Pacific Ocean, body of salt water extending from the 60° S parallel in the south to the Arctic in the north and lying between the continents of Asia and Australia on the west and North and South America on the east. Its area, excluding adjacent seas, encompasses about 62.5 million square miles.
It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Antarctic in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia on the west and the Americas on the east. The equator divides it into the North Pacific Ocean and South Pacific Ocean.
Discover 10 fascinating facts about the Pacific Ocean, the world’s largest ocean, from its immense size to its rich biodiversity and unique features.
PACIFIC definition: tending to make or preserve peace; conciliatory. See examples of pacific used in a sentence.
Pacific Islanders are the guardians of this ocean, which is central to their way of life as it underpins their culture, food, livelihoods, and national economies. This stewardship matters to us all, because the ocean provides half our breathable air, and is vital to global food security.
The Pacific Ocean hosts some of the world’s largest seas on its margins, including the Philippines Sea, Coral Sea, South China Sea, Tasman Sea, Bering Sea, and the Sea of Okhotsk.
Covering more than 30 percent of the Earth’s surface, the Pacific Ocean is the largest water mass on the planet. With a surface area of more than 155 million square kilometers (60 million square miles), this ocean basin is larger than the landmass of all the continents combined.
Despite its name, the Pacific is a vast body of water teeming with activity. Much of the ocean is still waiting to be explored, but human activities like industrial fishing, deep-sea mining, and...