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Friday, June 22, 2012

Pacific Ocean


The Ocean's current name was given by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan during the Spanish expedition of world circumnavigation in 1521, who encountered favourable winds as he reached the ocean and called it Mar Pacifico in Portuguese, meaning "peaceful sea".

At 165.2 million square kilometres (64.1 million square miles)the ocean covers about 46% of the Earth's water surface and about one-third of its total surface area.

It extends from the Arctic in the North to the Antarctica in the South, bounded by Asia and Australia in the West, and the Americas in the East.

Islands in the Pacific Ocean are of 4 basic types -
Continental Islands
High Islands
Coral Reefs and
Uplifted Coral Platforms

The Equator  subdivides it into the North Pacific Ocean and South Pacific Ocean

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