Pacific Ocean - the largest of the oceans of our planet.Its area with all the seas is 178,600,000 square meters.kilometers, an average depth of 3980 meters, the volume of a body of water - 710 million cubic meters.kilometers.It occupies about 40% of the Earth's surface and about half of its water territory.Thus, the original name of "the Great", the Spanish explorer Vasco de Balboa in 1513, is fully justified.
In 1520, Magellan sailed the Pacific Ocean and called it so because of the travel time of three members of the expedition never got in a storm.Subsequently, he repeatedly denied its name and time and again demonstrated the immense power of all travelers element.
terms of the number of islands ocean giant also holds the palm.Their number - about 10 thousand, the total area - about 3.6 million square meters.kilometers.In the northern part of the Aleutian Islands are located in the west - Sakhalin, and the Kuril Islands Japanese and Filipino, Tasmania, New Zealand to New Guinea, Lesser and Greater Sunda Islands.In the central and southern parts of the ocean are numerous small islands and archipelagos.
currents of the Pacific Ocean are divided into warm (North Pacific, Alaska, Kuroshio - in the northern part of the East Australian, South Equatorial - in the south) and cold (Peruvian and west winds in the south Kuril and California in the north).The water temperature at the equator - about 27-28 ° C in the polar regions - about 0 ° C.
bays of the Pacific Ocean along with the seas and straits occupy more than 30 million sq. M.kilometers, accounting for 18% of its area.Most of the Seas is located along the shores of Eurasia (Bering, Japan, Sea of Okhotsk and so forth.), Along the Australian coast, and washed by the islands of Southeast Asia.Off the coast of Antarctica located Amundsen Sea, Ross and Bellingshausen.
largest bays of the Pacific (Alaska, California and Panama) washes the shores of the Americas.
flora of the ocean is presented in a variety of mostly shallow along the coasts of islands and coral reefs.The greatest number are concentrated in tropical and equatorial latitudes.The fauna of the ocean includes more than 100,000 species of organisms, from the simplest to the variety of fish species in the tropics where there are more than 2000.
Due to the vast extent of the Pacific Ocean includes several different climatic zones.Most of it is located in the equatorial, tropical and subtropical zones.The circulation of the atmosphere over the ocean leads to strong winds and storms, especially in the southern temperate latitudes.In the western part of the ocean are frequent typhoons.Temperature western and eastern parts may vary in the same latitude because of the overwhelming dominance of warm and cold currents.
in the northern seas of the Pacific Ocean, located in the Arctic, the water freezes in the winter due to low temperatures, there are icebergs.In cold seas, washing the coast of Antarctica, icebergs formed currents and winds carried into the open space of water surface.
Pacific crossing major sea and air routes linking the Pacific Rim.Through it pass transit routes to the countries of the Indian and Atlantic Oceans.Major international sea ports are located on its shores.This Singapore, Sydney, Shanghai, Vancouver, Los Angeles, Vladivostok, Nakhodka.About half of the world fish catch accounts for the Pacific.The most common species of game fish include: herring, cod, salmon, pollock, redfish.Also extracted crabs, oysters and shrimp.
"Border" 180th Meridian (the boundary change date) is also located on its territory.
