The world is mostly covered with oceans, but did you know people have only explored about 5% of the world’s oceans? Let’s learn a little about the Pacific Ocean.
The Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is one of the 5 main oceans in the world. It is the biggest and deepest ocean of all. It covers more of the Earth's surface than all the dry land put together!
The Pacific Ocean separates Asia and Australia from North and South America.
The explorer Ferdinand Magellan named the ocean 'el mar Pacífico', which means 'the peaceful sea'.
Size: the Pacific Ocean covers around 30% of the Earth’s surface. It measures 165,250,000 square kilometres (63,800,000 sq miles).
Temperature: the temperature ranges from -1.4ºC to 30ºC. The water is warmer near the equator.
Depth: the average depth is about 12,467feet (3,800m). It is the deepest ocean of all.
The equator (an invisible line that runs through the centre of the Earth) divides the Pacific Ocean into:
- The North Pacific Ocean
- The South Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is full of islands, more than 25,000 of them. Most of them are found in the South Pacific.
The second-largest island in the world is located in the Pacific Ocean, it’s called the island of New Guinea.
Who lives in the Pacific Ocean?
In the Pacific Ocean, you can find blue whales, the biggest animals in the world. You can also find sea turtles, pufferfish and frilled sharks.
Did you know?
- 42 countries border the Pacific Ocean.
- The Atlantic Ocean is slowly getting wider and the Pacific Ocean is slowly shrinking.
- The deepest place on Earth is at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. It’s a huge underwater ditch in the Mariana Trench called the Challenger Deep. It measures nearly 36,000ft (11,000m).
