Pacific Ocean Facts
The largest and deepest body of water on Earth, the Pacific Ocean completes the list of the world’s waters. Along with the four other oceans and seven seas, it covers up to 71% of the Earth’s surface. Despite its name, the big blue ocean is full of harsh conditions. It often overflows with activity, such as birthing hurricanes, and cools our planet to habitable temperatures.
Indeed, this vast ocean basin is essential to the ecosystem of our planet. It serves as an important foundation for both marine life and land-dwellers, as well as economic pathways for governments. The Pacific Ocean borders 55 countries from different continents ranging from China, the United States, Australia, Japan, Philippines, Mexico and the Oceania region. Now, let’s dive into the vast pool of Pacific Ocean facts and learn more about our planet’s largest oceanic division.
- 01The Pacific Ocean was formed about 190 million years ago.
- 02The second-largest island, New Guinea, is found in the Pacific Ocean.
- 03It is also home to Easter Island, named by a Dutch explorer who discovered the island on Easter Sunday.
- 04Beneath the surface of the Pacific lies the Earth’s longest mountain range, the Mid-Oceanic Ridge, which stretches almost 40,000 miles.
- 05There are large pockets of petroleum and natural gas found beneath the continental shelves of New Zealand and Australia’s coasts.
Ferdinand Magellan, a Portuguese explorer, named the Pacific Ocean in 1521.
During his circumnavigation of the world under the flag of Spain, Magellan sailed into a calm patch of water with favorable wind conditions and named it “Mar Pacifico,” which translates to “peaceful sea” in both Spanish and Portuguese.
The Pacific Ocean spans from the Western Coast of the United States to the coast of China.
The largest ocean basin on Earth covers an area of about 60 million sq. mi with an average depth of 13,000 ft. This amounts to 30% of our planet’s surface and holds almost twice the amount of water as the Atlantic Ocean. It borders a number of countries such as China, Russia, down to Australia, and the East Coast of the Americas.
The Pacific Ocean is home to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is the largest collection of floating debris found on the eastern and western regions of the Pacific Ocean. One of the largest is the patch found between the coasts of Hawaii and California.
The Pacific Ocean is larger than the Earth’s landmasses put together.
The largest water basin on Earth is almost 10% larger than all of the continents combined. Our planet’s land mass only equates to a total of about 58 million sq. mi.
Earth’s tallest mountain is actually located in the Pacific.
Mauna Kea is an inactive volcano in the Hawaiian region. Although the widely popular Mount Everest, which clocks in at 29,029 ft. from its base to its peak, is commonly referred to as the world’s highest landmark, it’s actually dwarfed in comparison to the Earth’s actual tallest mountain.