THE FIVE OCEANS

PACIFIC OCEAN
The Pacific Ocean is located between America and the Asian and
Australian continents to. The Equator divides the Pacific Ocean into the
North Pacific Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean.

Pacific means "peaceful", coming from the Latin "pace" for peace and
the Pacific Ocean got its name from the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand
Magellan in 1521 who called its waters "mar pacifico" which means
peaceful sea.

The Pacific is the biggest ocean on earth and covers more than 30%
of the earth’s surface. With a surface of
169,479,000sqkm/65,436,200sqmiles it provides almost half of the
Earth’s water area. Did you know that the size of the Pacific Ocean is
bigger than the total size of the landmass of all the continents together?

The Pacific is not only the biggest but also the deepest ocean with the
deepest trenches. The average depth is about 3,800 metres/12,467 ft.
ATLANTIC OCEAN
The Equator divides the Atlantic Ocean into the North Atlantic Ocean
and the South Atlantic Ocean and is located between America and the
continents of Europe and Africa.
There are many islands in the Atlantic Oceans, among the most well-
known are:
The Bahamas
Canary Islands (Spain)
Azores (Portugal)
Cap Verde Islands
The word ’Atlantic ’ originates from the Greek mythology meaning
‘Sea of Atlas’. Atlas was the titan who had to stand on the edge of the
earth and carry the heavens (celestial spheres) on his shoulders as
punishment from Zeus as Atlas had fought against the Olympian gods
for the control of the heavens.
The Atlantic is the world’s second largest ocean and covers 25% of
the Earth’s surface, after the Pacific Ocean. In size the Atlantic Ocean is
comparable with roughly 6.5 times the size of the USA.
INDIAN OCEAN

The Indian Ocean is located between Africa and Austral-

Asia and the Southern Ocean.
There are many islands in the Indian Oceans, among the
most well-known are:
Mauritius
Reunion (France)
Madagascar
Maldives (Portugal)
The name originates from the location around the Indian
peninsula. The Indian Ocean is actually the youngest of the
major oceans.
The Indian Ocean is the world’s third largest ocean and
covers 20% of the Earth’s surface, after the Pacific and the
Atlantic Oceans. In size the Indian Ocean is comparable with
roughly 5.5 times the size of the USA.
SOUTHERN OCEAN
The Southern Ocean is located in the southern hemisphere. It
surrounds Antarctica.
The Southern Ocean is also referred to as the Antarctic Ocean,
South Polar Ocean or Austral Ocean. The Southern Ocean is the
youngest ocean as it was formed 'only' 30 million years ago
when South America and Antarctica moved apart.
he Southern Ocean is the fourth biggest (or second smallest)
ocean on earth and covers only 6% of the earth’s surface.
Icebergs will be encountered in the Southern Ocean during any
season, but during May to October there are also strong winds
which make crossing the ocean even more dangerous.
ARCTIC OCEAN

The Arctic Ocean is located in the northern hemisphere and

borders the Eurasian and North American continents and
surrounds Greenland and several islands.
The Arctic Ocean derives its name from the word 'arktos'
which means 'bear' in Greek.
The Arctic Ocean is the smallest ocean on earth and covers
less than 3% of the earth’s surface. Much of the ocean is
covered by ice, however the thickness of the ice varies
depending on the season.
The sea temperatures of the Arctic Ocean is quite constant
and is around -2 degrees all year round. The climatic
conditions depend on the seasons; the sky is mostly cloudy over
the Arctic ocean. Winter is long and lasts from September to
May.