The Five Oceans
⏱ 7 min read
More than 70 percent of the Earth's surface is covered in salt water. We split that one giant world ocean into five named oceans: the Pacific, the Atlantic, the Indian, the Southern and the Arctic. Each one has its own size, its own depth, its own temperature and its own incredible wildlife. Let's dive in and meet them all.
1. The Pacific Ocean — the biggest of them all
The Pacific is the largest and the deepest ocean on Earth. It covers about 165 million square kilometres — bigger than all the land on the planet put together. The deepest point in any ocean, the Mariana Trench, is in the Pacific. It plunges nearly 11 kilometres down — deep enough to swallow Mount Everest with room to spare.
The Pacific is home to the Great Barrier Reef, thousands of volcanic islands, blue whales, giant Pacific octopuses, and the great white shark. The name 'Pacific' means 'peaceful', given by the explorer Magellan because the day he sailed into it the water was so calm.
2. The Atlantic Ocean — between two worlds
The Atlantic separates the Americas from Europe and Africa. It is the second-largest ocean and is shaped roughly like a giant letter S. Underwater, a long mountain chain called the Mid-Atlantic Ridge runs down the middle, where new sea floor is constantly being made by volcanoes.
The Atlantic is home to humpback whales, sea turtles, dolphins and countless fish. Hurricanes form over its warm tropical waters in summer.
3. The Indian Ocean — the warm one
The Indian Ocean sits between Africa, Asia and Australia. It is the warmest of the oceans, which means lots of evaporation and big monsoon rains for nearby countries like India and Bangladesh. It is dotted with beautiful island nations like the Maldives, Seychelles and Mauritius.
Coral reefs full of colourful fish, dugongs (cousins of the manatee) and whale sharks all call the Indian Ocean home.
4. The Southern Ocean — the newest name
The Southern Ocean wraps all the way around Antarctica. It was officially named the fifth ocean fairly recently — in 2000 — when geographers agreed the freezing water around Antarctica was different enough to be its own ocean.
Penguins, leopard seals, krill and orcas all live here. Powerful currents, like the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, swirl around the continent and help cool the entire planet.
5. The Arctic Ocean — the smallest and coldest
The Arctic Ocean sits at the very top of our planet, around the North Pole. It is the smallest and shallowest of the five oceans, and much of it is covered in floating sea ice for most of the year.
Polar bears, narwhals, walruses and beluga whales live in and around the Arctic. Sadly the sea ice has been shrinking as the planet warms, which makes life harder for these animals.
Why oceans matter
Oceans do far more than look beautiful. They give us most of the oxygen we breathe (tiny ocean plants called phytoplankton make more oxygen than all the world's forests combined). They control the weather by moving heat around the planet. They feed billions of people. And they are home to creatures we are still discovering today.
Looking after the oceans — by reducing plastic, protecting reefs and keeping the water clean — is one of the most important things we can do for the planet.
The next time you stand on a beach, remember that the water in front of you is part of one giant connected world ocean — and that water might one day reach a beach on the other side of the planet.