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 all the land on earth. The maximum width of the basin is about 17.2 thousand km, and the length is 15.5 thousand km. The ocean stretches 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 in the Mesozoic era. The first stage was the breakup of the Pangea continent into Laurasia and Gondwana. As a result of this, the Panthalassa reservoir began to decrease. The seas and bays of the Pacific began to form between the fault of Laurasia and Gondwana. During the Jurassic period, several tectonic plates formed under the reservoir at once. At the end of the Cretaceous era, the Arctic continent began to split. At the same time, the Australian plate took a course to the equator, and the Pacific - to the west. In the Miocene, active tectonic movement of the layers ceased.
Today, plate displacement is at a minimum level, but it continues. Movement is carried out along the axis of the mid-rift underwater zones. Because of this, the seas and bays of the Pacific Ocean shrink or expand. Displacement of the largest platesoccurs at a rate of up to 10 cm/year. This mainly concerns the Australian and Eurasian plates. Smaller slabs can achieve displacement rates of up to 12-14 cm/yr. The slowest - up to 3 cm per year. Thanks to this continuous movement, the largest bays of the Pacific Ocean were formed. In recent years, the water area of the basin has 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 equator is the boundary of the regions. 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 regions 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, bays, straits of the Pacific Ocean are located in close proximity to the American mainland. This primarily concerns such countries as the USA, Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador, Ecuador, Nicaragua, etc. In the southern region of the water area there are many small seas between the islands: Tasmanovo, Arafura, Coral, Flores, Java and others. They are adjacent to such bays and straits of the Pacific Ocean as Carpentaria, Siam, Bakbo, Makassar.
The Sulu Sea occupies a special place in the northern region of the basin. It is located within the Philippine archipelago. It includes about a dozen small bays and bays. Near Asia, the most significant seas are the Sea of Japan, Yellow, China,Okhotsk.
Gulf of Alaska
The basin borders the coastline from the Alexander Archipelago to the Alaska Peninsula. This is the largest bay in the Pacific Ocean. Its depth in some places exceeds the mark of 5.5 thousand meters.
The main ports are Prince Rupert and Seward. The coastal boundary of the water area is uneven and indented. It is represented not only by azure sands, but also by high mountains, forests, waterfalls and even glaciers, like Hubbard. The bay includes many estuaries and bays.
Today, the Alaskan water area is considered the main source of major storms moving towards the entire American coast, including the states of 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 designated as a national reserve.
Panamanian
Located off the coast of Central America. It borders with Panama along the isthmus 140 km. Its minimum width is about 185 km, and the maximum reaches 250. The deepest point of the basin is a depression of 100 m. This bay of the Pacific Ocean reaches 2,400 sq. km.
The largest bays are Parita and San Miguel. The straits here are semi-diurnal, and their average height is 6.4 meters. The well-known Pearl Islands are located in the east of the water area.
The Panama Canal originates in the northern part of the bay. At the entrance to it is basedlargest port in the Balboa basin. The canal itself connects the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Panama and the Atlantic Ocean. The Tuira River also flows into the water area.
Largest bays: California
This pool is also known as the Sea of Cortez. This bay of the Pacific Ocean separates the Mexican coast from the California peninsula. The Sea of Cortez has one of the oldest water areas. Its age is 5.3 million years. Thanks to the bay, the Colorado River has 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. To date, the California water area is considered the deepest in the Pacific Ocean. The maximum point is in the estuary near the city of Yuma.
The largest islands of the bay are Tiburon and Angel de la Guarda. Smaller ports include Isla Partida and Espiritu Santo.
Gulf of Fonseca
Washes the shores of Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua. It is the easternmost bay of the Pacific Ocean. It was discovered 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 basin is up to 35 km wide and up to 74 km long. It is worth noting that this is the most shallow 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 in Honduras (70%). The rest is shared by Nicaragua and El Salvador.
The largest islands in the basin are El Tigre, Meanguera, Sacate Grande and Conchaguita. The Fonseca water area is located in a seismically active zone, so earthquakes and minor tsunamis regularly occur within it. At the beginning of the bay there are two active volcanoes Cosiguina and Conchagua.
It is interesting that Honduras and El Salvador fought for sole dominance in Fonseca for a long time. A compromise was reached only in 1992.
