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Location: body of water between Antarctica, Asia, Australia,
and the Western Hemisphere
Geographic coordinates: 0 00 N, 160 00 W
Map references: World
Area:
total: 165.384 million sq km
note: includes Bali Sea, Bellingshausen Sea, Bering Sea,
Bering Strait, Coral Sea, East China Sea, Flores Sea, Gulf of Alaska,
Gulf of Tonkin, Java Sea, Philippine Sea, Ross Sea, Savu Sea, Sea
of Japan, Sea of Okhotsk, South China Sea, Tasman Sea, Timor Sea,
and other tributary water bodies
Area—comparative: about 18 times the size of the
US; the largest ocean (followed by the Atlantic Ocean, the Indian
Ocean, and the Arctic Ocean); covers about one-third of the global
surface; larger than the total land area of the world
Coastline: 135,663 km
Climate: planetary air pressure systems and resultant
wind patterns exhibit remarkable uniformity in the south and east;
trade winds and westerly winds are well-developed patterns, modified
by seasonal fluctuations; tropical cyclones (hurricanes) may form
south of Mexico from June to October and affect Mexico and Central
America; continental influences cause climatic uniformity to be
much less pronounced in the eastern and western regions at the same
latitude in the North Pacific Ocean; the western Pacific is monsoonal—a
rainy season occurs during the summer months, when moisture-laden
winds blow from the ocean over the land, and a dry season during
the winter months, when dry winds blow from the Asian landmass back
to the ocean; tropical cyclones (typhoons) may strike southeast
and east Asia from May to December
Terrain: surface currents in the northern Pacific are
dominated by a clockwise, warm-water gyre (broad circular system
of currents) and in the southern Pacific by a counterclockwise,
cool-water gyre; in the northern Pacific, sea ice forms in the Bering
Sea and Sea of Okhotsk in winter; in the southern Pacific, sea ice
from Antarctica reaches its northernmost extent in October; the
ocean floor in the eastern Pacific is dominated by the East Pacific
Rise, while the western Pacific is dissected by deep trenches, including
the Mariana Trench, which is the world's deepest
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench -10,924
m
highest point: sea level 0 m
Natural resources: oil and gas fields, polymetallic nodules,
sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits, fish
Natural hazards: surrounded by a zone of violent volcanic
and earthquake activity sometimes referred to as the "Pacific Ring
of Fire"; subject to tropical cyclones (typhoons) in southeast and
east Asia from May to December (most frequent from July to October);
tropical cyclones (hurricanes) may form south of Mexico and strike
Central America and Mexico from June to October (most common in
August and September); southern shipping lanes subject to icebergs
from Antarctica; cyclical El Nino phenomenon occurs off the coast
of Peru, when the trade winds slacken and the warm Equatorial countercurrent
moves south, killing the plankton that is the primary food source
for anchovies; consequently, the anchovies move to better feeding
grounds, causing resident marine birds to starve by the thousands
because of the loss of their food source; ships subject to superstructure
icing in extreme north from October to May and in extreme south
from May to October; persistent fog in the northern Pacific can
be a maritime hazard from June to December
Environment—current issues: endangered marine species
include the dugong, sea lion, sea otter, seals, turtles, and whales;
oil pollution in Philippine Sea and South China Sea
Environment—international agreements:
party to: none of the selected agreements
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography—note: the major chokepoints are the Bering
Strait, Panama Canal, Luzon Strait, and the Singapore Strait; the
Equator divides the Pacific Ocean into the North Pacific Ocean and
the South Pacific Ocean; dotted with low coral islands and rugged
volcanic islands in the southwestern Pacific Ocean
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