Pacific Ocean

:For other meanings of Pacific, see Pacific (disambiguation).

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The Pacific Ocean (from the Latin name Mare Pacificum, "peaceful sea", bestowed upon it by the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan) is the world's largest body of water. It encompasses a third of the Earth's surface, having an area of 179.7 million km² (69.4 million sq miles). Extending approximately 15,500 km (9,600 miles) from the Bering Sea in the Arctic to the icy margins of Antarctica's Ross Sea in the south (although the Antarctic regions of the Pacific are sometimes described as part of the circumpolar Southern Ocean), the Pacific reaches its greatest east-west width at about 5°N latitude, where it stretches approximately 19,800 km (12,300 miles) from Indonesia to the coast of Colombia. The western limit of the ocean is often placed at the Strait of Malacca. The lowest point on earth—the Mariana Trench—lies some 10,911 m (35,797 ft) below sea level.

Related Topics:
Latin - Portuguese - Ferdinand Magellan - Water - Earth - 179.7 million km² - 15,500 km - Bering Sea - Arctic - Antarctica - Ross Sea - Southern Ocean - Indonesia - Colombia - Strait of Malacca - Mariana Trench

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The Pacific contains about 25,000 islands (more than the total number in the rest of the world's oceans combined), the majority of which are found south of the equator. (See: Pacific Islands.)

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Along the Pacific Ocean's irregular western margins lie many seas, the largest of which are the Celebes Sea, Coral Sea, East China Sea, Sea of Japan, South China Sea, Sulu Sea, Tasman Sea and Yellow Sea. The Straits of Malacca joins the Pacific and the Indian Oceans on the west, and the Straits of Magellan links the Pacific with the Atlantic Ocean on the east.

Related Topics:
Celebes Sea - Coral Sea - East China Sea - Sea of Japan - South China Sea - Sulu Sea - Tasman Sea - Yellow Sea - Straits of Malacca - Indian Ocean - Straits of Magellan - Atlantic Ocean

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For most of Ferdinand Magellan's voyage from the Straits of Magellan to the Philippines, the Portuguese explorer indeed found the ocean peaceful. However, the Pacific is not always peaceful. Many typhoons and hurricanes batter the islands of the Pacific and the lands around the Pacific rim are full of volcanoes and often rocked by earthquakes. Tsunamis, caused by underwater earthquakes, have devastated many islands and wiped out whole towns.

Related Topics:
Ferdinand Magellan - Straits of Magellan - Philippines - Portuguese - Typhoon - Hurricane - Volcano - Earthquake - Tsunami

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