We all know the names of the four oceans that wash the shores of the continents. This knowledge is given to us by the science of geography even at school age. The Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic, the Indian and the Arctic - these are the largest water areas of our planet. The largest of them is the Pacific Ocean, which is sometimes also called the Great. Let's find out what is interesting about the Pacific Ocean, why it is so named and how it differs from the rest.
General characteristics
The area of the largest ocean is 178.68 million km², which is more than all the land on planet Earth. It is even difficult for an ordinary person to imagine these dimensions, it is even more difficult to imagine how many interesting and surprising things can be hidden in the depths of its waters.
The Pacific Ocean washes the shores of five continents:
- Northwest of Eurasia.
- Southwest Australia.
- West coast of South and North America.
- Antarctica from the south side.
The Pacific among all the restis the deepest. The average depth is 3984 m. But the records do not end there. Here is the deepest place of the entire World Ocean - the Mariana Trench, the depth of which is 11022 m. This ocean is also considered the warmest. The coasts of 50 countries overlook the waters of the Pacific Ocean. Almost half of the world's population has the opportunity to swim in its s alty waters without leaving the territory of their country, and many people think when they visit the Pacific Ocean why it is so named. After all, in fact, storms and tsunamis are not so rare here.
Stormy stormy ocean - why is it Pacific?
So, let's figure out who the Pacific Ocean got its name from, why it is named like that and how it happened that the name doesn't match its behavior at all.
Who was the first navigator who crossed this ocean and gave it that name? Everything happened in 1520. Making a round-the-world expedition, Ferdinand Magellan sailed on his ships for several months through this, at that time still nameless, ocean. Surprisingly, all the time of his journey there was windless calm weather, not a single storm happened on the way. This fact impressed Magellan so much that he named the Pacific Ocean.
In fact, the Pacific lithospheric plate, on which this ocean is located, is surrounded by a ring of volcanoes, the eruptions of which cause frequent storms and tsunamis. But even after this feature became clear, the Pacific Ocean was not renamed. This name was assigned to the largest water body of the planet in all geographicreference books.
The history of the Pacific Ocean knows other names as well. Before receiving its official name, it was called differently in different parts of the world. For example, the South Sea or the Eastern Ocean.
Why is the Pacific Ocean so named? The answer to this question is no longer a mystery to us.
Islands
There are more islands in the Pacific than in the other three. There are up to 30,000 of them. Some stand alone, while others gather in archipelagos.
There are several types of islands: coral, volcanic and mainland (continental).
The largest islands in the Pacific: Kalimantan, New Guinea, the Japanese Islands, the Philippine Islands, New Zealand, Hawaii and many others.
We have all heard the expression "paradise island". It can be safely applied to many islands of the Pacific Ocean, because they are a real paradise. Rich vegetation, amazing wildlife, clean air and azure waves - that's what attracts connoisseurs of beauty to these places.
Pacific Seas
The Pacific Ocean also holds the record for the number of seas. Thirty-one seas are part of it.
Most of the Pacific seas are located along Eurasia in the western part of the ocean: the Sea of Okhotsk, the Sea of Japan, the Bering Sea, the East China Sea, the Yellow Sea; off the Australian coast: Solomon, New Guinea, Fiji, Tasman Sea; near Antarctica: the D'Urville, Somov, Ross, Amundsen Seas. There are no seas along North and South America, but there are large bays.
