Which is larger - the Pacific or the Atlantic Ocean? In what natural basin could all the continents on the planet fit? Covering about 178 million km 2 and containing more than half of all free water on the planet, the Pacific Ocean is the most voluminous.
Big and ancient
The Pacific Ocean is considered the oldest existing ocean basin. Its ancient rocks are approximately 200 million years old. The basin is also called the "Ring of Fire" due to the intense earthquakes and volcanic activity recorded near areas of tectonic plate movement. Answering the question about which is larger - the Pacific or the Atlantic Ocean, it is worth noting that both of them are leaders, although the waters of the Atlantic occupy an honorable but second place. Then come the Indian, Southern and finally the Arctic.
and great discoveries
In the old days, before air travel was possible, the only way other than land to travel abroad and see new countries and continents was by sea.
Legendary explorers such as Christopher Columbus and Sir Columbus sailed around the world by ship, taking part in epic adventures and discovering new countries, cultures and more. Previously, no one could have guessed which was larger - the Pacific or the Atlantic Ocean, because all travel was made almost blindly. With the advent of geographical maps, things became easier.
Pacific Ocean and its islands
The largest ocean literally stretches from the Arctic in the north to Antarctica in the south and borders almost all continents. Some of the most beautiful tropical islands are found in its basin - from Hawaii in the north to Tahiti in the south. The names of the most magical places just roll off the tongue: Bora Bora, Rarotonga and Maui.
In fact, there are about 10,000 islands in the Pacific Ocean. The largest of them is Melanesia, which includes New Guinea (the second largest island in the world), romantic Fiji and the Solomon Islands. To the north of the equator are Kiribati, Guam, and Polynesia occupies vast expanses. It includes Hawaii in the north, New Zealand in the south, Easter Islands in the east and Tonga in the west.
And yet: is the Pacific Ocean the largest or the Atlantic?
Atlantic Ocean and its islands
The mighty Atlantic Ocean borders Greenland, Europe, Africa, North and South America. The Canary Islands are located off the coast of Africa. The Atlantic also borders Iceland, Ireland and Robben to South Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket in the US and Eastern Caribbean Islands. Which is larger - the Pacific or the Atlantic Ocean?
The waters of the Atlantic cover about 20% of the total surface of the planet, covering 91.66 million km 2. From this it is clear that the Pacific Ocean is larger in area, almost twice as large.
The most deep
It is no longer a secret which ocean is larger - the Pacific or the Atlantic. The equator conventionally divides the Pacific Ocean into northern and southern parts. In addition, the largest natural pool is also the deepest. On average, the depth reaches 3.9 kilometers. The Atlantic Ocean is inferior in this regard by as much as 20%. Which ocean is the deepest? The answer is the same - Quiet.
The Mariana Trench in the northwest is the deepest point in the world. Its depth is more than 11 kilometers.
Is the water in the Pacific Ocean warm?
Water temperatures in the Pacific Ocean vary depending on location. In some areas near the equator it reaches 30 degrees Celsius, while near the poles this figure drops to 18-20 degrees.
What is the largest ocean after the Pacific Ocean?
When it comes to size, the Atlantic Ocean ranks 2nd as it covers one fifth of the Earth's total surface area. This is about 102 million km 2. This massive water giant covers approximately 20% of the entire earth's surface and about 25% of the volume of the World Ocean. It was named thanks to the myths of ancient Greek mythology, where the Atlantic was called the “Sea of Atlas.”
The third is the Atlantic Ocean in terms of its depth, which averages about 3.6 km. Lowest point - Puerto Rico Trench (8,742 km). In second place is the Indian Ocean with an average depth of 3.7 km. Its deepest point is located at and goes down 7.7 km. The Arctic Ocean is in fourth position. Its depth is on average 1 km, and the lowest point is located in the Greenland Sea - 5.5 km.
So, we have answered the question of which ocean is larger - the Pacific or the Atlantic, and also which one is deeper. An interesting fact is also connected with the name of the very ocean on the planet. It was named quiet by the famous navigator and explorer Ferdinand Magellan in 1520. During his journey, the huge body of water seemed calm and peaceful to him. However, it was simply a lucky coincidence of circumstances and weather conditions.
The seabed is strewn with thousands of underwater volcanoes
In reality, the Pacific Ocean is not that peaceful. Modern researchers have been able to confirm the existence of the world's largest volcano, which is similar in size to the British Isles. It is located in the Pacific Ocean, 1.5 thousand km east of Japan. The massive volcano is also quite unique due to its low and wide shape. Its flatness is due to the fact that its lava flowed over long distances compared to most other volcanoes on the planet.
Called Tamu, this massif covers about 193 thousand km 2, which is much larger than Hawaii's Mauna Loa - the largest active volcano on Earth, which covers about 3 square meters. km. The best analogue is the extinct volcano Olympus Mons on the planet Mars, which is approximately 25 percent larger in volume than the ocean on planet Earth.
There are 4 oceans on our planet Earth
What are the oceans on our planet called?
1 – Pacific Ocean (the largest and deepest);
2 – Atlantic Ocean (second in volume and depth after the Pacific Ocean);
3 – Indian Ocean (third in volume and depth after the Pacific and Atlantic);
4 – Arctic Ocean (fourth and smallest in volume and depth among all oceans)
What is the ocean like? – This is a huge body of water located among the continents, which is constantly in interaction with the earth’s crust and the earth’s atmosphere. The area of the world's oceans, together with the seas included in it, is about 360 million square kilometers of the Earth's surface (71% of the total area of our planet).
Over the years, the world's oceans have been divided into 4 parts, while others have divided it into 5 parts. For a long time, there were actually 4 oceans: Indian, Pacific, Atlantic and Arctic (except for the Southern Ocean). The Southern Ocean is not part of the oceans due to its very arbitrary boundaries. However, at the beginning of the 21st century, the International Hydrographic Organization adopted a division into 5 parts, including territorial waters called the “Southern Ocean” in the list, but at the moment this document still does not have official legal force, and it is believed that the Southern Ocean is only conditionally listed by its name as the fifth on Earth. The Southern Ocean is also called the southern sea, which does not have its own clear independent boundaries, and it is believed that its waters are mixed, that is, the water currents of the Indian, Pacific and Atlantic oceans entering it.
Brief information about each ocean on the planet
- Pacific Ocean- is the largest in area (179.7 million km 2) and the deepest. It occupies about 50 percent of the entire surface of the Earth, the volume of water is 724 million km 3, the maximum depth is 11,022 meters (the Mariana Trench is the deepest known on the planet).
- Atlantic Ocean- second in volume after Tikhoy. The name was given in honor of the famous titan Atlanta. The area is 91.6 million km 2, the volume of water is 29.5 million km 3, the maximum depth is 8742 meters (an oceanic trench, which is located on the border of the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean).
- Indian Ocean covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface. Its area is just over 76 million km2, its volume is 282.5 million km3, and its greatest depth is 7209 meters (the Sunda Trench extends for several thousand kilometers along the southern part of the Sunda island arc).
- Arctic Ocean considered the smallest among all. Thus, its area is “only” 14.75 million km 2, its volume is 18 million km 3, and its greatest depth is 5527 meters (located in the Greenland Sea).
Almost 95% of all water on Earth is salty and unfit for consumption. Seas, oceans and salt lakes are made of it. Collectively, all this is called the World Ocean. Its area is three quarters of the entire area of the planet.
The World Ocean - what is it?
The names of the oceans have been familiar to us since elementary school. These are the Pacific, otherwise called the Great, Atlantic, Indian and Arctic. All of them together are called the World Ocean. Its area is more than 350 million km2. This is a huge territory even on a planetary scale.
The continents divide the World Ocean into four oceans known to us. Each of them has its own characteristics, its own unique underwater world, varying depending on the climate zone, current temperature and bottom topography. A map of the oceans shows that they are all connected to each other. None of them are surrounded by land on all sides.
The science that studies the oceans is oceanology
How do we know that seas and oceans exist? Geography is a school subject that first introduces us to these concepts. But a special science—oceanology—is engaged in a more in-depth study of the oceans. She considers water expanses as an integral natural object, studies the biological processes occurring inside it, and its connection with other constituent elements of the biosphere.
This science studies the ocean depths to achieve the following goals:
- increasing the efficiency and ensuring the safety of underwater and surface navigation;
- optimization of the use of mineral resources of the ocean floor;
- maintaining the biological balance of the oceanic environment;
- improvement of meteorological forecasts.
How did the modern names of the oceans come about?
Every geographical feature is given a name for a reason. Any name has certain historical background or is associated with the characteristic features of a particular territory. Let's find out when and how the names of the oceans came about and who came up with them.
- Atlantic Ocean. The works of the ancient Greek historian and geographer Strabo described this ocean, calling it Western. Later, some scientists called it the Hesperides Sea. This is confirmed by a document dated 90 BC. Already in the ninth century AD, Arab geographers announced the name “Sea of Darkness”, or “Sea of Darkness”. It received such a strange name because of the clouds of sand and dust that were raised above it by the winds constantly blowing from the African continent. The modern name was first used in 1507, after Columbus reached the shores of America. Officially, this name was established in geography in 1650 in the scientific works of Bernhard Waren.
- The Pacific Ocean was named so by a Spanish navigator. Despite the fact that it is quite stormy and there are often storms and tornadoes, during Magellan’s expedition, which lasted a year, the weather was constantly good and calm, and this was a reason to think that the ocean was really quiet and calm. When the truth was revealed, no one began to rename the Pacific Ocean. In 1756, the researcher Bayush proposed calling it the Great, since it is the largest ocean of all. To this day, both of these names are used.
- The reason for giving the name was the many ice floes drifting in its waters, and, of course, the geographical location. Its second name - Arctic - comes from the Greek word “arktikos”, which means “northern”.
- With the name of the Indian Ocean, everything is extremely simple. India is one of the first countries known to the Ancient World. The waters that wash its shores were named after her.
Four Oceans
How many oceans are there on the planet? This question seems to be the simplest, but for many years it has been causing discussions and debates among oceanologists. The standard list of oceans looks like this:
2. Indian.
3. Atlantic.
4. Arctic.
But since ancient times, there has been another opinion, according to which there is a fifth ocean - the Antarctic, or Southern. Arguing this decision, oceanologists cite as evidence the fact that the waters washing the shores of Antarctica are very unique and the system of currents in this ocean differs from the rest of the water expanses. Not everyone agrees with this decision, so the problem of dividing the World Ocean remains relevant.
The characteristics of the oceans vary depending on many factors, although they may all appear to be the same. Let's get to know each of them and find out the most important information about all of them.
Pacific Ocean
It is also called Great because it has the largest area among all. The Pacific Ocean basin occupies slightly less than half the area of all the world's waters and is equal to 179.7 million km².
It includes 30 seas: Japan, Tasman, Java, South China, Okhotsk, Philippines, New Guinea, Savu Sea, Halmahera Sea, Koro Sea, Mindanao Sea, Yellow Sea, Visayan Sea, Aki Sea, Solomonovo, Bali Sea, Samair Sea, Coral, Banda, Sulu, Sulawesi, Fiji, Maluku, Comotes, Seram Sea, Flores Sea, Sibuyan Sea, East China Sea, Bering Sea, Amudesen Sea. All of them occupy 18% of the total area of the Pacific Ocean.
It is also a leader in the number of islands. There are about 10 thousand of them. The largest islands in the Pacific Ocean are New Guinea and Kalimantan.
The subsoil of the seabed contains more than a third of the world's reserves of natural gas and oil, active production of which occurs mainly in the shelf areas of China, the United States of America and Australia.
Many transport routes pass through the Pacific Ocean, connecting Asian countries with South and North America.
Atlantic Ocean
It is the second largest in the world, and this is clearly demonstrated by the map of the oceans. Its area is 93,360 thousand km 2. The Atlantic Ocean basin contains 13 seas. They all have a coastline.
An interesting fact is that in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean there is the fourteenth sea - Sargasovo, called the sea without shores. Its boundaries are ocean currents. It is considered the largest sea in the world by area.
Another feature of this ocean is the maximum influx of fresh water, which is provided by the large rivers of North and South America, Africa and Europe.
In terms of the number of islands, this ocean is the complete opposite of the Pacific. There are very few of them here. But it is in the Atlantic Ocean that the largest island on the planet, Greenland, and the most remote island, Bouvet, are located. Although sometimes Greenland is classified as an island of the Arctic Ocean.
Indian Ocean
Interesting facts about the third largest ocean by area will make us even more surprised. The Indian Ocean was the first known and explored. He is the guardian of the largest coral reef complex.
The waters of this ocean hold a secret that has not yet been properly explored. The fact is that luminous circles of regular shape periodically appear on the surface. According to one version, this is the glow of plankton rising from the depths, but their ideal spherical shape still remains a mystery.
Not far from the island of Madagascar you can observe a one-of-a-kind natural phenomenon - an underwater waterfall.
Now some facts about the Indian Ocean. Its area is 79,917 thousand km 2. The average depth is 3711 m. It washes 4 continents and includes 7 seas. Vasco da Gama is the first explorer to sail across the Indian Ocean.
Interesting facts and characteristics of the Arctic Ocean
It is the smallest and coldest of all the oceans. Area - 13,100 thousand km 2. It is also the shallowest, the average depth of the Arctic Ocean is only 1225 m. It consists of 10 seas. In terms of the number of islands, this ocean ranks second after the Pacific.
The central part of the ocean is covered with ice. Floating ice floes and icebergs are observed in the southern regions. Sometimes you can find intact ice sheets 30-35 m thick. It was here that the infamous Titanic crashed after colliding with one of them.
Despite the harsh climate, the Arctic Ocean is home to many species of animals: walruses, seals, whales, seagulls, jellyfish and plankton.
Depth of the oceans
We already know the names of the oceans and their features. But which ocean is the deepest? Let's look into this issue.
A contour map of the oceans and ocean floor shows that the bottom topography is as diverse as the topography of the continents. Under the thickness of sea water there are hidden depressions, depressions and elevations like mountains.
The average depth of all four oceans combined is 3700 m. The deepest is the Pacific Ocean, the average depth of which is 3980 m, followed by the Atlantic - 3600 m, followed by the Indian - 3710 m. The latest in this list, as already mentioned, is is the Arctic Ocean, the average depth of which is only 1225 m.
Salt is the main feature of ocean waters
Everyone knows the difference between sea and ocean water and fresh river water. Now we will be interested in such a characteristic of the oceans as the amount of salt. If you think that the water is equally salty everywhere, you are very mistaken. The concentration of salt in ocean waters can vary significantly even within a few kilometers.
The average salinity of ocean waters is 35 ‰. If we consider this indicator separately for each ocean, then the Arctic is the least saline of all: 32 ‰. Pacific Ocean - 34.5 ‰. The salt content in the water here is low due to the large amount of precipitation, especially in the equatorial zone. Indian Ocean - 34.8 ‰. Atlantic - 35.4 ‰. It is important to note that bottom waters have a lower salt concentration than surface waters.
The saltiest seas in the World Ocean are the Red Sea (41 ‰), the Mediterranean Sea and the Persian Gulf (up to 39 ‰).
World Ocean Records
- The deepest place in the World Ocean is its depth of 11,035 m from the surface water level.
- If we consider the depth of the seas, the Philippine Sea is considered the deepest. Its depth reaches 10,540 m. The second place in this indicator is the Coral Sea with a maximum depth of 9,140 m.
- The largest ocean is the Pacific. Its area is larger than the area of the entire earth's land.
- The saltiest sea is the Red Sea. It is located in the Indian Ocean. Salt water supports all objects that fall into it well, and in order to drown in this sea, you need to try very hard.
- The most mysterious place is located in the Atlantic Ocean, and its name is the Bermuda Triangle. There are many legends and mysteries associated with it.
- The most poisonous sea creature is the blue-ringed octopus. It lives in the Indian Ocean.
- The largest collection of corals in the world, the Great Barrier Reef, is located in the Pacific Ocean.
I have never swam in the open ocean. I would like to visit paradise tropical islands and splash in the warm water of the ocean. But even a schoolchild knows that there are 4 oceans on Earth. They all differ in area. The largest in area is the Pacific Ocean, and the smallest is the Arctic Ocean.
The Pacific Ocean is the largest in area
Do you know that the Pacific Ocean is not so “quiet”? In fact, in this ocean it is very common hurricanes and earthquakes occur. This is what Magellan named the ocean. His expedition sailed from Tierra del Fuego to the Philippine Islands for almost 3 months and never saw even a hint of a storm. Next I want to characterize according to plan Pacific Ocean:
- ocean name and area:
- geographical position;
- islands and archipelagos;
- location in climatic zones;
- use on the farm.
Everyone knows that The Pacific Ocean is the largest in area (178.684 million km²). The only continent that it does not wash is Africa. The shores of all the other six continents are washed by the Pacific Ocean. This ocean contains the most deep trench on our planet - Mariana -11022m. It is interesting that the date line passes through its waters.
The Pacific Ocean is in seismic area, therefore, it contains many islands and archipelagos (Japanese, New Zealand, Polynesia, Micronesia, Melanesia). Look at the map and you will see that there are about a thousand such groups of islands in the ocean.
The ocean is located in all climatic zones except the Arctic. This is because it seems to be “elongated” from north to south . The ocean is important transport artery, in itThere is industrial fishing and it is a paradise for tourists.
Characteristics of the Arctic Ocean
This northern ocean is the smallest in area (14.75 million sq. km), the smallest in depth (average depth 1225 m) and the freshest among all the oceans (a lot of ice, which is fresh). It’s not for nothing that it consists of two words: “northern” and “arctic”. This is so because it is at the extreme north in Antarctic and subantarctic latitudes, where it is always very cold. Washing Eurasia and North America.
The Arctic Ocean contains many islands (Baffin Island, Spitsbergen, New Siberian Islands) and the large Canadian Arctic archipelago.
The ocean is used for industrial fishing; oil and gas are extracted from its shelf; it is a very important transport artery.