The Pacific Ocean is the largest ocean on Earth. - Which Pacific Ocean? General characteristics and description of the Pacific Ocean. Features of the nature of the oceans Water masses of the Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest ocean on Earth. The area with seas is 178.7 million km², the volume is 710 million km³, the average depth is 3980 m, the maximum depth is 11022 m (Mariana Trench). The Pacific Ocean occupies half of the entire water surface of the Earth, and more than thirty percent of the planet's surface area.
The oceans embrace the Earth with inseparable waters and are by their nature a single element that acquires different properties with changing latitudes. Off the coast of Greenland and Antarctica, in the roaring winds of the forties, storms rage all year round. Near the tropics, the sun bakes mercilessly, trade winds blow and only occasionally destructive hurricanes sweep through. But the huge World Ocean is also divided by continents into separate oceans, each of which has its own special natural features.

The Pacific Ocean is the largest in area, the deepest and most ancient of the oceans. Its main features are great depths, frequent movements of the earth's crust, many volcanoes at the bottom, a huge supply of heat in its waters, an exceptional diversity of the organic world.

The Pacific Ocean, also called the Great Ocean, occupies 1/3 of the planet's surface and almost 1/2 of the area of \u200b\u200bthe World Ocean. It is located on both sides of the equator and 1800 meridian. This ocean separates and simultaneously connects the shores of five continents. The Pacific Ocean is especially wide at the equator, so it is the warmest on the surface.

Many peoples inhabiting the Pacific shores and islands have sailed on the ocean for a long time and mastered its riches. The beginning of the penetration of Europeans into the Pacific Ocean coincided with the era of the great geographical discoveries. F. Magellan's ships crossed the vast expanse of water from east to west in a few months of sailing. All this time, the sea was surprisingly calm, which gave rise to Magellan to call it the Pacific Ocean.

Much information about the nature of the ocean was obtained during the voyages of J. Cook. Russian expeditions led by I.F.Kruzenshtern, M.P. Lazarev, V.M.Golovnin, and Yu.F. Lisyansky made a great contribution to the study of the ocean and islands in it. In the same XIX century. complex researches were carried out by S.O. Makarov on the ship "Vityaz". Since 1949, Soviet expeditionary ships have made regular scientific voyages. A special international organization is engaged in the study of the Pacific Ocean.

The topography of the ocean floor is complex. The continental shelf (shelf) is well developed only off the coasts of Asia and Australia. The continental slopes are steep, often stepped. Large uplifts and ridges divide the ocean floor into hollows. Near America is the East Pacific Rise, which is part of the system of mid-ocean ridges. There are more than 10,000 individual seamounts on the ocean floor, mostly of volcanic origin.
The lithospheric plate, on which the Pacific Ocean lies, interacts with other plates at its borders. The edges of the Pacific Plate plunge into the tight space of trenches that ring the ocean. These movements give rise to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Here lies the famous "Ring of Fire" of the planet and the deepest depression - the Mariana (11022 m).

The ocean climate is diverse. The Pacific Ocean is located in all climatic zones, except for the north polar one. Above its vast expanses, the air is saturated with moisture. In the equator, up to 2000 mm of precipitation falls. The Pacific Ocean is protected from the cold Arctic Ocean by land and underwater ridges, so its northern part is warmer than the southern one.

The Pacific Ocean is the most turbulent and formidable among the oceans of the planet. Trade winds blow in the central parts of it. In the west, monsoons are developed. In winter, a cold and dry monsoon comes from the mainland, which has a significant impact on the ocean climate; part of the seas is covered with ice. Often devastating tropical hurricanes sweep over the western part of the ocean - typhoons "typhoon" means "strong wind"). In temperate latitudes, storms rage throughout the cold half of the year. The western air transport prevails here. The highest waves up to 30 m high were recorded in the north and south of the Pacific Ocean. Hurricanes raise whole water mountains in it.

The organic world of the Pacific is distinguished by an extraordinary richness and diversity of plant and animal species. It is home to half of the entire mass of living organisms in the World Ocean. This feature of the ocean is explained by its size, variety of natural conditions and age. Life is especially rich in tropical and equatorial latitudes near coral reefs. In the northern "part of the ocean, there are many salmon fish. In the southeast of the ocean, near the coast of South America, huge concentrations of fish are formed. The water masses here are very fertile, a lot of plant and animal plankton develops in them, which feed on anchovies (herring fish up to 16 cm long), horse mackerel, oil mackerel, mackerel and other types of fish.A lot of fish are eaten here by birds: cormorants, pelicans, penguins.

The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest ocean after the Pacific Ocean. The area is 91.6 million km², of which about a quarter is in the inland seas. The area of \u200b\u200bcoastal seas is small and does not exceed 1% of the total area of \u200b\u200bthe water area. The volume of water is 329.7 million km³, which is equal to 25% of the volume of the World Ocean. The average depth is 3600 m, the greatest is 8742 m (trench in Puerto Rico). The Atlantic Ocean has a strongly indented coastline with a pronounced division into regional waters: seas and bays. The name comes from the name of the titan Atlas (Atlanta) in Greek mythology or from the legendary island of Atlantis.

Of all the oceans, the Atlantic occupies the most important place in the life of mankind. It happened historically.
Like the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean stretches from subarctic latitudes to Antarctica, but is inferior in width. The Atlantic reaches its greatest width in temperate latitudes and narrows towards the equator.

The coastline of the ocean is strongly dissected in the Northern Hemisphere, and weakly indented in the Southern. Most of the islands lie near the continents.
Since ancient times, the Atlantic Ocean began to be mastered by man. On its shores in different epochs there were centers of navigation in Ancient Greece, Carthage, Scandinavia. Its waters washed the legendary Atlantis, the geographical position of which in the ocean is still debated by scientists.

Since the era of the Great Geographical Discoveries, the Atlantic Ocean has become the main waterway on Earth.

Comprehensive studies of the nature of the Atlantic began only at the end of the 19th century. The British expedition aboard the Challenger made measurements of depths, collected material about the properties of water masses, about the organic world of the ocean. Especially a lot of data on the nature of the ocean was obtained during the International Geophysical Year (1957-1958). And today the expeditionary squadron of scientific ships from many countries continues to conduct research on water masses and bottom relief. Oceanologists study the interaction of the ocean with the atmosphere, investigate the nature of the Gulf Stream and other currents.
According to the theory of lithospheric plates, the Atlantic Ocean is relatively young. Its bottom relief is not as complex as in the Pacific Ocean. A giant ridge stretches across the entire Atlantic almost along the meridian. In one place it comes to the surface - this is the island of Iceland. The ridge divides the ocean floor into two almost equal parts. Vast shelves are adjacent to the shores of Europe and North America.

The climate of the Atlantic Ocean is diverse, as it lies in all climatic zones. The widest part of the ocean lies not in the equatorial, like the Pacific Ocean, but in tropical and temperate latitudes. In these latitudes, as well as over the Pacific Ocean, trade winds and westerly winds of temperate latitudes blow. In winter, storms often play out in temperate latitudes; in the Southern Hemisphere, they rage in all seasons.

The peculiarity of the climate is reflected in the properties of water masses. The temperature of surface waters here, on average, is much lower than in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. This is explained by the cooling effect of water and ice carried out from the Arctic Ocean and from the Antarctic, as well as by the intense mixing of water masses. The noticeable difference between the temperature of water and air in some areas of the Atlantic causes the formation of strong fogs.

Economically developed countries lie on both sides of the ocean. The most important sea routes pass through the Atlantic. Since time immemorial, the Atlantic Ocean has been a place of intensive fishing and hunting. Whaling in the Bay of Biscay dates back to the 9th-12th centuries.
The natural conditions of the Atlantic are favorable for the development of life, therefore, of all the oceans, it is the most productive. Most of the fish and other marine products are caught in the northern part of the ocean. However, the increased fishing in recent years has led to a decrease in biological wealth.

Pacific Ocean. Photo: momo

The Indian Ocean is the third largest on Earth. Its nature has much in common with the nature of the Pacific Ocean, this especially concerns the properties of water masses and the diversity of the organic world.

The geographical position of the Indian Ocean is peculiar. The coastline is weakly dissected, there are few islands. In the bottom relief, there are mid-ocean ridges, broken by rifts and transverse faults, and numerous depressions. The shelf is narrow, it becomes wide only in the Persian Gulf, most of the ocean lies in the equatorial, subequatorial and tropical climatic zones, only the southern part covers high latitudes, up to the subantarctic.

The peculiarity of the ocean climate is seasonal monsoons in its northern part. When the monsoons change, tropical cyclones appear, sometimes with hurricane winds. In the southern part of the ocean, the same ring-shaped movement of surface waters is formed as in the same latitudes of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. In the northern part, the formation of currents is influenced by the change of monsoons, which rearranges their direction according to the seasons.

In the Indian Ocean, the surface water temperature is higher than in the entire World Ocean (in the Persian Gulf +34 degrees Celsius, and in the northern part of the ocean +30 C). There are many areas with increased salinity, in the Red Sea - up to 42%, in the Bay of Bengal and near Antarctica it drops to 34%. The species composition of fish is rich and diverse, there are many coral buildings, there are herds of cetaceans, there are many pinnipeds and birds near Antarctica.

The number of natural belts of the Indian Ocean has not yet been sufficiently explored and developed. Many oil and natural gas fields have been explored in the Persian Gulf, off the coast of India and Australia. Oil production and transportation pose a risk of water pollution.

The Arctic Ocean is the smallest ocean on Earth, located between Eurasia and North America. Area 14.75 million sq. km, average depth 1225 m, maximum depth 5527 m in the Greenland Sea. The volume of water is 18.07 million km³.

This ocean is characterized by a harsh climate, an abundance of ice and relatively shallow depths. Life in it is completely dependent on the exchange of water and heat with neighboring oceans.

The bottom relief has a complex structure. The central part of the ocean is crossed by mountain ranges and deep faults. Deep-water depressions and hollows lie between the ridges. A characteristic feature of the ocean is its large shelf, which accounts for more than a third of the ocean floor area.

Climatic features are determined by the polar position of the ocean. It is dominated by arctic air masses. Fogs are frequent in summer. The air masses of the Arctic are much warmer than the air masses that form over the Antarctic. The reason for this is the supply of heat in the waters of the Arctic Ocean, which is constantly replenished by the warmth of the waters of the Atlantic and, to a lesser extent, the Pacific Ocean. Thus, oddly enough, the Arctic Ocean does not cool, but rather warms the vast land areas of the Northern Hemisphere, especially during the winter months.
Under the influence of westerly and southwesterly winds from the North Atlantic, a powerful stream of warm waters of the North Atlantic Current enters the Arctic Ocean. Along the shores of Eurasia, waters move from west to east. Across the entire ocean from the Bering Strait to Greenland, water flows in the opposite direction - from east to west.

The most characteristic feature of the nature of this ocean is the presence of ice. Their formation is associated with low temperatures and relatively low salinity of surface water masses, which are desalinated by a large amount of river waters flowing down from the continents.
Carrying out ice to other oceans is difficult. Therefore, multi-year ice with a thickness of 2-4 m and more prevails here. Winds and currents cause the movement and compression of ice, the formation of hummocks.

There are two natural zones in the Arctic Ocean. The boundary of the polar (arctic) belt in the south roughly coincides with the edge of the continental shelf. This deepest and most severe part of the ocean is covered with drifting ice. In summer, ice floes are covered with a layer of melt water. This belt is of little use for the life of organisms.

The part of the ocean adjacent to land belongs to the subpolar (subarctic) belt. These are mainly the seas of the Arctic Ocean. Nature is not so harsh here. In summer, near the coast, the water is free of ice, strongly freshened by rivers. Warm waters from the Atlantic that penetrate here create conditions for the development of plankton, which fish feed on.

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What is the Pacific Ocean? General characteristics and description of the Pacific Ocean.

What is the Pacific Ocean? General characteristics of the Pacific Ocean. Table.

What is the Pacific Ocean? Description of the Pacific Ocean.

The Pacific Ocean is the largest ocean on our planetoccupying almost a third of it. It accounts for 49.5% of the surface area of \u200b\u200bthe World Ocean and 53% of the volume of its waters. The width of the ocean from west to east is 17,200 km, the length from north to south is 15,450 km. The area of \u200b\u200bthe Pacific Ocean is more than the entire land area of \u200b\u200bthe Earth by 30 million square kilometers.

The Pacific Ocean is the deepest ocean on our planet... Its average depth is 3984 meters, and the greatest is 10994 km (Mariana Trench or "Challenger Abyss").

The Pacific Ocean is the warmest ocean on our planet. Most of the ocean lies in warm latitudes, so the average temperature of its waters (19.37 ° C) is two degrees higher than the temperature of other oceans (with the exception of the Arctic).

Pacific coast - the most densely populated territory of the Earth, about half of the population of our planet live here in 50 states.

The Pacific Ocean has the greatest commercial value from all water bodies of the planet - about 60% of the world's fish catch is caught here.

The Pacific Ocean has the largest hydrocarbon reserves in the entire World Ocean - about 40% of all potential oil and gas reserves are located here.

The Pacific Ocean has the richest flora and fauna - almost 50% of all living organisms of the World Ocean live here.

The Pacific Ocean is the most "violent" ocean on the planet - more than 80% of tsunamis are "born" here. The reason for this is the large number of underwater volcanoes.

The Pacific Ocean is of great transport importance - the most important transport routes pass here.

Discovery of the Pacific Ocean. Why is the Pacific Ocean?

Why is the Pacific Ocean called “quiet”? After all, this is the most formidable of all the Earth's oceans: 80% of tsunamis originate here, the ocean is replete with underwater volcanoes, and is famous for catastrophic hurricanes and storms. Ironically, Fernand Magellan, the first European explorer and discoverer of the Pacific Ocean, never got caught in a storm during his three-month voyage. The ocean was quiet and gentle, for which it received its current name - "Quiet".

Incidentally, Magellan was not the first European to see the Pacific Ocean. The first was the Spaniard Vasco Nunez de Balboa, who explored the New World. He crossed the American continent and came to the coast as he thought of the sea. He did not yet know that before him was the greatest ocean of the Earth and gave him the name of the South Sea.

The boundaries and climate of the Pacific Ocean. What is the Pacific Ocean?

With land:

Western Pacific Frontier: off the eastern coasts of Australia and Eurasia.

Eastern border of the Pacific Ocean: off the western coasts of South and North America.

North Pacific border: almost completely enclosed by land - Russian Chukotka and American Alaska.

South Pacific border: off the northern coast of Antarctica.

The boundaries of the Pacific Ocean. Map.

With other oceans:

Border of the Pacific Ocean with the Arctic Ocean: the border is drawn in the Bering Strait from Cape Dezhnev to Cape Prince of Wales.

Pacific Ocean border with Atlantic Ocean: the border is drawn from Cape Horn along the meridian 68 ° 04 '(67?) W. or along the shortest distance from South America to the Antarctic Peninsula through the Drake Passage, from Oste Island to Cape Sternek.

Pacific Ocean border with Indian Ocean:

- south of Australia - along the eastern border of the Bass Strait to the island of Tasmania, then along the meridian 146 ° 55'E. d. to Antarctica;

- north of Australia - between the Andaman Sea and the Strait of Malacca, further along the southwestern coast of Sumatra, the Sunda Strait, the southern coast of Java, the southern borders of the Bali and Sava Seas, the northern border of the Arafura Sea, the southwestern coast of New Guinea and the western border of the Torres Strait.

The climate of the Pacific Ocean. General characteristics and description of the Pacific Ocean.

The climate of the Pacific Ocean in parts.

The South Pacific is the coldest, since the water comes close to the shores of Antarctica. Here, in winter, the water is covered with ice.

The climate of the North Pacific is much milder. This is influenced by the fact that the Pacific Ocean from the north practically does not contact the cold Arctic Ocean, but is limited by land.

The western Pacific is warmer than the eastern.

In the tropical latitudes of the ocean, powerful hurricanes - typhoons arise.

There are two zones where typhoons originate:

• east of the Philippines, the typhoon moves northwest and north through Taiwan, Japan and reaches almost to the Bering Strait.
• off the coast of Central America.

Precipitation is uneven over the surface of the planet's largest ocean.

• The greatest amount of precipitation (more than 2000 mm per year) is typical for the equatorial belt,
• The smallest amount of precipitation (less than 50 mm per year) is in the northern hemisphere off the coast of California, in the southern one off the coast of Chile and Peru.

Oceanic precipitation generally predominates over evaporation, so the salinity of the water is somewhat lower than in other oceans.

Read more about the climate of the Pacific Ocean in the articles:

• The climate of the Pacific Ocean. Cyclones and anticyclones. Baric centers.

Flora, fauna and economic importance of the Pacific Ocean. What is the Pacific Ocean?

The flora and fauna of the Pacific Ocean is extremely diverse. About half of the living organisms of the entire World Ocean live here. This is due to the enormous size of the planet's largest ocean and a variety of natural conditions.

The largest number of species lives in tropical and equatorial latitudes, in northern and temperate latitudes, the species diversity is poorer, but there is a greater number of individuals of each species. For example, in the cold waters of the Bering Sea there are about 50 species of algae, and in the warm waters of the Malay Archipelago there are about 800 species. But the mass of algae in the Bering Sea is much greater than the total mass of aquatic plants in the Malay Archipelago.

The depths of the Pacific Ocean are also not lifeless. The animals living here have an unusual body structure, many of them fluoresce, emitting light as a result of chemical reactions. This device serves to scare away predators and attract prey.

In the Pacific Ocean lives:

• more than 850 types of algae;
• more than 100 thousand species of animals (of which more than 3800 species of fish);
• more than 6 thousand species of molluscs;
• about 200 species of animals living at a depth of more than 7 thousand km;
• 20 species of animals living at a depth of more than 10 thousand km.

The economic importance of the Pacific Ocean - general characteristics and description of the Pacific Ocean.

The Pacific coast, its islands and seas are developed extremely unevenly. The most developed industrial centers are the coast of the USA, Japan and South Korea. The economies of Australia and New Zealand are also largely associated with the development of the largest ocean on the planet.

The Pacific Ocean is of great importance in the life of mankind as food... It accounts for up to 60% of the world fish catch. Commercial fishing is especially developed in tropical and temperate latitudes.

Across the Pacific Ocean important sea and air communications between the countries of the Pacific basin and transit routes between the countries of the Atlantic and Indian oceans.

Great economic importance of the Pacific Ocean and in terms of mining... Up to 40% of the potential oil and gas reserves of the World Ocean are located here. Currently, hydrocarbons are produced on the shelf of China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the United States of America (Alaska), Ecuador (Guayaquil Gulf), Australia (Bass Strait) and New Zealand.

The Pacific Ocean also plays a very specific role in the modern world: here in the southern part of the ocean there is a "graveyard" of out-of-order spaceships.

Topography of the seabed, sea and islands of the Pacific Ocean. What is the Pacific Ocean?

The relief of the bottom of the Pacific Ocean - description and general characteristics of the Pacific Ocean.

The bottom of the planet's largest ocean also has the most difficult topography.... At the bottom of the ocean is the Pacific Plate. It is adjacent to the plates: Nazca, Cocos, Juana de Fuca, Philippine, in the south - the Antarctic plate, and in the north - the North American plate. Such a large number of lithospheric plates leads to strong tectonic activity in the region.

At the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, at the edges of the Pacific Plate, is the so-called "Ring of fire" of the planet... Earthquakes constantly occur here, volcanoes erupt, tsunamis are born.

"Ring of Fire" of the planet.

The Pacific Ocean floor is literally strewn solitary mountains volcanic origin. At the moment, there are about 10,000 of them.

In addition, there is a complex underwater mountain range system, the longest of which is located in the south and east of the ocean - this is the East Pacific Rise, which passes in the south into the South Pacific Ridge. This underwater ridge divides the Pacific Ocean into two asymmetrical parts - the vast western part, where warm currents prevail, and the small eastern part, where the cold Peruvian current dominates.

Countless islands and archipelagos, formed as a result of volcanic activity, are combined into a separate part of the world - Oceania.

The largest basins in the Pacific Ocean are: Chilean, Peruvian, Northwest, South, East, Central.

Pacific seas and coastline. What is the Pacific Ocean?

Almost all the seas of the Pacific Ocean are located on its northern and western outskirts - off the coast of Asia, Australia, and the Malay Archipelago. In the east of the ocean, there are no large islands or bays jutting deep into the land - the coastline is smooth. The exception is the Gulf of California, a semi-enclosed Pacific Ocean. The only southern marginal sea of \u200b\u200bthis ocean, the Ross Sea, is located off the coast of Antarctica.

Pacific Islands.

In this article, we examined the description and general characteristics of the Pacific Ocean, answered the question: Which Pacific Ocean? Read on: Pacific Water: Ocean water masses, ocean temperature, ocean salinity, ice formation, and the color of the Pacific Ocean water.

There is a truly unique geographical feature of the planet Earth in the world - the Pacific Ocean. Like the continent of Eurasia, it can be called the largest, most populated, and so on. In 1513, it was first discovered by the Spanish conquistador de Balboa for Europeans. The ocean then bore the name "South Sea".

After seven years, another Spaniard, Fernand Magellan, a famous navigator, sailed here. He managed to cross the Pacific Ocean from Tierra del Fuego to the Philippine Islands itself in just four months. During the trip, the weather was calm and calm, without storms and storms, so the explorer called the ocean "Quiet".

Some scientists wanted to call it "Great" because of its incredible size. But this name did not receive recognition and any support. Until 1917, on all Russian maps, this geographical object was referred to as the "Eastern Ocean" or "Pacific Sea". This name was given to him by Russian explorers who first reached the ocean.

Features of geographic parameters

This ocean is considered the largest ocean on our entire planet. More than 178 million km ² is the area of \u200b\u200bthe water table. And this is equal to 49% of the entire area of \u200b\u200bthe World Ocean itself. This geographical feature washes almost all the continents of the Earth, except Africa. The width of the ocean in the equatorial region is 20 thousand kilometers. If we take into account its length from north to south, then it is located from the Arctic waters all the way to the coast of Antarctica

More than ten thousand islands are found in the Pacific Ocean. They all have different sizes and origins. The largest number of them is located in the central and western parts.

25 seas and three huge bays stand out in this ocean. In the western region of the ocean there are the largest number of seas. Among all the following marginal seas can be distinguished:

Beringovo;

East China;

Japanese;

Okhotsk;

It is also worth highlighting the seas of the Indonesian islands:

Javanskoe;

Sulawesi;

Moluccan.

In the Pacific Ocean itself, the seas are located, as:

Coral;

Filipino;

New Guinea;

Amundsen;

Tasmanovo;

Bellingshausen;

Features of the Pacific Ocean floor

From the point of view of the structure of the ocean, there are three main parts:

Shelf or continental margin;

Transition zone.

Only 10% of the entire area of \u200b\u200bthe Pacific Ocean belongs to the shelf zone. In the east, it is practically absent. The Mariana Trench is 11,000 meters deep and is the world's deepest.

The continuous ring around the Pacific Ocean forms a transition zone. 65% of the bottom area falls on the ocean floor. Many underwater ridges cross it. Such ridges create hollows on the ocean floor directly around the entire perimeter. A vast territory of tectonic faults is located in the transition zone. They formed the "Pacific Ring of Fire," a seismically active zone.

Water properties

The ocean is well warmed up due to its length in near-equatorial latitudes. It is considered the warmest ocean in the country. 34.7 ‰ - the salinity of the Pacific Ocean water.

It is also characterized by a complex system of various ocean currents, which was formed with the help of vast expanses and the influence of continents. The largest contradictions are: Kuroshio, Mezhpassatnoye, North Passatnoye, Peruvian, South Passatnoye.

The waters of the Pacific Ocean are densely populated. This geographical feature is called "the ocean of giants and endemics". The depths of the ocean have been little explored by specialists.

Due to the properties of water, plankton is quite productive. It is an excellent food base for marine mammals and fish. Colonies of coral polyps are characteristic of tropical latitudes. Such formations form coral island and reef systems.

Ocean area - 178.7 million square kilometers;
Maximum depth - Mariana Trench, 11022 m;
Number of seas - 25;
The largest seas are the Philippine Sea, Coral Sea, Tasman Sea, Bering Sea;
The largest bay is Alaska;
The largest islands are New Zealand, New Guinea;
The strongest currents:
- warm - North Passatnoye, South Passatnoye, Kuroshio, East Australian;
- cold - Western Winds, Peruvian, California.
The Pacific Ocean occupies a third of the entire earth's surface and half of the area of \u200b\u200bthe World Ocean. The equator crosses it almost in the middle. The Pacific Ocean washes the shores of five continents:
- Eurasia from the northwest;
- Australia from the southwest;
- Antarctica from the south;
- South and North America from the west.

In the north, through the Bering Strait, it connects with the Arctic Ocean. In the southern part, the conditional boundaries between the three oceans - the Pacific and Indian, the Pacific and the Atlantic - are drawn along the meridians, from the southernmost continental or island point to the Antarctic shores.
The Pacific Ocean is the only one that is almost entirely located within the boundaries of one lithospheric plate - the Pacific Ocean. In places of its interaction with other plates, seismically active zones arise, which create the Pacific seismic belt, known as the Ring of Fire. At the edges of the ocean, at the boundaries of the lithospheric plates, there are its deepest parts - oceanic trenches. One of the main features of the Pacific Ocean is tsunami waves that occur as a result of underwater eruptions and earthquakes.
The climate of the Pacific Ocean is due to its location in all climatic zones, except for the polar one. Most precipitation occurs in the equator zone - up to 2000 mm. Due to the fact that the Pacific Ocean is protected by land from the influence of the Arctic Ocean, its northern part is warmer than the southern one.
The trade winds reign in the central part of the ocean. Destructive tropical hurricanes - typhoons, which are characteristic of monsoon air circulation, are characteristic of the western part of the Pacific Ocean. Storms are frequent in the north and south.
There is almost no floating ice in the North Pacific, as the narrow Bering Channel restricts communication with the Arctic Ocean. And only the Okhotsk and Bering seas are covered with ice in winter.
The flora and fauna of the Pacific Ocean is rich and diverse. One of the richest organisms in terms of species composition is the Sea of \u200b\u200bJapan. Coral reefs of tropical and equatorial latitudes are especially rich in life forms. The largest coral structures are the Great Barrier Reef (Great Coral Reef) off the east coast of Australia, where tropical fish species, sea urchins, stars, squids, octopuses live ... Many fish species are of commercial importance: salmon, chum salmon, pink salmon, tuna, herring, anchovies ...
Ssavtsy are also found in the Pacific Ocean: whales, dolphins, seals, sea beavers (found only in the Pacific Ocean). One of the features of the Pacific Ocean is the presence of giant animals: blue whale, whale shark, king crab, tridacna clam ...
The territories of more than 50 countries go to the shores of the Pacific Ocean, in which almost half of the world's population lives.
Fernand Magellan (1519 - 1521), James Cook, A. Tasman, V. Bering laid the foundation for the exploration of the Pacific Ocean by the Europeans. In the 18th-19th centuries, the expeditions of the British vessel Challenger and the Russian Vityaz had especially important results. In the second half of the twentieth century, the Norwegian Thor Heyerdahl and the Frenchman Jacques-Yves Cousteau carried out interesting and versatile studies of the Pacific Ocean. At the present stage, specially created international organizations are engaged in the study of the nature of the Pacific Ocean.

The Pacific Ocean is a truly unique geographic feature of our planet. To him, as well as to Eurasia, it is quite possible to apply the title "the most, the most, the most ...". For the first time its coast for Europeans was opened by the Spanish conquistador de Balboa in $ 1513 $ a year. The Spaniard named it the South Sea.

Seven years later, another Spaniard entered the waters of this ocean. It was the famous navigator Fernand Magellan. He crossed the ocean from Tierra del Fuego to the Philippine Islands in less than four months. During the voyage, the sailor was accompanied by calm, calm weather (which happens extremely rarely). Therefore, Magellan called this ocean the Pacific.

There was a proposal, given the size of the ocean, to call it Great. But it did not receive proper support and recognition. On Russian maps up to $ 1917, this ocean was referred to as the "Pacific Sea" or "Eastern Ocean". It was an echo of the tradition of Russian explorers who first came out to him.

Features of geographic parameters

Remark 1

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of all the oceans on the planet. The area of \u200b\u200bits water surface is more than $ 178 $ million km $ ² $ ($ 49 $% of the area of \u200b\u200bthe World Ocean). It washes the shores of all continents with the exception of Africa. In the equatorial region, its width is almost $ 20,000 km. From north to south, it stretches from the Arctic waters to the coast of Antarctica.

Finished works on a similar topic

• Course work Features of the Pacific Ocean RUB 470
• abstract Features of the Pacific Ocean RUB 220
• Test Features of the Pacific Ocean 210 RUB

There are more than $ 10,000 of islands in the Pacific Ocean. They are of various origins and sizes. Most of them are located in the central and western regions.

The Pacific Ocean allocates $ 25 of the seas and $ 3 of the large gulf. Most of the seas are confined to the western part of the ocean. Among them, such marginal seas stand out as:

• Beringovo;
• Okhotsk;
• Japanese;
• Yellow;
• East China.

In addition, the seas of the Indonesian islands are distinguished in this area:

• Gang;
• Sulu;
• Sulawesi;
• Moluccan;
• Javanskoe.

In the ocean itself there are seas such as:

• Filipino;
• New Guinea;
• Coral;
• Fiji;
• Tasmanovo;
• Ross;
• Amundsen;
• Bellingshausen.

Features of the Pacific Ocean floor

If we consider the structure of the ocean floor, then there are three main parts:

• continental margin (shelf);
• transition zone;
• ocean bed.

Remark 2

A feature of the Pacific Ocean is an insignificant share of the shelf zone - only $ 10 $% of the area. In the eastern part, the shelf is practically absent. The second feature is the greatest depth - more than $ 11,000 m (Mariana Trench).

The transition zone forms an almost continuous ring around the ocean. The ocean floor accounts for almost $ 65% of the seabed area. It is crossed by numerous underwater ridges. These ridges distinguish several basins on the ocean floor. Along the bottom perimeter. In the area of \u200b\u200bthe transition zone, there is a vast area of \u200b\u200btectonic faults that form a seismically active zone - the "Pacific Ring of Fire".

Water properties

Due to the large length of the ocean in the near-equatorial latitudes, the ocean waters warm up well. It is the warmest ocean on the planet. The salinity of the water reaches $ 34.7 ‰.

The vast expanses and the influence of the continents led to the formation of a complex system of ocean currents. The most powerful are the Kuroshio, Peruvian, North Passat, South Passat and Inter-trade countercurrent.

A large number of living organisms live in the waters of the ocean. The Pacific Ocean is said to be "an ocean of endemics and giants." And the deep regions of the ocean are still just a little explored.

The properties of the water contribute to the high productivity of plankton. This, in turn, provides an excellent food base for fish and marine mammals. In tropical latitudes, colonies of coral polyps are actively functioning. They form coral reef and island systems.