The Indian Ocean
lies south of Asia and between Australia and Africa. It is almost round in
shape, and is about 7/9th. the size of the Atlantic Ocean.
Portions of the
world ocean enclosed by land are called gulfs like the Gulf of California, the
Gulf of Mexico, and the Persian
Gulf.
On an average there
are 35 parts of salt in every 1,000 parts of sea water or 3.5 percent.
The average
temperature of all the water in the world is about 39 degrees Fahrenheit.
If all the waters in
all the oceans of the world could be made to flow over Niagara Falls, it would
take 2,000,000 years to accomplish.
The Atlantic Ocean,
lying between North America and Europe, South America and Africa, covers over
36,000,000 square miles including the Artic Ocean and is 3,700 nautical miles at
its widest point between South America and Africa.
The Pacific Ocean, a
little less than twice the size of the Atlantic, covers more of the globe than
do all the continents of the world combined. It is over 9,400 nautical miles in
width between Panama and the Philippines.
A nautical mile is
6,076 feet, while a land mile is 5,280 feet; or a nautical mile is approximately
1 1/7 land miles.
Ocean waves breaking
on shore can strike with a force equal to a pressure of 6,000 pounds per square
foot.
The largest of the
world's seas (as opposed to oceans) is the South China Sea which is comprised of
1,148,500 square miles.
At 3,000 feet below
the sea's surface the water is pitch black. Even the sun's light cannot
penetrate down more than half a mile.