Pacific Ocean Facts
Pacific Ocean Facts
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| Interesting Pacific Ocean Facts: |
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| The name Pacific originates from the Latin word 'pace' which means peace. Ferdinand Magellan, a Portuguese explorer, named the ocean 'mar pacifico' in 1521, which means peaceful sea. |
| The Ring of Fire, which is a region that consists of hundreds of active volcanoes, is located in the Pacific Ocean. 75% of the world's active volcanoes are located in the Pacific Ocean basin. |
| Coral reef, which is a living sea creature that provides a home to many species of tropical fish, is common in shallow areas of the Pacific Ocean. |
| Typhoons are a type of storm that includes strong wind, rain, and thunder. Typhoons occur in the Pacific Ocean's northwest region, These storms are also referred to as tropical cyclones. |
| There are 55 countries bordering on the Pacific Ocean including Canada, the United States, China, Australia, Japan, and Mexico. |
| The deepest ocean trench in the world is located in the Pacific Ocean. Marianas Trench is the deepest at 11,034 meters, which is more than the height of Mount Everest. |
| In the Pacific Ocean is a volcanic island called Krakatoa. In 1883 it erupted and killed at least 36,380 people. |
| The longest reef in the world is the Great Barrier Reef, located in the Pacific Ocean off Australia's coast. |
| The second largest island in the world is New Guinea, and it is located in the Pacific Ocean. Greenland is the largest island in the world. |
| Easter Island is located in the south east of the Pacific Ocean. It was named by a Dutch explorer names Admiral Roggeveen who discovered the island on Easter Sunday. |
| The Galapagos Islands are located in the south east Pacific Ocean. These islands are famous for their vast wildlife species, some of which are found nowhere else in the world. |
| There are more than 25,000 islands in the Pacific Ocean, most of which are located south of the Equator. |
| The islands in the Pacific Ocean include four different types. They are continental islands, coral reefs, high islands, and lifted coral platforms. |
| Petroleum and natural gas are extracted from the continental shelves in shallow waters off of New Zealand and Australia's coasts. |
| Off the coasts of Japan, Australia, Panama, Nicaragua, the Philippines, and Papua New Guinea, pearls are harvested. |
| Fishing for tuna, swordfish, snapper, sardines, salmon, herring and shellfish is popular in the Pacific Ocean's waters. |
| There is a large amount of marine debris and pollution in the Pacific Ocean, all the result of people. |
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