Magellan discovered the Pacific Ocean in the fall of 1520 and called the ocean the Pacific Ocean, "because, - as one of the participants reports, during the transition from Tierra del Fuego to the Philippine Islands, more than three meyats - we have never experienced the slightest storm." In terms of the number (about 10 thousand) and the total area of the islands (about 3.6 million km²), the Pacific Ocean ranks first among the oceans. In the northern part - Aleutian; in the west - Kuril, Sakhalin, Japanese, Philippine, Big and Small Sunda, New Guinea, New Zealand, Tasmania; in the central and southern parts there are numerous small islands. The bottom relief is varied. In the east - the East Pacific uplift, in the central part there are many depressions (North-East, North-West, Central, East, South, etc.), deep-water trenches: in the north - Aleutian, Kuril-Kamchatsky, Izu-Boninsky; in the west - the Mariana (with the maximum depth of the World Ocean - 11,022 m), Philippine and others; in the east - Central American, Peruvian, etc.
The main surface currents: in the northern part of the Pacific Ocean - warm Kuroshio, North Pacific and Alaskan and cold California and Kuril; in the southern part there are warm South Trade winds and East Australian winds and cold West Winds and Peruvian ones. The water temperature at the surface at the equator is from 26 to 29 ° C, in the polar regions up to -0.5 ° C. Salinity 30-36.5 ‰. The Pacific Ocean accounts for about half of the world's fish catch (pollock, herring, salmon, cod, sea bass, etc.). Extraction of crabs, shrimps, oysters.
Important sea and air communications between the countries of the Pacific basin and transit routes between the countries of the Atlantic and Indian oceans run through the Pacific Ocean. Major ports: Vladivostok, Nakhodka (Russia), Shanghai (China), Singapore (Singapore), Sydney (Australia), Vancouver (Canada), Los Angeles, Long Beach (USA), Huasco (Chile). The date line passes through the Pacific Ocean along the 180 meridian.
Plant life (except for bacteria and lower fungi) is concentrated in the upper 200th layer, in the so-called euphotic zone. Animals and bacteria inhabit the entire water column and the ocean floor. Life develops most abundantly in the shelf zone and especially near the coast at shallow depths, where the flora of brown algae and a rich fauna of mollusks, worms, crustaceans, echinoderms, and other organisms are diversely represented in the temperate zones of the ocean. In tropical latitudes, the shallow-water zone is characterized by the widespread and strong development of coral reefs, along the very coast - mangrove thickets. As we move from cold to tropical zones, the number of species increases sharply, and the density of their distribution decreases. In the Bering Strait, about 50 species of coastal algae - macrophytes are known, in the Japanese islands - over 200, in the waters of the Malay Archipelago - over 800. In the Soviet Far Eastern seas, there are about 4000 known species of animals, and in the waters of the Malay Archipelago - at least 40-50 thousand ... In the cold and temperate zones of the ocean, with a relatively small number of plant and animal species, due to the massive development of some species, the total biomass greatly increases; in the tropical zones, individual forms do not receive such a sharp predominance, although the number of species is very large.
With distance from the coasts to the central parts of the ocean and with increasing depth, life becomes less diverse and less abundant. In general, the fauna of T. o. includes about 100 thousand species, but of which only 4-5% is found deeper than 2000 m.At depths of more than 5000 m, about 800 species of animals are known, more than 6000 m - about 500, deeper than 7000 m - slightly more than 200, and deeper than 10 thousand m - only about 20 species.
Among the coastal algae - macrophytes - in the temperate zones, fucus and kelp are especially distinguished by their abundance. In tropical latitudes, they are replaced by brown algae - sargassus, green algae - kaulerpa and galimeda and a number of red algae. The surface zone of the pelagial is characterized by the massive development of unicellular algae (phytoplankton), mainly diatoms, peridiniaceae, and coccolithophorids. In zooplankton, the most important are various crustaceans and their larvae, mainly copepods (at least 1000 species) and euphausids; there is a significant admixture of radiolarians (several hundred species), coelenterates (siphonophores, jellyfish, ctenophores), eggs and larvae of fish and benthic invertebrates. In T. about. it is possible to distinguish, in addition to the littoral and sublittoral zones, a transition zone (up to 500-1000 m), bathyal, abyssal and ultraabyssal, or a zone of deep-sea trenches (from 6-7 to 11 thousand m).
Planktonic and benthic animals serve as abundant food for fish and marine mammals (nekton). The fish fauna is exceptionally rich, including at least 2,000 species in tropical latitudes and about 800 in the Soviet Far Eastern seas, where, in addition, there are 35 species of marine mammals. Of the greatest commercial value are: of fish - anchovies, Far Eastern salmon, herring, mackerel, sardine, saury, sea bass, tuna, flounder, cod and pollock; mammals - sperm whale, several species of minke whales, fur seal, sea otter, walrus, sea lion; invertebrates - crabs (including Kamchatka), shrimps, oysters, scallops, cephalopods, and many others; from plants - kelp (seaweed), agaronos-anfeltia, zostera sea grass and phyllospadix. Many representatives of the Pacific Ocean fauna are endemic (pelagic cephalopod mollusk nautilus, most Pacific salmon, saury, green fishes, northern fur seal, sea lion, sea otter and many others).
The great extent of the Pacific Ocean from North to South determines the diversity of its climates - from equatorial to subarctic in the North and Antarctic in the South.Most of the ocean surface, approximately between 40 ° north latitude and 42 ° south latitude, is located in the zones of equatorial, tropical and subtropical climates. The circulation of the atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean is determined by the main areas of atmospheric pressure: the Aleutian minimum, the North Pacific, South Pacific and Antarctic maximums. The indicated centers of action of the atmosphere in their interaction determine the great constancy of northeastern in the North and southeastern in the South winds of moderate strength - trade winds - in the tropical and subtropical parts of the Pacific Ocean and strong westerly winds in temperate latitudes. Especially strong winds are observed in the southern temperate latitudes, where the frequency of storms is 25-35%, in the northern temperate latitudes in winter - 30%, in summer - 5%. In the west of the tropical zone, from June to November, tropical hurricanes - typhoons are frequent. The northwestern Pacific Ocean is characterized by monsoon atmospheric circulation. The average air temperature in February decreases from 26-27 ° С near the equator to –20 ° С in the Bering Strait and –10 ° С near the coast of Antarctica. In August, the average temperature varies from 26-28 ° С near the equator to 6-8 ° С in the Bering Strait and to –25 ° С near the coast of Antarctica. Throughout the Pacific Ocean, located north of 40 ° S latitude, there are significant differences in air temperature between the eastern and western parts of the ocean, caused by the corresponding dominance of warm or cold currents and the nature of the winds. In tropical and subtropical latitudes, the air temperature in the East is 4–8 ° C lower than in the West. In the northern temperate latitudes, it is the other way around: in the east, the temperature is 8–12 ° C higher than in the West. Average annual cloudiness in areas of low atmospheric pressure is 60-90%. high pressure - 10-30%. Average annual precipitation at the equator is more than 3000 mm, in temperate latitudes - 1000 mm in the West. and 2000-3000 mm in V. The smallest amount of precipitation (100-200 mm) falls on the eastern outskirts of subtropical regions of high atmospheric pressure; in the western parts the amount of precipitation increases to 1500-2000 mm. Fogs are typical for temperate latitudes, they are especially frequent in the region of the Kuril Islands.
Under the influence of the atmospheric circulation developing over the Pacific Ocean, surface currents form anticyclonic gyres in subtropical and tropical latitudes and cyclonic gyres in northern temperate and southern high latitudes. In the northern part of the ocean, the circulation is formed by warm currents: the North Passat - Kuroshio and the North Pacific and cold California currents. In the northern temperate latitudes, the cold Kuril Current dominates in the West, and the warm Alaskan Current in the East. In the southern part of the ocean, the anticyclonic circulation is formed by warm currents: the South Passat, East Australian, zonal South Pacific and cold Peruvian currents. North of the equator, between 2-4 ° and 8-12 ° north latitude, the northern and southern circulation during the year are separated by the Inter-trade (Equatorial) countercurrent.
The average temperature of the surface waters of the Pacific Ocean (19.37 ° C) is 2 ° C higher than the temperature of the waters of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, which is a result of the relatively large size of that part of the Pacific Ocean, which is located in well-warmed latitudes (over 20 kcal / cm2 per year ), and limited communication with the Arctic Ocean. The average water temperature in February varies from 26-28 ° С at the equator to -0.5, -1 ° С north of 58 ° north latitude, near the Kuril Islands and south of 67 ° south latitude. In August, the temperature is 25-29 ° С near the equator, 5-8 ° С in the Bering Strait and -0.5, -1 ° С south of 60-62 ° south latitude. Between 40 ° south latitude and 40 ° north latitude, the temperature in the eastern part of T. o. 3-5 ° C lower than in the western part. North of 40 ° north latitude - on the contrary: in the East, the temperature is 4-7 ° C higher than in the West. South of 40 ° south latitude, where zonal transport of surface waters prevails, there is no difference between water temperatures in the East and in the West. The Pacific Ocean has more precipitation than evaporated water. Taking into account the river flow, over 30 thousand km3 of fresh water flows here annually. Therefore, the salinity of the surface waters of T. o. lower than in other oceans (average salinity is 34.58 ‰). The lowest salinity (30.0-31.0 ‰ and less) is noted in the West and East of the northern temperate latitudes and in the coastal regions of the eastern part of the ocean, the highest (35.5 ‰ and 36.5 ‰) - respectively in the northern and southern subtropical latitudes. At the equator, the salinity of water decreases from 34.5 ‰ or less, in high latitudes - to 32.0 ‰ or less in the North, to 33.5 ‰ or less in the South.
The density of water on the surface of the Pacific Ocean increases quite evenly from the equator to high latitudes in accordance with the general nature of the distribution of temperature and salinity: at the equator 1.0215-1.0225 g / cm3, in the North - 1.0265 g / cm3 and more, in the South - 1.0275 g / cm3 and more. The color of the water in subtropical and tropical latitudes is blue, the transparency in some places is more than 50 m.In the northern temperate latitudes, dark blue water predominates, at the coast it is greenish, the transparency is 15-25 m.In the Antarctic latitudes, the water color is greenish, the transparency is up to 25 m ...
The tides in the northern part of the Pacific Ocean are dominated by irregular semidiurnal (height up to 5.4 m in the Gulf of Alaska) and semidiurnal (up to 12.9 m in the Penzhinskaya Bay of the Sea of Okhotsk). Near the Solomon Islands and off the coast of New Guinea, daily tides, up to 2.5 m. 40 ° north latitude. The maximum height of wind waves in the Pacific Ocean is 15 m and more, the length is over 300 m. Tsunami waves are characteristic, especially often observed in the northern, southwestern and southeastern parts of the Pacific Ocean.
Ice in the northern part of the Pacific Ocean is formed in seas with harsh winter climatic conditions (Beringovo, Okhotskoye, Yaponskoye, Yellow) and in bays off the coast of Hokkaido Island, Kamchatka and Alaska peninsulas. In winter and spring, ice is carried by the Kuril Current into the extreme northwestern part of the Pacific Ocean, and small icebergs are found in the Gulf of Alaska. In the South Pacific, ice and icebergs are formed off the coast of Antarctica and are carried out into the open ocean by currents and winds. The northern boundary of floating ice in winter runs at 61-64 ° S latitude, in summer it shifts to 70 ° S latitude, icebergs are carried out to 46-48 ° S latitude in late summer. Icebergs are formed mainly in the Ross Sea.
He is a champion in many respects: here is the deepest earthly depression, and the most powerful typhoons (contrary to the "meek" name). It also has the largest number of seas, which is natural, given its size. Now we will consider the seas of the Pacific Ocean, a list of their names, learn something interesting about them.
How many seas are there in the world?
To start a conversation follows from the fact that it is impossible to count the number of seas in the world, as well as in the Pacific Ocean. After all, the sea is not a lake, it never has clear boundaries. Which part of the ocean is considered a sea and which is not is a decision, where often subjective, and even political and economic factors play an important role.
The list of terrestrial seas is constantly changing, especially in the part where we are talking about tiny seas. Some of them are, in fact, large bays. From time to time, scientists and economists gather at special conferences to clarify the "nautical" lists at them. The latest UNESCO recommendations suggest that 59 aquatic regions of the planet should be considered seas. But again, these recommendations always find their opponents.
Major seas of the Pacific Ocean
To please all points of view, let's first highlight the 6 largest seas in the Pacific Ocean. The area of each of them is more than 1 million km² or very close to it. The existence of these sea basins is indisputable, and no one doubts. So here are our champions:
Other Pacific seas, list
Paying tribute to these giant seas, let's add the rest of the Pacific seas to the list. At the moment it looks like this (although we repeat - in different sources it may differ slightly):
- Amundsen.
- Yellow.
- Visayan Sea.
- East China.
- Sea of Koro.
- Camotes.
- Mindanao Sea.
- Moluccan.
- New Guinea.
- Savu.
- Samar.
- Seram.
- Sibuyan.
- Sulu.
- Sulawesi.
- Solomonovo.
- Okhotsk.
- Fiji.
- Flores.
- Halmahera.
- Javanskoe.
If we have already singled out the largest seas of this ocean, we will pay tribute to the smallest ones. Although with them, as already mentioned, the most controversial points arise. As a rule, these seas are bays, parts of larger seas (and sometimes just large "pockets" between large islands). Determining their boundaries is a big problem.
It looks like it's the smallest on our list, it belongs entirely to Japan. Its area does not even reach 2 thousand km². Aki separates the east and west of the Sea of Japan. Despite its size, it is in the zone of this reservoir that powerful monsoons of Southeast Asia originate. In addition, the Aki Sea is rich in fish, primarily mackerel.
The second from the bottom in our list in terms of area, only 40 thousand km² (although this is not so small in comparison with the previous sea). A diving paradise, a calm place where storms rarely rush. Located between the islands of Bali and Java. The climate is subequatorial and humid.
The area is 740 thousand km². Despite its small size, Banda is distinguished by great depths. It is located within the Malay Archipelago, in a zone of active seismicity. One of the faults in the earth's crust passes here, so the average depth reaches 2,800 meters.
Its water area is warm all year round, the seabed is beautiful, which also attracts scuba diving enthusiasts. Interestingly, until the 19th century, nutmeg was grown on the tiny Banda Islands, keeping their location a secret. This was the only place on Earth where this nut grew.
Some more interesting
Much can be said about the Pacific Ocean. Indeed, its area is larger than the area of the entire earth's land! The seas are the outskirts of this giant reservoir, but they also have their own characteristics and mysteries. We have already mentioned some of them, we will supplement what has been said with some more information:
- The Bering and Okhotsk seas are periodically covered with ice, although not continuous. Among the other seas of the Pacific Ocean, ice occurs only in the Sea of Japan.
- The Sea of Okhotsk has the highest sea tides in Russia.
- The Savu Sea is a "disputed territory" of two oceans. Hydrologists have not yet decided whether it is part of the Pacific Ocean or the Indian Ocean.
- The Yellow Sea is the shallowest in the ocean, its average depth is only about 60 meters. It cuts deep into the land, taking in the very large Yellow River. In the spring it overflows, carrying millions of cubic meters of dirty water mixed with sand into the sea. Given the shallow depths, this water is able to tint the entire water area of the sea in a yellowish color for several months.
- The Java Sea is considered one of the youngest not only in the Pacific Ocean, but in the whole world. It was formed in the last quarter of the Ice Age, and until that time it remained land, along which, probably, the ancestors of people came to the lands of Australia from Asia.
- The Solomon Sea, stretching east of New Guinea, has a particularly turbulent geological nature. Two small oceanic plates collide here, so there are many sharp elevation changes in the sea. There are two depressions, each more than 9,000 meters deep, as well as a number of underwater volcanoes. It also features a wealth of nature and numerous coral reefs.
Such a listing of interesting facts could be continued for a long time. In the Pacific Ocean, you can find something special, your own, distinguishing this sea basin from others. And this is the value, it is not for nothing that this ocean is often called the Great!
Hello friends! Today I have prepared a new article for you. Now we will look at the characteristics of the Pacific Ocean.
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of all oceans (about what the ocean is,). It washes such continents (more about continents): in the east - North America (more about North America) and South America, in the west - Australia and Eurasia (more about Eurasia), and in the south of the coast of Antarctica (more about Antarctica).
The volume of the Pacific Ocean is 710 million km 3, the area together with the seas (about what such a sea is possible) - 178.6 million km 2. It is not only the largest, but also the deepest ocean, its maximum depth is 11022 m (Mariana Trench), the average depth is 3980 m.
In the Pacific Ocean, the seas are mainly located on the western and northern outskirts: Okhotsk, South China, East China, Bering, Yellow, Philippine, Japanese, Inner Japanese. The seas of Tasmanovo and Coral belong to the inter-island or the Australian-Asian Mediterranean. Seas off the coast of Antarctica: Ross, Bellingshausen and Amundsen.
Also, the ocean is rich in islands: in its northern part there are the Aleutian Islands, in the western part - Sakhalin Island, New Guinea Island, Kuril Islands, Philippine Islands, Japanese Islands, New Zealand Island, Big and Small Sunda Islands, Tasmania Island and others. In the central part of the Pacific Ocean, there are numerous islands that are united under the name Oceania.
In the eastern part of the ocean, the bottom topography is relatively flat, in the central and western parts there are many seamounts and basins (the depth of which is more than 5000 m) separated by underwater ridges, on which the depths decrease to 2000-3000 m (South Pacific Ridge, East Pacific ridge, etc.).
Deep-sea trenches (depth 8000-10000 m), active volcanism and seismic activity are characteristic of the peripheral regions.
The water surface temperature in the polar regions is up to -0.5 ° С, and near the equator - from 26 to 29 ° С.
The fish fauna is about 800 species in the Far Eastern seas and at least 2,000 species of fish and 6,000 species of molluscs in tropical latitudes. There are many coral reefs in the ocean.
The flora is represented by flowering plants (29 species), about 4000 species of algae live on the ocean floor, as well as about 1300 species of unicellular algae (peridinea, diatoms).
More than half of the world's seafood and fish production is in the Pacific Ocean. The most important are: herring, pollock, cod, Pacific salmon, sea bass, saury, mackerel, greenling, etc. Oysters, shrimps and crabs are also mined.
There are also vital air and sea routes that connect the four continents through the Pacific Ocean.
Main ports: Los Angeles (USA, more about the country), San Francisco (USA), Valparaiso (Chile), Vancouver (Canada), Vladivostok (Russia, more about the country), Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky (Russia), Nakhodka (Russia), Shanghai (China), Hong Kong (China), Tianjin (China), Guangzhou (China), Busan (South Korea), Sydney (Australia), Yokohama (Japan), Tokyo (Japan), Singapore (Singapore).
That's all for today, I think you liked the characteristics of the Pacific Ocean from me😉Until next time, go to the blog, read new articles, subscribe to updates, like and comment🙂Bye Bye!
Many seas wash the shores of one or more countries. Some of these seas are huge, others are very small ... Only the inland seas are not part of the ocean.
After the Earth formed 4.5 billion years ago from a clot of gas and dust, the planet's temperature dropped and the vapor in the atmosphere condensed (turned into a liquid when cooled), settling on the surface in the form of rains. From this water, the world ocean was formed, subsequently divided by the continents into four oceans. These oceans include numerous coastal seas, often interconnected.
The largest seas of the Pacific Ocean
Philippine sea
Area: 5.7 million km 2, located between Taiwan in the north, the Marianna Islands in the east, the Caroline Islands in the southeast and the Philippines in the west.
Coral sea
Area: 4 million km2, bounded in the west by Australia, Papua New Guinea in the north, Vanuatu in the east, and New Caledonia
South China Sea
Area: 3.5 million km 2, located between the Philippines to the east, Malaysia to the south, Vietnam to the west and China to the north
Tasman Sea
Area: 3.3 million km 2, it 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.
The largest seas of the Atlantic Ocean
Sargasso Sea
Area: 4 million km 2, located between Florida (USA) in the west and the northern Antilles in the south.
Composition of sea water
Sea water is approximately 96% water and 4% salt. Apart from the 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 due to 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 Ivory Coast, 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 in the south.
Antillean 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, adjacent to the southern coast of the United States to the north and Mexico to the west.
Baltic Sea
Area: 372,730 km 2, washing Russia and Finland in the north, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in the east, Poland and Germany in the south, and Denmark with 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.
The largest seas of the Indian Ocean
Arabian Sea
Area: 3.5 million km 2, washed by the 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 shores 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 Gulf)
Area: 1.3 million km 2, stretches along the southern coast of 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 strait
Area: 1.4 million km 2, located near Africa, between the shores of Mozambique in the west and Madagascar in the east.
The largest seas of the Arctic Ocean
Barents 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, bounded by Greenland in the west and Svalbard (Norway) in the east.
East-Siberian Sea
Area: 900,000 km 2, washes the coast of Siberia.
Largest seas of Antarctica
Inland seas
Inland or closed seas are completely landlocked. The Black and Caspian Seas are the largest of them.
Black Sea
Area: 461,000 km 2. Around it are Romania and Bulgaria in the west, Russia and Ukraine in the north, Georgia in the east and Turkey in the south. It communicates with the Mediterranean Sea through the Marmara Sea.
Bellingshausen sea
Area: 1.2 million km 2, located near Antarctica.
Caspian Sea
Area: 376,000 km 2, 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 (UK) 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 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 its water surface is more than $ 178 $ million km $ ² $ ($ 49% of the area of the 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 Arctic waters to the coast of Antarctica.
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.
In the Pacific Ocean, $ 25 is allocated for the seas and $ 3 for the large gulf. Most of the seas are confined to the western part of the ocean. Among them are such marginal seas 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 the 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 the transition zone, there is a vast area of tectonic faults that form a seismically active zone - the "Pacific Ring of Fire".
Water properties
Due to the large length of the ocean in 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.
