The Pacific Ocean is considered the largest and deepest body of water in the world. Its area is estimated at 179 million square meters. km. This is 30 square kilometers more than the entire earth's landmass. The maximum width of the basin is about 17.2 thousand km, and the length is 15.5 thousand km. The ocean area extends from the shores of the American continent to Australia itself. The basin includes dozens of large seas and bays.
How the Pacific Ocean was formed
The water area of the current basin began to emerge back in the first stage was the breakup of the continent of Pangea into Laurasia and Gondwana. As a result of this, the Panthalassa reservoir began to shrink. The seas and bays of the Pacific Ocean began to form between the Laurasia and Gondwana rift. During the Jurassic period, several tectonic plates. At the end of the Cretaceous era, the Arctic continent began to split apart. At the same time, the Australian plate took a course towards the equator, and the Pacific plate - towards the west. Active in the Miocene tectonic movement the layers stopped.
Today, plate displacement is at a minimum level, but it continues. The movement is carried out along the axis of the mid-rift underwater zones. Because of this, the seas and bays of the Pacific Ocean are shrinking or expanding. The displacement of the largest plates occurs at a speed of up to 10 cm/year. This mainly concerns the Australian and Eurasian plates. Smaller plates can achieve displacement rates of up to 12-14 cm/year. The slowest - up to 3 cm per year. Thanks to this continuous movement, the largest bays of the Pacific Ocean were formed. Behind last years the water area of the pool changed by several meters.
Location of the Pacific Ocean
The water area of the reservoir is usually divided into two parts: southern and northern. The border of the regions is the equator. The largest bays of the Pacific Ocean are located in the northern part, as are the largest seas and straits. However, many experts consider this division into areas to be inaccurate, since it does not take into account the direction of the flow. Therefore, there is an alternative classification of water areas into southern, central and northern.
The largest seas, the Pacific Ocean, are located in close proximity to the American continent. This primarily applies to countries such as the USA, Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador, Ecuador, Nicaragua, etc. southern region In the water area there are many small seas between the islands: Tasmanovo, Arafura, Coral, Flores, Yavanskoe and others. They are adjacent to such bays and straits of the Pacific Ocean as Carpentaria, Siam, Bakbo, Makassar.
Special place northern region The basin is occupied by the Sulu Sea. It is located within the Philippine archipelago. It includes about a dozen small bays and bays. Next to Asia, the most significant seas are the Seas of Japan, Yellow, China, and Okhotsk.
Gulf of Alaska
The boundary of the pool is coastline from the Alexander Archipelago to the Alaska Peninsula. This is the largest bay in the Pacific Ocean. Its depth in some places exceeds 5.5 thousand meters.
The main ports are Prince Rupert and Seward. Coastal boundary The water area is uneven and indented. It is represented not only by azure sands, but also by forests, waterfalls and even glaciers, like Hubbard. The bay includes many estuaries and bays.
Today, the Alaskan waters are considered the main source of large storms moving towards the entire American coast, including Oregon and Washington. In addition, the bay is enriched with natural hydrocarbons. Seasonal rains in the water area do not stop even for a week. Some islands in the basin are classified as national reserves.
Panamanian
Located off the coast Central America. It borders Panama along an isthmus 140 km away. Its minimum width is about 185 km, and its maximum reaches 250. The deepest point of the basin is a depression of 100 m. This bay of the Pacific Ocean in total area reaches 2400 sq. km.
The largest bays are Parita and San Miguel. The straits here are semi-diurnal, and their average height is 6.4 meters. In the east of the water area are the famous Pearl Islands.
The Panama Canal originates in the northern part of the bay. At the entrance to it is based largest port Balboa Basin. The canal itself connects the Gulf of Panama and the Atlantic Ocean. The Tuira River also flows into the water area.
Largest bays: California
This basin is also known as the Sea of Cortez. This bay of the Pacific Ocean separates the Mexican coast from the Sea of Cortez, one of the oldest water areas. Its age is 5.3 million years. Thanks to the bay, the Colorado River had direct access to the ocean.
The pool area is 177 thousand square meters. km. The deepest point reaches 3400 meters, and the average mark is 820 m. The ford near the bay is uneven. Today, the Californian waters are considered the deepest in the Pacific Ocean. The maximum point is in the estuary near the city of Yuma.
The largest islands in the bay are Tiburon and Angel de la Guarda. Small ports include Isla Partida and Espiritu Santo.
Gulf of Fonseca
It washes the coasts of Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua. This is the easternmost bay of the Pacific Ocean. It was discovered back in the early 16th century by the Spaniards and named after an archbishop named Juan Fonseca.
The water area is about 3.2 thousand square meters. km. The width of the basin is up to 35 km, and the length is up to 74 km. It is worth noting that this is the shallowest bay in the Pacific Ocean (peak - 27 meters). Semi-diurnal straits flow into Fonseca, the height of which varies from 2 to 4.5 m. The length of the coastline is 261 km. Most of it is located in Honduras (70%). The remaining percentage is shared by Nicaragua and El Salvador.
The basins are El Tigre, Meanguera, Zacate Grande and Conchaguita. The waters of Fonseca are located in a seismically active zone, so earthquakes and minor tsunamis regularly occur within its boundaries. At the beginning of the bay there are two active volcanoes, Cosiguina and Conchagua.
It is interesting that Honduras and El Salvador have been fighting for sole dominance in Fonseca for a long time. A compromise was reached only in 1992.
Many seas wash the shores of one or more countries. Some of these seas are huge, while others are very small... Only inland seas are not part of the ocean.
After the Earth formed from a clump of gas and dust 4.5 billion years ago, the temperature on the planet dropped and the vapor contained in the atmosphere condensed (turned into liquid when cooled), settling on the surface in the form of rain. From this water the world ocean was formed, which was subsequently divided by continents into four oceans. These oceans include numerous coastal seas, often connected to each other.
Largest seas of the Pacific Ocean
Philippine Sea
Area: 5.7 million km2, located between Taiwan in the north, the Mariana Islands in the east, the Caroline Islands in the southeast and the Philippines in the west.
coral sea
Area: 4 million km2, limited to the west by Australia, Papua New Guinea to the north, Vanuatu to the east and New Caledonia
South China Sea
Area: 3.5 million km2, located between the Philippines in the east, Malaysia in the south, Vietnam in the west and China in the north
Tasman Sea
Area: 3.3 million km 2, washes Australia in the west and New Zealand in the east and separates the Pacific and Indian oceans.
Bering Sea
Area: 2.3 million km 2, located between Chukotka (Russia) in the west and Alaska (USA) in the east.
Japanese Sea
Area: 970,000 km 2, located between the Russian Far East in the northwest, Korea in the west and Japan in the east.
Largest seas of the Atlantic Ocean
Sargasso Sea
Area: 4 million km 2, located between Florida (USA) in the west and northern Antilles on South.
Composition of sea water
Sea water consists of approximately 96% water and 4% salt. Not to mention Dead Sea, the saltiest sea in the world is the Red Sea: it contains 44 grams of salt per liter of water (versus 35 grams on average for most seas). This high salt content is explained by the fact that water evaporates faster in this hot region.
Gulf of Guinea
Area: 1.5 million km 2, located at the latitude of the Coast Ivory, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.
Mediterranean Sea
Area: 2.5 million km 2, surrounded by Europe in the north, Western Asia in the east and North Africa on South.
Antilles Sea
Area: 2.5 million km 2, located between the Antilles in the east, the coast of South America in the South and Central America in the West.
Gulf of Mexico
Area: 1.5 million km 2, it is adjacent to the southern coast of the United States from the north and Mexico from the west.
Baltic Sea
Area: 372,730 km 2, borders Russia and Finland in the north, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in the east, Poland and Germany in the south and Denmark and Sweden in the west.
North Sea
Area: 570,000 km 2, it is adjacent to Scandinavia in the east, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and France in the south and Great Britain in the west.
Largest seas of the Indian Ocean
Arabian Sea
Area: 3.5 million km 2, washed by Arabian Peninsula in the west, Pakistan in the north and India in the east.
Bay of Bengal
Area: 2.1 million km 2, located between the coasts of India in the west, Bangladesh in the north, Myanmar (Burma) in the northeast, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the southeast and Sri Lanka in the southwest.
Great Australian Bight (Australian Bight)
Area: 1.3 million km 2, extends along south coast Australia.
Arafura Sea
Area: 1 million km 2, located between Papua New Guinea in the northwest, Indonesia in the west and Australia in the south.
Mozambique Channel
Area: 1.4 million km 2, located near Africa, between the coasts of Mozambique in the west and Madagascar in the east.
The largest seas of the Arctic Ocean
Barencevo sea
Area: 1.4 million km 2, washes the shores of Norway in the west and Russia in the east.
Greenland Sea
Area: 1.2 million km 2, limited by Greenland in the west and the island of Spitsbergen (Norway) in the east.
East-Siberian Sea
Area: 900,000 km 2, washes the shores of Siberia.
The largest seas of Antarctica
Inland seas
Inland, or closed, seas are completely surrounded by land. Black and Caspian Sea- the largest of them.
Black Sea
Area: 461,000 km2. It is surrounded by Romania and Bulgaria in the west, Russia and Ukraine in the north, Georgia in the east and Turkey in the south. It communicates with Mediterranean Sea via Mramornoe.
Bellingshausen Sea
Area: 1.2 million km 2, located near Antarctica.
Caspian Sea
Area: 376,000 km2, located between Azerbaijan in the west, Russia in the northwest, Kazakhstan in the north and east, Turkmenistan in the southeast and Iran in the south.
Ross Sea
Area: 960,000 km 2, located north of Antarctica.
Weddell Sea
Area: 1.9 million km 2, located between the South Orkney Islands (UK) and the South Shetland Islands(Great Britain) in the north and Antarctica in the south.
The Dead Sea is so salty that there are no living organisms in it
The Pacific Ocean, in terms of area and depth, is the largest and deepest ocean on our Planet. Its area is 178.684 million km? (which exceeds the area of the entire land by almost 30 million km?), and the greatest depth in the Mariana Trench is 10994 +/- 40 m. The average depth is 3984 m. From north to south, the length of the ocean is approximately 15.8 thousand km, and the width from east to west is 19.5 thousand km. Ferdinand Maggellan (the Portuguese and Spanish navigator who was the first to cross this vast ocean) called it “quiet” because during his journey, which lasted three months and twenty days, the weather was calm all the time.
Location Pacific Ocean
The share of the Pacific Ocean in the surface of the World Ocean is 49.5%, and the volume of water is 53%. It is divided into two regions - northern and southern, the border of which is the equator. Since the Pacific Ocean is very large, its borders run along the coasts of several continents. In the north, the border with the Arctic Ocean is a line that connects two capes: Cape Dezhnev and Cape Prince of Wales.
In the west, the waters of the ocean wash Eurasia and Australia, then its border runs along the eastern side of the Bass Strait, connecting Australia and the island of Tasmania, and descends further south along the meridian 146°55’E. to Antarctica.
In the east, the Pacific Ocean washes the coasts of North and South America, and to the south the border between it and the Atlantic Ocean runs from Cape Horn along the meridian 68°04’W. to the Antarctic Peninsula.
But part southern waters The Pacific Ocean, which is located south of the 60th parallel of south latitude, belongs to the Southern Ocean.
Seas and bays of the Pacific Ocean
The sea is a part of the ocean that differs from it in currents, water properties and the organisms living in it. Seas are internal and marginal. They are separated from the ocean by islands, peninsulas or underwater rises.
Seas along the coast of Eurasia
The Bering Sea washes the shores of Russia and the USA. Previously, on maps of the 18th century it was called the Beaver or Kamchatka Sea. Later it was named after the navigator Vitus Bering. Area 2.315 million sq. km. Maximum depth- 4151 m. The peculiarity of this sea is that for 10 months its surface is covered with ice. It is home to common seals, walruses, bearded seals, 402 species of fish, and several species of whales. The sea has 28 bays.
The Sea of Okhotsk washes the shores of Russia and Japan. Named after the river – Okhota. Previously called Lamsky and Kamchatsky. Area - 1603 thousand km?. Maximum depth 3916m. IN winter time The northern part of the sea is covered with ice. The sea has 26 bays.
The Sea of Japan is a marginal sea, separated from the ocean by Sakhalin Island and the Japanese Islands. It washes the shores of Japan, Russia, North Korea and the Republic of Korea. Area - 1062 thousand km?. The greatest depth is 3742m. In winter, its northern part freezes. Under the water world in the northern and southern regions of the sea is very different. In the northern part, flora and fauna characteristic of temperate latitudes have formed, and in the southern part warm-water fauna predominates. Squid and octopus are found here. Has 57 bays.
The Inland Sea of Japan is connected to the Sea of Japan by the Shimonoseki Strait. It includes the seas of Bingo, Hiuchi, Suo, Iyo and Harima. Area 18,000 km?. Maximum depth 241m.
The Yellow Sea is a shallow marginal sea located on the eastern coast of Asia. It got its name due to its color. The Huanghai River brings a lot of silt into the sea and thereby turns it brown - yellow color. Sometimes the coasts of the Yellow Sea are simply covered with algae.
The sea washes the DPRK, China and the Republic of Korea. Area - 416 thousand km?. Maximum depth 106 m. Bays: Dalianwan, West Korean, Bohaiwan, Liaodong, Laizhouwan, Jiaozhouwan.
It is here that you can see a very interesting phenomenon - the “Miracle of Moses” - the phenomenon of the parting of water between the two islands of Chindo and Modo.
During low tide, the water parts between these islands several times a year and only for one hour. A road appears up to 2.8 km long and up to 40 meters wide. A huge number of tourists come to these parts to see this phenomenon and walk along this path. If someone does not have time to complete their journey, then boats and police will help them.
The East China Sea is a semi-enclosed sea that is located between the Japanese islands and the Chinese coast. Area - 836 thousand km?. Maximum depth – 2719 m.
The Philippine Sea is an interisland sea located near the Philippine archipelago. It ranks second in size, after the Sargasso Sea. Area - 5726 thousand km?. The maximum depth is 10,994 ± 40 m (Mariana Trench or also called the Mariana Trench).
The Mariana Trench is one of the mysterious places on our planet, inhabited by the most unusual creatures.
Seas located between the islands of Southeast Asia
The South China Sea is a semi-enclosed sea off the coast of the South China Sea. East Asia. The area is 3,537,289 km?, and the maximum depth is 5560 m. Monsoons and typhoons pose a great danger in this sea. The sea has 7 bays. Part of this sea is the Gulf of Thailand.
The Java Sea is an inter-core sea located north of the island of Java. The area is 552 thousand km?, and the average depth is 111 m. The main straits are Sunda and Makassar. The fauna of this sea is very diverse.
Sulu is a sea clearly limited by islands. This sea is unique for the presence of coral reefs. Tubbataha Atoll is located here, which is world heritage UNESCO and protected by a marine reserve.
Sulawesi is an interisland sea. The sea area is about 453 thousand km?, the depth is up to 6220 m. Mangrove forests grow on the shores of the island of Kalimantan, and there are a lot of coral reefs in the Sulu archipelago.
This list also includes the following seas: Flores, Savu, Seram, Halmahera, Bali, Banda, Moluccas.
Seas along the east coast of Australia
The New Guinea or Bismarck Sea is an interisland sea with an area of 310 thousand km² and a maximum depth of 2665 m. Underground earthquakes often occur in this sea.
Solomon - interisland sea of the Pacific Ocean. The sea area is about 755 thousand km?, the average depth is 2652 m. It has three bays: Velha, Kula, Huon.
Coral is the sea of the Pacific Ocean, the area of which is 4791 thousand km?, and the maximum depth is 9140 m. This sea is famous for the fact that it contains the largest coral reef on our Planet.
Fiji is an interisland sea with an area of 3177 thousand km?. Maximum depth 7633m. It has a complex bottom topography: ridges and volcanoes. Undersea world This sea is very rich and varied.
The Tasman Sea is the sea that separates Australia and New Zealand. The maximum depth is 5200 m. It has 9 bays.
The eastern part of the ocean, located along the coasts of North and South America, has no seas, but there are large bays there, such as Alaska, California and Panama.
Pacific Islands.
There are 20-30 thousand islands in the ocean and the largest Malay archipelago in the world. The second ( New Guinea, with an area of 785.753 thousand km?) and the third (Kalimantan, whose area is 743,330 km?) largest island. The largest island is Greenland, with an area of 2,130,800 km², which is washed by the Arctic and Atlantic oceans.
New Guinea is the second largest island, which is separated from Australia by the Torres Strait. The climate here is predominantly equatorial and subequatorial. Wet trees grow on the island rainforests. The western part of the island belongs to Indonesia, and the eastern part belongs to the state of Papua New Guinea. There are mountain ranges on the island. Since the island is tropical, the flora and fauna here are very diverse. In 2005, American researchers discovered a place on this island that they called the “Garden of Eden.” This place, located on the slopes of the Fiji mountains and covering 300 thousand hectares, has long been isolated from the influence of the outside world. Scientists have discovered unknown species of frogs, butterflies, palm trees and other plants here.
Kalimantan is the third largest island, which is divided between three countries: Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia. It was discovered by Magellan's expedition in 1521. It is located in the center of the Malay Archipelago and is considered the largest island in Asia. The climate here is equatorial. There are many low mountains on the island, highest point is Mount Kinabalu (4095 m). The entire territory of the island is occupied by dense forests. There is a huge variety of animals and plants here. There are also many unexplored places. One of the interesting plants– Rafflesia Arnolda. There are a lot of orchids on the island. Oil and diamonds are mined on the island of Kalimantan.
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PACIFIC OCEAN
the largest body of water in the world, the area of which is estimated at 178.62 million km2, which is several million square kilometers more area of the earth's land mass and more than twice the area of the Atlantic Ocean. Width of the Pacific Ocean from Panama to east coast The island of Mindanao is 17,200 km, and the length from north to south, from the Bering Strait to Antarctica is 15,450 km. It extends from the western coasts of North and South America to the eastern coasts of Asia and Australia. From the north, the Pacific Ocean is almost completely closed by land, connecting with the Arctic Ocean through the narrow Bering Strait (minimum width 86 km). In the south it reaches the shores of Antarctica, and in the east its border with Atlantic Ocean carried out at 67° W. - meridian of Cape Horn; in the west, the border of the South Pacific Ocean with the Indian Ocean is drawn at 147° E, corresponding to the position of Cape South-East in the south of Tasmania.
Regionalization of the Pacific Ocean. Usually the Pacific Ocean is divided into two regions - North and South, bordering along the equator. Some experts prefer to draw the boundary along the axis of the equatorial countercurrent, i.e. approximately 5°N. Previously, the Pacific Ocean was more often divided into three parts: northern, central and southern, the boundaries between which were the Northern and Southern Tropics. Individual areas of the ocean located between islands or land protrusions have their own names. The largest water areas of the Pacific basin include the Bering Sea in the north; Gulf of Alaska in the northeast; the Gulf of California and Tehuantepec in the east, off the coast of Mexico; the Gulf of Fonseca off the coast of El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua and slightly to the south - the Gulf of Panama. There are only a few small bays off the west coast of South America, such as Guayaquil off the coast of Ecuador. In Western and southwestern parts The Pacific Ocean is separated from the main waters by numerous large islands and many interisland seas, such as the Tasman Sea to the southeast of Australia and the Coral Sea off its northeastern coast; Arafura Sea and Gulf of Carpentaria north of Australia; the Banda Sea north of Timor; the Flores Sea north of the island of the same name; Java Sea north of Java Island; Gulf of Thailand between the Malacca and Indochina peninsulas; Bac Bo Bay (Tonkin) off the coast of Vietnam and China; Makassar Strait between the islands of Kalimantan and Sulawesi; the Molucca and Sulawesi seas, respectively, to the east and north of Sulawesi Island; finally, the Philippine Sea east of the Philippine Islands. Special region in the southwest northern half The Pacific Ocean is the Sulu Sea within the southwestern part of the Philippine archipelago, where there are also many small bays, bays and semi-enclosed seas (for example, the Sibuyan, Mindanao, Visayan Seas, Manila Bay, Lamon and Leyte Gulfs). The East China and Yellow Seas are located off the eastern coast of China; the latter forms two bays in the north: Bohaiwan and West Korean. The Japanese islands are separated from the Korean Peninsula by the Korea Strait. In the same northwestern part of the Pacific Ocean, several more seas stand out: the Inland Sea of Japan among the southern Japanese islands; the Sea of Japan to their west; to the north is the Sea of Okhotsk, which is connected to the Sea of Japan by the Tatar Strait. Even further north, immediately south of the Chukotka Peninsula, is the Gulf of Anadyr. The greatest difficulties are caused by drawing the border between the Quiet and Indian Oceans in the Malay Archipelago region. None of the proposed boundaries could satisfy botanists, zoologists, geologists and oceanographers at the same time. Some scientists consider the so-called dividing line. The Wallace Line passing through the Makassar Strait. Others propose drawing the border through the Gulf of Thailand, southern part South China Sea and the Java Sea.
Characteristics of the coast. The shores of the Pacific Ocean vary so much from place to place that it is difficult to single out any common features. With the exception of the far south, the Pacific coast is framed by a ring of dormant or sporadically active volcanoes known as the "Ring of Fire." Most of coastline is formed by high mountains, so absolute marks surfaces change dramatically close range from the shore. All this indicates the presence of a tectonically unstable zone along the periphery of the Pacific Ocean, the slightest movements within which cause strong earthquakes. In the east, the steep slopes of the mountains approach the very shore of the Pacific Ocean or are separated from it by a narrow strip of coastal plain; This structure is typical for the entire coastal zone, from the Aleutian Islands and the Gulf of Alaska to Cape Horn. Only in the far north does the Bering Sea have low-lying shores. In North America, isolated depressions and passes occur in the coastal mountain ranges, but in South America the majestic chain of the Andes forms an almost continuous barrier along the entire length of the continent. The coastline here is quite flat, and bays and peninsulas are rare. In the north, the bays of Puget Sound and San Francisco and the Strait of Georgia are most deeply cut into the land. On most of the South American coastline, the coastline is flattened and almost nowhere forms bays and bays, with the exception of the Gulf of Guayaquil. However, in the far north and extreme south There are areas of the Pacific Ocean that are very similar in structure - the Alexandra Archipelago (southern Alaska) and the Chonos Archipelago (off the coast of southern Chile). Both areas are characterized by numerous islands, large and small, with steep shores, fjords and fjord-like straits that form secluded bays. The rest of the Pacific coast of North and South America, despite its great length, represents only limited opportunities for navigation, since there are very few convenient natural harbors there, and the coast is often separated by a mountain barrier from the interior of the mainland. In Central and South America, mountains impede communication between west and east, isolating a narrow strip of the Pacific coast. In the north Pacific Ocean, the Bering Sea is frozen for most of the winter, and the coast of northern Chile is a desert for a considerable extent; this area is famous for its deposits of copper ore and sodium nitrate. Areas located in the far north and far south of the American coast - the Gulf of Alaska and the vicinity of Cape Horn - have earned notoriety due to its stormy and foggy weather. The west coast of the Pacific Ocean is significantly different from the east; The coasts of Asia have many bays and bays, in many places forming a continuous chain. Numerous ledges different sizes: from such large peninsulas as Kamchatka, Korean, Liaodong, Shandong, Leizhoubandao, Indochina, to countless capes separating small bays. There are also mountains along the Asian coast, but they are not very high and are usually somewhat distant from the coast. More importantly, they do not form continuous chains and do not act as a barrier isolating coastal areas, as is observed on the eastern shore of the ocean. In the west, many large rivers flow into the ocean: Anadyr, Penzhina, Amur, Yalujiang (Amnokkan), Yellow River, Yangtze, Xijiang, Yuanjiang (Hongha - Red), Mekong, Chao Phraya (Menam). Many of these rivers have formed vast deltas where large populations live. The Yellow River carries so much sediment into the sea that its deposits formed a bridge between the shore and a large island, thus creating the Shandong Peninsula. Another difference between the east and west coasts of the Pacific Ocean is that the west coast is bordered by a huge amount islands of varying sizes, often mountainous and volcanic. These islands include the Aleutian, Commander, Kuril, Japanese, Ryukyu, Taiwan, Philippine islands (their total number exceeds 7,000); finally, between Australia and the Malacca Peninsula there is a huge cluster of islands, comparable in area to the mainland, on which Indonesia is located. All these islands have mountainous terrain and are part of the Ring of Fire that encircles the Pacific Ocean. Only a few major rivers of the American continent flow into the Pacific Ocean - this is prevented mountain ranges. The exception is some rivers North America- Yukon, Kuskokwim, Fraser, Columbia, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Colorado.
Bottom relief. The Pacific Ocean Trench has a fairly constant depth throughout its entire area - approx. 3900-4300 m. The most notable elements of the relief are deep-sea depressions and trenches; elevations and ridges are less pronounced. Two uplifts stretch from the coast of South America: the Galapagos in the north and the Chilean, stretching from central regions Chile to approximately 38° S. Both of these rises connect and continue south towards Antarctica. As another example, a fairly extensive underwater plateau can be mentioned, above which the Fiji and Solomon islands rise. Deep-sea trenches are often located close to the coast and parallel to it, the formation of which is associated with the belt of volcanic mountains framing the Pacific Ocean. The most famous include the deep-sea Challenger Basin (11,033 m) southwest of Guam; Galatea (10,539 m), Cape Johnson (10,497 m), Emden (10,399 m), three Snell depressions (named after the Dutch ship) with depths from 10,068 to 10,130 m and the Planet depression (9,788 m) near the Philippine Islands; Ramapo (10,375 m) south of Japan. The Tuscarora depression (8513 m), which is part of the Kuril-Kamchatka Trench, was discovered in 1874. Characteristic feature the bottom of the Pacific Ocean are numerous underwater mountains - the so-called. guyots; their flat tops are located at a depth of 1.5 km or more. It is generally accepted that these are volcanoes that previously rose above sea level and were subsequently washed away by waves. To explain the fact that they are now on great depth, we have to assume that this part of the Pacific Trench is experiencing subsidence. The bed of the Pacific Ocean is composed of red clays, blue silts and crushed fragments of corals; Some large areas of the bottom are covered with globigerina, diatoms, pteropods and radiolarians. IN bottom sediments Manganese nodules and shark teeth are found. There are a lot of coral reefs, but they are common only in shallow waters. The salinity of water in the Pacific Ocean is not very high and ranges from 30 to 35‰. Temperature fluctuations are also quite significant depending on latitudinal position and depth; temperature of the surface layer in equatorial belt(between 10°N and 10°S) are approx. 27°C; at great depths and in the far north and south of the ocean, temperatures are only slightly above freezing point sea water. Currents, tides, tsunamis. The main currents in the northern part of the Pacific Ocean include the warm Kuroshio, or Japan Current, turning into the North Pacific (these currents play the same role in the Pacific Ocean as the Gulf Stream and North Atlantic Current system in the Atlantic Ocean); cold California Current; Northern Trade Wind (Equatorial) Current and cold Kamchatka (Kuril) Current. In the southern part of the ocean there are warm currents East Australian and South Trade Winds (Equatorial); cold currents Western Winds and Peruvian. In the Northern Hemisphere, these main current systems move clockwise, while in the Southern Hemisphere they move counterclockwise. Tides are generally low for the Pacific Ocean; the exception is Cook Inlet in Alaska, which is famous for its exceptionally large rise of water during high tides and is second in this regard only to the Bay of Fundy in the northwest Atlantic Ocean. When earthquakes or large landslides occur on the seabed, waves called tsunamis occur. These waves overcome huge distances, sometimes more than 16 thousand km. IN open ocean they are small in height and long in length, but when approaching land, especially in narrow and shallow bays, their height can increase to 50 m.
History of the study. Navigation in the Pacific Ocean began long before the beginning of recorded human history. However, there is evidence that the first European to see the Pacific Ocean was the Portuguese Vasco Balboa; in 1513 the ocean opened before him from the Darien Mountains in Panama. In the history of Pacific Ocean exploration there are such famous names, like Ferdinand Magellan, Abel Tasman, Francis Drake, Charles Darwin, Vitus Bering, James Cook and George Vancouver. Later, scientific expeditions on the British ship Challenger (1872-1876), and then on the ships Tuscarora, Planet and Discovery, played a major role. However, not all sailors who crossed the Pacific Ocean did so intentionally and not all were well equipped for such a voyage. It could well be that the winds and ocean currents they picked up primitive boats or rafts and carried them to distant shores. In 1946, the Norwegian anthropologist Thor Heyerdahl put forward a theory according to which Polynesia was settled by settlers from South America who lived in Peru in pre-Incan times. To confirm his theory, Heyerdahl and five companions sailed almost 7 thousand km across the Pacific Ocean on a primitive raft made of balsa logs. However, although his voyage of 101 days proved the possibility of such a journey in the past, most oceanographers still do not accept Heyerdahl's theories. In 1961, a discovery was made indicating the possibility of even more amazing contacts between the inhabitants of the opposite shores of the Pacific Ocean. In Ecuador, in a primitive burial at the Valdivia site, a fragment of ceramics was discovered, strikingly similar in design and technology to the ceramics of the Japanese islands. Other ceramic items belonging to these two spatially separated cultures were also found and also have noticeable similarities. Judging by archaeological data, this transoceanic contact between cultures located at a distance of approximately 13 thousand km occurred ca. 3000 BC.
LITERATURE
Atlas of the Oceans: T. 1. Pacific Ocean. L., 1974 Geography of the World Ocean: Pacific Ocean. L., 1981
Collier's Encyclopedia. - Open Society. 2000 .
See what "PACIFIC OCEAN" is in other dictionaries:
Great Ocean, part of the World Ocean. IN different time the ocean received various names. In 1513 the Spanish Conquistador Vasco N. de Balboa and his companions reached the Gulf of Panama and saw the vast ocean stretching to the south, to which Balboa gave... ... Geographical encyclopedia
- (Great Ocean) between the continents of Eurasia and Australia in the west, North. and Yuzh. America in the east and Antarctica in the south. The area with seas is 178.6 million km², volume 710 million km³, maximum depth 11,022 m. The seas are located mainly... ... Big encyclopedic Dictionary
- (Great Ocean), between the continents of Eurasia and Australia in the west, Northern and South America in the east and Antarctica in the south. Pl. with seas 178.6 million km2, volume 710 million km3, maximum depth 11022 m. The seas are located Ch. way according to its northern... ...Russian history
The largest basin of the World Ocean. Bounded in the west by the shores of Eurasia and Australia, in the east. and Yuzh. America, in the south of Antarctica. Maritime borders with the North. Arctic approx. pass through the Bering Strait. between the Chukotka and Seward peninsulas, with... ... Geological encyclopedia
The Pacific Ocean is huge in size - almost one third of the entire surface globe. The area is 179 million square meters. kilometers. The average depth is 4300 meters.
The largest natural reservoir of water stretches from north to south, especially expanding in the equatorial belt of the Earth. In its western part it washes the shores of Eurasia and Australia, and is limited in the east by North and South America.
A myriad of islands are located in the expanses of the Pacific Ocean: the largest New Guinea and Kalimantan, the Greater Sunda, Philippine and other archipelagos. The islands of Sakhalin and Honshu can also be distinguished. Myriads of small island complexes are scattered across the entire surface of the giant reservoir.
The bottom relief represents complex system underwater ridges and depressions. Active volcanoes become the cause of the generation of powerful tsunamis and typhoons in the depths of water.
The most favorable from a climatic point of view are the equatorial waters of the Polynesian islands. There are no temperature changes, prolonged rains and clear skies and moderate winds all year round.
The smooth coastline of the eastern Pacific Ocean is the exact opposite Western and northern coasts. It is not surprising that almost all seas (marginal and interisland) and ocean bays adjoin these rugged shores of continents, islands and peninsulas.
This interisland deep-sea sea is the largest in volume in the Pacific Ocean (5,730 thousand square kilometers). It has no clear boundaries. Maximum depth 10265 meters – Philippine Trench.
The sea is surrounded by a scattering of islands, and its bottom is very relief. The warm North Trade Wind Current runs through the waters of the Philippine Sea. Storms and menacing typhoons make destructive raids on these places from time to time.
The coastal fauna is diverse: fish, shellfish, arthropods, dolphins and whales. The large shark community stands out. The rich plankton of the sea allows such a wide variety of inhabitants to exist water world and predators.
The deep-sea world has not been sufficiently studied; apparently, here, as in the Mariana Trench (10,994 m), there are many unusual living organisms that can only live under millions of tons of water.
Local residents engage in fishing; another source of income is the tourism business.
Sea Coral
The second largest sea in the Pacific Ocean. Its area is 4791 thousand square meters. km., and the average depth is 2400 meters. The deepest place is 9174 meters (in the eastern part of the sea).
The marginal sea adjoins Australia in the northeast. The tropical climate and some subtropics make these places an excellent habitat for marine life.
The sea received the name “coral” because it is located in an area of abundant accumulation of polyps – coelenterate animals. Single and group accumulations of these organisms are so numerous that as a result of their vital activity, entire colonies of corals are formed. Uniting into huge structures, they built reefs and atolls (coral islands). In the western part of the sea there is the famous Great Barrier Reef (2,500 kilometers long) - the most famous coral colony. Is under the protection of UNESCO.
The fauna is diverse and very rich: crustaceans, bivalves and other mollusks, echinoderms, fish, turtles. Mammals include various species of dolphins, sharks and dugongs (sea cows).
Marginal sea of the western Pacific borders. Its coastline is home to Vietnam, China, Thailand and Cambodia, as well as Singapore and Malaysia. It is closed to the west by the Philippine Islands. Kalimantan is semi-closed.
Area 3600 thousand sq. km. Most of the sea is shallow (up to 200 m), the deepest place is 5377 meters in the northeastern segment.
The climate is monsoon and changeable. Marine typhoons are active, especially in autumn.
The biological potential of the sea is enormous: tuna and herring, shrimp and crabs, lobsters. Many types of shellfish are grown on special farms, and fish are commercially available. Several species of sharks are found in coastal waters and in the rest of the water area.
Oil and gas are being extracted on the shelf of the South China Sea, and the tourism business is considered one of the incomes.
The southernmost sea of the Pacific region washes western shores Australia and the eastern territories of New Zealand. Area 3300 thousand sq. km.
The sea is deep (maximum 6000 m), located in three climatic zones. In the north tropical zone, in the south - moderate, where the cold current of the Western Winds lies. The coastline is smooth, and the bottom topography has many changes.
The Tasman Sea has almost the same flora and fauna as the Coral Sea, but only in its northern part. There is rich plankton, consisting of jellyfish and crustaceans, a huge species diversity fish and mammals (sharks, killer whales, whales).
There are especially many commercial fish species in the southern part, with huge schools of swimming tuna and herring, horse mackerel and mackerel.
At the northern tip of the Pacific Ocean, the sea borders the Chukotka Peninsula and Alaska. And the Bering Strait is connected to the Chukchi Sea. In the southern part it is limited to the Aleutian and Commander Islands.
This semi-enclosed water area has an area of 2304 thousand square meters. km. In the deep part, the height of the water column reaches 4191 meters.
The coastal tortuosity is represented by numerous bays, bays, and spits. The Anadyr, Velikaya, Yukon rivers and many small rivers flow into the Bering Sea.
In the southern part, the depths are more impressive and have complex terrain than in the north. Coastal areas have rocky shores and rocky bottoms.
The surface of the water freezes southern latitudes for six months, and in the north - up to ten months a year.
The flora of the sea reservoir includes fifty species of algae (richer in the south). A very rich species composition of commercial fish: flounder, pink salmon, chum salmon, sockeye salmon and others. A great variety of birds nesting on the rocky shores: puffins, several species of gulls, guillemots.
There are many mammals, including seals, otters, whales, and sharks.
The largest bays of the Pacific Ocean
Extended coastline from the Alaska Peninsula to the arch. Alexandra forms this bay with its bend. The greatest depth is 5659 meters. TO coastal zone adjacent forests, mountains and descending glaciers.
This bay is the birthplace of storms and downpours. There are large deposits of oil and gas in the offshore part. The water area and islands in this part are equated to protected areas.
In the vastness of the Gulf of Alaska there is such a unique a natural phenomenon, like a halocline (the boundary between water of different salinity). This becomes possible when the difference in salinity level is 5 times. Thawed fresh waters glaciers at a distance of several tens of kilometers from the coast meet the salt water of the Pacific Ocean and cannot mix, forming a foam strip.
Off the coast of Central America there is large bay hundred meters deep. It is distinguished by high, almost seven-meter tides. It extends into the land for 150 kilometers.
The waters of the Gulf mix through the Panama Canal with the Atlantic Ocean. The most important trade sea routes lie here.
The bay is home to the Pearl Islands, the largest suppliers of natural pearls.
Width 150 km, length more than 1000 km. Separates the California Peninsula from the Mexican coast. At the entrance to the bay the depth is more than 3 km, in the rest of the territory it is no more than 800 meters.
There are many islands in the subtropical gulf different sizes. The landscape and the rich world of flora and fauna ensured that the bay’s waters were included in the list of protected cultural sites of the world.
About 1,000 species of fish live in the zooplankton-rich waters of the Gulf of California, and there are also endemic species (several dozen species), as well as whales, sharks, and rays.
IN vast expanses the biggest water body The land contains about thirty seas and more than seventy bays. This is what makes the Pacific Ocean unique natural heritage globe.
