Pacific Ocean

Scientists say that sea levels have been rising at a rate of 10 mm per year for the past 20 years. This caused the disappearance of some small uninhabited Pacific islands around the Solomon Islands. The largest inhabited islands are also losing their coastal land and forcing people to leave.

Surface water temperatures vary depending on where you are in the Pacific Ocean. The coldest areas are in the Antarctic region, where the temperature can drop to -1.4 degrees Celsius. It is also the freezing point of sea water. After swimming to the equator, you will warm up to 30 degrees Celsius.

The average depth of the ocean floor is 4270 meters. This is almost the height of the famous Matterhorn in the Alps. The deepest part of the Pacific Ocean is in the Mariana Trench. At 10,928m below the surface, it is also the deepest place on Earth. Mount Everest pales in comparison to the height of the valley, only 8850 meters.

The Pacific Ocean is the largest recreational area in the world, its islands and mainland coasts are visited by millions of tourists annually. In addition, the most important transport flows connecting the American and Eurasian continents and numerous island states with each other pass through its water area.

The ice sheet in the southern part of the Pacific Ocean is formed in areas close to Antarctica, and in the northern part - only in the Seas of Okhotsk, Bering and Japan. Icebergs fall into the ocean from the coast of Alaska.

The Pacific Ocean got its name in the 16th century, when Fernand Magellan crossed it during his circumnavigation. His ships were lucky, and in more than three months of travel they never once got caught in a storm. The Pacific Ocean was the last to be reached by Europeans. First, in 1512, the Portuguese Di Abreu and Serrano reached its waters from the west through the islands of the Moluccas archipelago. And in 1513, Núñez de Balboa passed the Isthmus of Panama from the east.