Largest Ocean in the World: Oceans are vast bodies of salt water that cover about 70% of the Earth’s surface. The ocean contains 97% of the planet’s water, yet more than 95 percent of the underwater world remains unexplored. Oceans and lakes play an integral role in many of Earth’s systems, including climate and weather. According to NOAA, there is only one world ocean.
However, this ocean is divided into geographical regions with distinct names by countries and oceanographers. Although the ocean plays a major role in sustaining life on Earth, we have only explored 20% of the ocean. The largest ocean in the world is Pacific Ocean followed by the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Southern Ocean, and Arctic Ocean.
Which is the Largest Ocean in the World?
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the world’s five oceans. The Pacific Ocean covers about 162,200,000 square kilometers and has the longest coastline of about 135,663 kilometers. It is located between the eastern coastline of Africa and Asia and the western coastline of the American landmass. It is also bounded by the Antarctic Ocean to the south and the Arctic Ocean to the north.
Of all ocean waters, the Pacific Ocean constitutes about 46% and covers more than a third of the total land surface. Current environmental concerns include endangered marine species such as seals, whales, turtles, sea otters, dugongs and sea lions, etc, and oil pollution in the South China Sea and Philippine Sea.