What is more - Pacific or Atlantic ocean? What is the biggest and deepest ocean on Earth?

What is more - Pacific or Atlantic ocean? In what natural pool could all the continents on the planet be able to fit? Covering about 178 million km ² and containing more than half of all free water on the planet, the most voluminous is the Pacific Ocean.

Great and ancient

The Pacific Ocean is considered to be the oldest existing ocean basin. Its ancient rocks are about 200 million years old. The pool is also called the "ring of fire" because of intense earthquakes and volcanic activity recorded near the areas of movement of tectonic plates. Answering the question about what more - the Pacific or Atlantic Ocean, it is worth noting that they are both leaders, although the waters of the Atlantic occupy an honorable, but second place. Then follow the Indian, Southern and, finally, the Arctic.

Sea trips and great discoveries

In the old days, before air travel became possible, the only way, except land, to get abroad and see new countries and continents was the sea route.

Such legendary researchers as Christopher Columbus and Sir Francis Drake have plowed the waves of the whole world on a ship, taking part in various epic adventures and discovering new countries, culture and much more. Before, no one could guess what greater - the Pacific or Atlantic Ocean, because all the trips were made almost blind. With the advent of geographical maps, things went much easier.

Pacific Ocean and its islands

The largest ocean literally extends from the Arctic in the north to Antarctica in the south and borders almost all the continents. Some of the most beautiful tropical islands are in its basin - from Hawaii in the north to Tahiti in the south. The names of the most magical places and break from the language: Bora Bora, Rarotonga and Maui.

In fact, there are about 10,000 islands in the Pacific. The largest of them is Melanesia, which includes New Guinea (the second largest island in the world), the romantic Fiji and the Solomon Islands. To the north of the equator are Kiribati, Guam and the Mariana Islands. Polynesia occupies a vast expanse. It includes Hawaii to the north, New Zealand to the south, Easter Island to the east and Tonga to the west.

And yet: the Pacific Ocean is the largest or the Atlantic?

The Atlantic Ocean and its islands

The mighty Atlantic Ocean borders on Greenland, Europe, Africa, North and South America. The Canary Islands are off the coast of Africa. The Atlantic also washed Iceland, Ireland and the Ascension Island, Robben Island in South Africa, Martas-Vinyard Islands and Nantucket in the US and the Eastern Caribbean Islands. What is more - Pacific or Atlantic ocean?

The waters of the Atlantic cover about 20% of the total surface of the planet, covering 91.66 million km ² . Hence, it is clear that the Pacific is large in area, and almost 2 times.

The most deep

It is no longer a secret of which ocean is greater - Pacific or Atlantic. Equator conventionally divides the Pacific Ocean into the northern and southern parts. In addition, the largest natural pool is also the deepest. The average depth is 3.9 kilometers. The Atlantic Ocean in this respect is inferior by as much as 20%. Which ocean is the deepest? The answer is the same - Quiet.

The Mariana Trench in the northwest is the deepest point in the world. Its depth is more than 11 kilometers.

Warm water in the Pacific?

The water temperature in the Pacific varies depending on the location. In some areas near the equator, it reaches a mark of 30 degrees Celsius, while near the poles this figure drops to 18-20 degrees.

What is the largest ocean after the Pacific Ocean?

When it comes to size, the Atlantic Ocean takes 2nd position, since it covers one-fifth of the total surface area of the Earth. This is about 102 million km ² . This massive water giant covers about 20% of the entire earth's surface and about 25% of the volume of the World Ocean. It was named because of the myths of ancient Greek mythology, where the Atlantic was called "the Atlas Sea".

The third is the Atlantic Ocean in its depth, which on average is about 3.6 km. The lowest point is the Puerto Rico trough (8,742 km). In second place is the Indian Ocean with an average depth of 3.7 km. Its deepest point is located in the Sunda gully and leaves down 7.7 km. The Arctic Ocean is in the fourth position. Its depth averages 1 km, and the lowest point is located in the Greenland Sea - 5.5 km.

Interesting Facts

So, we answered the question of which ocean is bigger - Pacific or Atlantic, and also which one is deeper. An interesting fact is also connected with the name of the ocean itself on the planet. Quiet, he was named a famous seafarer and explorer Ferdinand Magellan in 1520. During his journey, a huge pond appeared to him calm and peaceful. However, it was just a lucky coincidence of circumstances and weather conditions.

The seabed is strewn with thousands of underwater volcanoes

In fact, the Pacific Ocean is not so peaceful. Modern researchers managed to confirm the existence of the world's largest volcano, which resembles the size of the British Isles. It is located in the Pacific Ocean, 1.5 thousand kilometers east of Japan. The massive volcano is also quite unique due to its low and wide form. Its flatness is due to the fact that its lava flowed for long distances compared to most other volcanoes on the planet.

Called Tama, this massif covers about 193 thousand km ² , and this is much more than Hawaiian Mauna Loa - the largest active volcano on Earth, which covers about 3 square kilometers. Km. The best analogue can be considered the extinct volcano Olympus Mons on the planet Mars, which is approximately 25 percent larger in volume than the largest volcano in the largest ocean on planet Earth.