However, as the Earth's climate changes, the polar regions are warming and much of the icepack melts during the summer months. The Northwest Passage and the Northern Sea Route have historically been important areas of trade and exploration. For many years only (4) four oceans were officially recognized, and then in the spring of 2000, the International Hydrographic Organization established the Southern Ocean, and determined its limits. It has an average depth of 13,215 feet (4,028 meters), but its deepest point is the Challenger Deep within the Mariana Trench near Japan. To convert sq km (kilometers) to sq miles, multiply kilometers by: 0.386102; Surface Area of the Planet (510,066,000 sq km), Land Area on the Planet (148,647,000 sq km) 29.1%, Total Water Area (361,419,000 sq km) 70.9%. Its average depth is 3,953 feet (1,205 meters) and its deepest point is the Fram Basin at -15,305 feet (-4,665 meters). It also hold… In doing so, boundaries were taken from the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans. It wasn't until 2000 that a fifth ocean was officially named: the Southern Ocean, which includes the waters around Antarctica. Nearly 90% of the world's earthquakes occur along the Ring of Fire; most recently, the devastating quakes in Chile, Japan and New Zealand. The deepest point in the Southern Ocean is unnamed, but it is in the south end of the South Sandwich Trench and has a depth of -23,737 feet (-7,235 meters). In addition to these oceans, they also described many other smaller bodies of salt water including seas, bays, and estuaries. The Pacific is the largest of these oceans, covering 63,784,077 sq miles (165,200,000 km²). They are truly one "world ocean" which covers about 71 percent of the Earth's surface. Those limits include all water below 60 degrees south, and some of it, like the Arctic Ocean, is frozen. It fills the area between the western coastline of the Americas, the eastern coastlines of Asia and Australia, and is capped to the North and South by the Arctic and Antarctic regions. The Indian Ocean is the world's third-largest ocean and it has an area of 26,469,900 square miles (68,566,000 sq km). It is situated on … It includes water bodies such as the Baltic Sea, Black Sea, Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, Mediterranean Sea, and the North Sea. It extends between Europe, Asia, and North America. The Arctic Ocean is the world's smallest with an area of 5,427,000 square miles (14,056,000 sq km). All maps, graphics, flags, photos and original descriptions © 2020 worldatlas.com, The 5 Oceans of the World - Maps and Details. For many years only (4) four oceans were officially recognized, and then in the spring of 2000, the International Hydrographic Organization established the Southern Ocean, and determined its … Throughout most of the year, much of the Arctic Ocean is covered by a drifting polar icepack that is an average of ten feet (three meters) thick. https://www.eartheclipse.com/geography/5-oceans-of-the-world.html The Southern Ocean extends from the coast of Antarctica to 60 degrees south latitude. The Ring of Fire coinciding with the edges of one of the world's main tectonic plates, (the Pacific Plate) contains over 450 volcanoes and is home to approximately 75% of the world's active volcanoes. In June 2020, NASA scientists reported that it's likely that exoplanets with oceans may be common in the Milky Way galaxy, based on mathematical modeling studies. km). Geographers, for many years, divided the world ocean into four parts: the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, and Arctic Oceans. 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