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Facts about the oceans and seas
When our friend and solo ocean racer, Tim Kent, began thinking about a second Around Alone and Sir Robin Knox-Johnston renamed it the Five Oceans Race, Tim inspired us to do a little research about just how many oceans and seas there really are. If you think about it, all of them except one are connected and so technically might be considered one ocean. (And I don't know if we'd consider Hudson Bay to be a sea, but who are we to question the powers that be?)
Wow, that Pacific really is amazing, no? More than twice the size of the Atlantic, and significantly deeper than Everest, earth's highest mountain (29,035 feet), is high .
Name |
Area |
Average
depth |
Greatest known
depth |
Place of
greatest known depth |
sq. mi. |
sq. km |
ft. |
m |
ft. |
m |
Pacific Ocean
|
60,060,700 |
155,557,000 |
13,215 |
4,028 |
36,198 |
11,033 |
Mariana Trench |
Atlantic Ocean
|
29,637,900 |
76,762,000 |
12,880 |
3,926 |
30,246 |
9,219 |
Puerto Rico Trench |
Indian Ocean
|
26,469,500 |
68,556,000 |
13,002 |
3,963 |
24,460 |
7,455 |
Sunda Trench |
Southern Ocean (1)
|
7,848,300 |
20,327,000 |
13,10016,400 |
4,0005,000 |
23,736 |
7,235 |
South Sandwich
Trench |
Arctic Ocean
|
5,427,000 |
14,056,000 |
3,953 |
1,205 |
18,456 |
5,625 |
77°45'N; 175°W |
Mediterranean Sea (2) |
1,144,800 |
2,965,800 |
4,688 |
1,429 |
15,197 |
4,632 |
Off
Cape Matapan
,
Greece
|
Caribbean Sea
|
1,049,500 |
2,718,200 |
8,685 |
2,647 |
22,788 |
6,946 |
Off
Cayman Islands
|
South China Sea
|
895,400 |
2,319,000 |
5,419 |
1,652 |
16,456 |
5,016 |
West of
Luzon
|
Bering Sea
|
884,900 |
2,291,900 |
5,075 |
1,547 |
15,659 |
4,773 |
Off
Buldir
Island
|
Gulf of Mexico
|
615,000 |
1,592,800 |
4,874 |
1,486 |
12,425 |
3,787 |
Sigsbee Deep |
Okhotsk
Sea
|
613,800 |
1,589,700 |
2,749 |
838 |
12,001 |
3,658 |
146°10'E; 46°50'N |
East China Sea
|
482,300 |
1,249,200 |
617 |
188 |
9,126 |
2,782 |
25°16'N; 125°E |
Hudson Bay
|
475,800 |
1,232,300 |
420 |
128 |
600 |
183 |
Near entrance |
Japan
Sea
|
389,100 |
1,007,800 |
4,429 |
1,350 |
12,276 |
3,742 |
Central
Basin
|
Andaman
Sea
|
308,000 |
797,700 |
2,854 |
870 |
12,392 |
3,777 |
Off
Car
Nicobar
Island
|
North Sea
|
222,100 |
575,200 |
308 |
94 |
2,165 |
660 |
Skagerrak
|
Red Sea
|
169,100 |
438,000 |
1,611 |
491 |
7,254 |
2,211 |
Off
Port Sudan
|
Baltic Sea
|
163,000 |
422,200 |
180 |
55 |
1,380 |
421 |
Off
Gotland
|
1. A decision by the International Hydrographic Organization in spring 2000 delimited a fifth world ocean.
2. Includes
Black Sea
and
Sea of Azov
.
3. The
Caspian Sea
is called “sea” because the Romans, finding it salty, named it Mare Caspium. Many geographers, however, consider it a lake because it is land-locked.
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