis occur, and typhoons, hurricanes and storms occur here more often than in other oceans.

From then on, active exploration of the largest ocean on the planet began. We list only the most significant discoveries:

1589 - A. Ortelius publishes the world's first detailed map of the ocean.

1642-1644 - the ocean conquers A. Tasman and opens a new continent - Australia.

1769-1779 - three voyages around the world by D. Cook and exploration of the southern part of the ocean.

1785 - voyage of J. La Perouse, exploration of the southern and northern parts of the ocean. The mysterious disappearance of the expedition in 1788 still haunts the minds of researchers.

1787-1794 - the journey of A. Malaspina, who compiled a detailed map of the west coast of America.

1725-1741 - two Kamchatka expeditions led by V.I. Bering and A. Chirikov, study of the northern and northwestern parts of the ocean.

1819-1821 - trip around the world by F. Bellingshausen and M. Lazarev, discovery of Antarctica and islands in the southern part of the ocean.

1872-1876 - the world's first scientific expedition to study the Pacific Ocean was organized on the corvette Challenger (England). Maps of depths and bottom relief were compiled, and a collection of ocean flora and fauna was collected.

1949-1979 - 65 scientific voyages of the ship "Vityaz" under the flag of the USSR Academy of Sciences (measuring the depth of the Mariana Trench and detailed maps of the underwater relief).

1960 - first dive to the bottom of the Mariana Trench.

1973 - creation of the Pacific Oceanological Institute (Vladivostok)

Since the 90s of the twentieth century, a comprehensive study of the Pacific Ocean has begun, which combines and systematizes all the data obtained. Currently, the priority areas are geophysics, geochemistry, geology and commercial use of the ocean floor.

Since the discovery of the Challenger Deep in 1875, only three people have descended to the very bottom of the Mariana Trench. The last dive took place on March 12, 2012. And the brave diver was none other than the famous film director James Cameron.

Many representatives of the fauna of the Pacific Ocean are characterized by gigantism: giant mussels and oysters, the tridacna clam (300 kg).

There are over 25 thousand islands in the Pacific Ocean, more than in all other oceans combined. Here is also the oldest island on the planet - Kauai, whose age is estimated at 6 million years.

More than 80% of tsunamis are “born” in the Pacific Ocean. The reason for this is the large number of underwater volcanoes.

The Pacific Ocean is full of secrets. There are many mystical places here: the Devil's Sea (near Japan), where ships and planes disappear; the bloodthirsty island of Palmyra, where everyone who remains there perishes; Easter Island with its mysterious idols; Truk Lagoon, where the largest military equipment cemetery is located. And in 2011, a sign island was discovered near Australia - Sandy Island. It appears and disappears, as evidenced by numerous expeditions and Google satellite photos.

The so-called Garbage Continent was discovered in the north of the ocean. This is a large garbage heap containing over 100 million tons of plastic waste.

Hello friends! Today I have prepared a new article for you. Now we will look at the characteristics of the Pacific Ocean.

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of all oceans (about what an ocean is). It washes the following continents (more about the continents): in the east - North America (more about North America) and South America, in the west - Australia and Eurasia (more about Eurasia), and in the south the coast of Antarctica (more about Antarctica).

The volume of the Pacific Ocean is 710 million km 3, the area including the seas (about what a sea is) is 178.6 million km 2. It is not only the largest, but also the deepest ocean, its maximum depth is 11022 m (Mariana Trench), average depth is 3980 m.

In the Pacific Ocean, the seas are mainly located on the western and northern outskirts: Okhotsk, South China, East China, Bering, Yellow, Philippine, Japanese, Inner Japanese. The Tasman and Coral seas are classified as interisland or Australasian Mediterranean. Seas off the coast of Antarctica: Ross, Bellingshausen and Amundsen.

The ocean is also rich in islands: in its northern part there are the Aleutian Islands, in the western part - the island of Sakhalin, the island of New Guinea, the Kuril Islands, the Philippine Islands, the Japanese Islands, the island of New Zealand, the Greater and Lesser Sunda Islands, the island of Tasmania and others. In the central part of the Pacific Ocean there are numerous islands, which are united under the name Oceania.

In the eastern part of the ocean, the bottom topography is relatively flat; in the central and western parts there are many underwater hills and basins (the depth of which is more than 5000 m) separated by underwater ridges, on which the depths decrease to 2000-3000 m (South Pacific Ridge, East Pacific ridge, etc.).

Deep-sea trenches (depth 8000-10000 m), active volcanism and seismic activity are characteristic of peripheral areas.

The water surface temperature in the polar regions is up to -0.5 °C, and near the equator - from 26 to 29 °C.

The fish fauna is about 800 species in the Far Eastern seas and at least 2,000 species of fish and 6,000 species of mollusks in tropical latitudes. There are many coral reefs in the ocean.

The flora consists of flowering plants (29 species), about 4,000 species of algae live on the ocean floor, as well as about 1,300 species of unicellular algae (peridinea, diatoms).

More than 1/2 of the world's seafood and fish production comes from the Pacific Ocean. The most important are: herring, pollock, cod, Pacific salmon, sea bass, saury, mackerel, greenling, etc. Oysters, shrimp and crabs are also harvested.

The Pacific Ocean also provides vital air and sea routes that connect four continents.

Main ports: Los Angeles (USA, more about the country), San Francisco (USA), Valparaiso (Chile), Vancouver (Canada), Vladivostok (Russia, more about the country), Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky (Russia), Nakhodka (Russia), Shanghai (China), Hong Kong (China), Tianjin (China), Guangzhouts (China), Busan (South Korea), Sydney (Australia), Yokohama (Japan), Tokyo (Japan), Singapore (Singapore).

That's all for today, I think you liked my description of the Pacific Ocean😉Until next time, visit the blog, read new articles, subscribe to updates, like and comment🙂Bye bye!

The Pacific Ocean is the largest in area, the deepest and the most ancient of all oceans. Its area is 178.68 million km2 (1/3 of the surface of the globe); its expanses would accommodate all the continents combined. traveled around the world and was the first to explore the Pacific Ocean. His ships were never caught in a storm. The ocean was resting from its usual riots. That is why F. Magellan mistakenly called him Quiet.

Geographical location of the Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is located in the Northern, Southern, Western and Eastern Hemispheres and has an elongated shape from northwest to southeast. (Determine by physical data which continents are washed by the Pacific Ocean and in which part it is especially wide.) In the northern and western parts of the Pacific Ocean, marginal seas (more than 15) and bays are distinguished. Among them, the Bering, Okhotsk, Japanese, and Yellow seas are confined to. In the east, the American coastline is flat. (Show on a physical map of the Pacific Ocean.)

Relief of the Pacific Ocean floor complex, average depth about 4000 m. The Pacific Ocean is the only one that is almost entirely located within the boundaries of one - the Pacific. When it interacted with other plates, seismic zones were formed. They are associated with frequent volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and, as a consequence, the occurrence of tsunamis. (Give examples of what disasters a tsunami can cause for residents of coastal countries.) Off the coast of Eurasia, the maximum depth of the Pacific and the entire World Ocean is noted - (10,994 m).

The western part of the Pacific Ocean is characterized by deep-sea trenches (Aleutian, Kuril-Kamchatka, Japanese, etc.). 25 of the 35 world oceans with a depth of more than 5000 m are located.

Pacific climate

The Pacific Ocean is the warmest ocean on Earth. At low latitudes it reaches a width of 17,200 km, and with seas - 20,000 km. The average temperature of surface waters is about +19 °C. The water temperature of the Pacific Ocean throughout the year ranges from +25 to +30 °C, in the north from +5 to +8 °C, and nearby it drops below 0 C. (Where is the ocean located?)

Dimensions of the Pacific Ocean and the maximum temperatures of its surface waters create conditions for the formation of tropical or hurricanes. They are accompanied by destructive force and downpours. At the beginning of the 21st century, an increase in the frequency of hurricanes was noted.

The formation of climate is greatly influenced by prevailing winds. These are trade winds in tropical latitudes, westerly winds in, and monsoons off the coast of Eurasia. The maximum amount of precipitation per year (up to 12,090 mm) falls on the Hawaiian Islands, and the minimum (about 100 mm) falls in the eastern regions in tropical latitudes. The distribution of temperatures and precipitation is subject to latitudinal geography. The average salinity of ocean water is 34.6 ‰. Currents. The formation of ocean currents is influenced by the wind system, features, position and outlines of the coast. The most powerful current in the World Ocean is the cold current of the Western Winds. This is the only current that circles the entire globe, carrying 200 times more water per year than all the rivers in the world. The winds that generate this current, the westerly transport, are of extraordinary strength, especially in the area of ​​the southern 40th parallel. These latitudes are called the “roaring forties.”

In the Pacific Ocean there is a powerful system of currents generated by the trade winds of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres: the Northern Trade Wind and Southern Trade Wind Currents. It plays an important role in the movement of Pacific Ocean waters. (Study the direction of currents on the map.)

Periodically (every 4-7 years) a current (“Holy Child”) arises in the Pacific Ocean, one of the factors of global flow. The reason for its occurrence is a decrease in the south Pacific Ocean and an increase over Australia and. During this period, warm waters rush east to the coast of South America, where the temperature of ocean water becomes abnormally high. This causes intense rainfall, major floods and landslides on the mainland coast. In Indonesia and Australia, on the contrary, dry weather sets in.

Natural resources and environmental issues in the Pacific

The Pacific Ocean is rich in variety. In the process of geological development, oil and oil deposits were formed in the ocean shelf zone. (Study the location of these natural resources on the map.) At a depth of more than 3000 m, ferromanganese nodules with a high content of manganese, copper, and cobalt were found. It is in the Pacific Ocean that nodule deposits occupy the most significant areas - more than 16 million km2. Placers of tin ores and phosphorites were discovered in the ocean.

Nodules are round-shaped formations up to 10 cm in size. Nodules represent a huge reserve of mineral raw materials for the development of the metallurgical industry in the future. More than half of the living matter of the entire World Ocean is concentrated in the waters of the Pacific Ocean. The organic world is distinguished by species diversity. The fauna is 3-4 times richer than in other oceans. Representatives of whales are widespread: sperm whales, baleen whales. Seals and fur seals are found in the south and north of the ocean. Walruses live in northern waters, but are on the verge of extinction. Thousands of exotic fish and algae are common in the shallow waters off the coasts.

The Pacific Ocean accounts for almost half of the world's catch of salmon, chum salmon, pink salmon, tuna, and Pacific herring. In the northwestern and northeastern parts of the ocean, large quantities of cod, halibut, navaga, and macrorus are caught (Fig. 42). Sharks and rays are found everywhere in warm latitudes. In the southwestern part of the ocean, tuna and swordfish spawn, sardines and blue whiting live. A feature of the Pacific Ocean are giant animals: the largest bivalve mollusk tridacna (shell up to 2 m, weight over 200 kg), Kamchatka crab (up to 1.8 m in length), giant sharks (giant shark - up to 15 m, whale shark - up to 18 m in length), etc.

The Pacific Ocean plays an important role in the lives of the peoples of many countries. About half live on its coast. The Pacific Ocean ranks second in transportation in the world. The largest ports in the world are located on the Pacific coast in Russia and China. As a result of economic activities, an oil film has formed on a significant part of its surface, which leads to the death of animals and plants. Oil pollution is most common along the Asian coast, where the main oil production takes place and transport routes pass through.

The nature of the Pacific Ocean is determined by its size and geographical location. People use the ocean and its biological resources in their lives. The Pacific Ocean ranks first in marine fisheries.

The Pacific Ocean is the largest ocean on Earth. It has the largest area - 178.68 million km². Here is the Mariana Trench - the deepest oceanic trench on Earth, its depth is 11,022 m. And also, the Pacific Ocean is the most ancient among all the earth's oceans. It became known to Europeans relatively late. It was discovered by the Spanish conquistador Vasco Nunez de Balboa in 1513. However, he and his squad, having passed through the American jungle, had no idea that the expanse of water that opened to them was the greatest ocean on Earth. Balboa named it Mar del Sur or South Sea. The real discovery of the Pacific Ocean was the circumnavigation of Ferdinand Magellan. In 1520, his ships circumnavigated South America, and during the entire three months of the voyage, the ocean discovered by Magellan remained extremely calm. Obviously, for this reason Magellan called him Quiet. In fact, this is the most formidable ocean on the planet - severe storms and hurricanes occur here, many earthquakes occur, and volcanoes erupt.

The Pacific Ocean has a complex bottom topography. At the base of the ocean is the Pacific Plate, as well as the adjacent Nazca, Cocos, Juan de Fuca, Philippine plates, in the south - the Antarctic Plate, and in the north - the North American Plate. Such a large number of plates leads to strong tectonic activity on the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. At the boundaries of the Pacific Plate there is the so-called “Ring of Fire” of the planet with constant earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. As a result of the movement of plates in the ocean, thousands of continental and volcanic islands were formed, uniting into an entire independent part of the world - Oceania. There are no other oceans on Earth with such a number of islands and archipelagos. At the very bottom of the Pacific Ocean there are about 10 thousand individual seamounts, mostly of volcanic origin, there is a complex system of mid-ocean ridges and deep-sea trenches, as well as a number of large basins: Chilean, Peruvian, Northwestern, Southern, Eastern, Central.

The ocean climate is extremely diverse, since the Pacific Ocean stretches from the coast of Antarctica to the shores of Alaska and Chukotka, and all the Earth’s climate zones pass through it. The greatest amount of precipitation - more than 2000 mm - falls in the equatorial belt; trade winds constantly blow from the tropics to the equator, and westerly winds blow to moderate latitudes. A colder and more severe climate is observed in the southern part of the ocean, which is covered with ice every winter off the coast of Antarctica. The Pacific Ocean is separated from the Arctic Ocean by land and the Bering Strait, and therefore in the north the climate is milder. The climate of the western shores of the ocean is predominantly monsoonal. Strong hurricanes form in the Pacific Ocean, which are commonly called Typhoons (pictured). They form in the North-West Pacific Ocean and fall on the coast of Eurasia: Indonesia, Philippines, China, Japan. Precipitation in the ocean generally prevails over evaporation, so the salinity of the water is somewhat lower than in other oceans.

The organic world of the Pacific Ocean is very rich. It is home to half of the total mass of living organisms in the World Ocean. This is due to its huge area and diversity of natural conditions. Life reaches its greatest diversity here in subequatorial and tropical latitudes on the shelf - in coral reefs. The subpolar waters off the coast of Russia are rich in commercial fish: pollock, herring, and flounder. Salmon and Kamchatka crab are caught in the Sea of ​​Okhotsk. Off the coast of Australia there is a unique natural complex - the Great Barrier Reef. It is comparable in size to the Ural Mountains and is entirely formed by living organisms - corals.

There are about 50 countries on the Pacific coast, home to almost half of the world's population. That is why the ocean is of great commercial importance; half of the world's fish catch comes from its territory. Mining is also being developed on the shelf, and the most important transport routes pass here.

Great Barrier Reef