Pacific Ocean

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Mountainous coastline of the eastern Pacific Ocean, Big Sur, California. (credit: Jeremy Woodhouse/Getty Images)

Body of salt water extending from the Antarctic region in the south to the Arctic circle in the north and lying between the continents of Asia and Australia on the west and North and South America on the east. It occupies about one-third of the surface of the earth and is by far the largest of the world's oceans. Its area, excluding adjacent seas, is approximately 63,800,000 sq mi (165,250,000 sq km), twice that of the Atlantic Ocean and more than the whole land area of the globe. Its mean depth is 14,040 ft (4,280 m). The western Pacific is noted for its many peripheral seas.

For more information on Pacific Ocean, visit Britannica.com.

The Pacific Ocean has an area of 6.37 × 10⁷ mi² (1.65 × 10⁸ km²) and a mean depth of 14,000 ft (4280 m). It covers 32% of the Earth's surface and 46% of the surface of all oceans and seas, and its area is greater than that of all land areas combined. Its mean depth is the greatest of the three oceans and its volume is 53% of the total of all oceans. Its greatest depths in the Marianas and Japan trenches are the worldapos;s deepest, more than 6 mi (10 km).

The two major wind systems driving the waters of the ocean are the westerlies which lie about 40−50° lat in both hemispheres (the “roaring forties”) and the trade winds from the east which dominate in the region between 20°N and 20°S. These give momentum directly to the west wind drift (flow to the east) in high latitudes and to the equatorial currents which flow to the west. At the continents there is flow of water from one system to the other and huge circulatory systems result. See also Ocean circulation; Southeast Asian waters.

The swiftest flow (greater than 2 knots) is found in the Kuroshio Current near Japan. It forms the northwestern part of a huge clockwise gyre whose north edge lies in the west wind drift centered at about 40°N, whose eastern part is the south-flowing California Current, and whose southern part is the North Equatorial Current.

Equatorward of 30° lat heat received from the Sun exceeds that lost by reflection and back radiation, and surface waters flowing into these latitudes from higher latitudes (California and Peru currents) increase in temperature as they flow equatorward and turn west with the Equatorial Current System. They carry heat poleward and transfer part of it to the high-latitude cyclones along the west wind drift. The temperature of the equatorward currents along the eastern boundaries of the subtropical anticyclones is thus much lower than that of the currents of their western boundaries at the same latitudes. The highest temperatures (more than 82°F or 28°C) are found at the western end of the equatorial region. Along the Equator itself somewhat lower temperatures are found. The cold Peru Current contributes to its eastern end, and there is apparent upwelling of deeper, colder water at the Equator.

Upwelling also occurs at the edge of the eastern boundary currents of the subtropical anticyclones. When the winds blow strongly equatorward (in summer) the surface waters are driven offshore, and the deeper colder waters rise to the surface and further reduce the low temperatures of these equatorward-flowing currents. See also Upwelling.

The limiting temperature in high latitudes is that of freezing. Ice is formed at the surface at temperatures slightly less than 30°F (−1°C) depending upon the salinity; further loss of heat is retarded by its insulating effect. The ice field covers the northern and eastern parts of the Bering Sea in winter, and most of the Sea of Okhotsk, including that part adjacent to Hokkaido (the north island of Japan). Summer temperatures, however, reach as high as 43°F (6°C) in the northern Bering Sea and as high as 50°F (10°C) in the northern part of the Sea of Okhotsk. See also Bering Sea.

Pack ice reaches to about 62°S from Antarctica in October and to about 70°S in March, with icebergs reaching as far as 50°S. See also Iceberg; Sea ice.

Surface waters in high latitudes are colder and heavier than those in low latitudes. As a result, some of the high-latitude waters sink below the surface and spread equatorward, mixing mostly with water of their own density as they move, and eventually become the dominant water type in terms of salinity and temperature of that density over vast regions.

The most conspicuous water masses formed in the Pacific are the Intermediate Waters of the North and of the South Pacific, which on the vertical sections include the two huge tongues of low salinity extending equatorward beneath the surface from about 55°S and from about 45°N. The southern tongue is higher in salinity and density and lies at a greater depth.

The largest ocean, the Pacific covers one-third of the Earth's surface. People have lived with and sailed on its waters for thousands of years. European navigators only outlined its vastness between 1520 and 1799. Before the sixteenth century, voyagers from the Indonesian and western Pacific islands sailed into the central Pacific, establishing human settlements in even the most distant places, such as Rapa Nui (Easter Island) or Hawaii. Contact with South America even brought the sweet potato into Oceania. The deliberate voyaging of Pacific Islanders demonstrated practical knowledge of the major currents, wind patterns, and methods of island screens. Knowledge of the equatorial countercurrent, the great northern whirl, the great southern whirl, and forecasted wind seasons were part of their Oceanic expertise.

Spanish and Portuguese Exploration

In 1513 Vasco Nuñez de Balboa's (1475–1519) expedition left the Caribbean side of the Isthmus of Panama and crossed westward to the Pacific Ocean side, becoming the first Europeans to see the Great South Sea. In 1520 three ships commanded by Ferdinand Magellan (1480?–1521) sailed out of the stormy passage of the strait at the southern tip of South America into the Pacific Ocean and named it the peaceful, calm, quiet ocean. Magellan's voyage through the strait took three months and twenty days, and it weakened and dismayed the crew. With potentially thousands of islands in the Pacific to find, Magellan sailed by only three unpopulated islets before he reached the Mariana Islands (so named in 1668) in March 1521. After killing some of the natives and decrying their thievery, Magellan sailed on, labeling the islands Ladrones, Spanish for thieves. The next three centuries of European exploration, conquest, and colonization brought more fierce encounters in Oceania.

The 1494 Line of Demarcation agreed upon between the monarchs of Portugal and Castile established boundaries in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Without exact chronometers, their determination of longitude was mere guesswork. Disputes between the two expansive powers about east-west position arose in the Philippine Islands and the Moluccas. The Portuguese were content to establish mercantile contacts and limited control in the Spice Islands of Southeast Asia. Meanwhile the Spanish tentatively explored the vastness of the Pacific Ocean. Magellan's voyages were followed by voyages from the western coasts of Spanish-conquered lands. The García Jofre de Loaysa expedition of 1525–1527 crossed the southern Pacific Ocean from east to west, establishing a brief Spanish presence in Tidore. Andrés de Urdaneta (1498–1568) sailed on the Loaysa voyage and learned about the winds and currents. Urdaneta survived the failed colonization effort and eventually showed how west to east voyages could occur. Under the command of Miguel López de Legazpi (c. 1510–1572), six vessels sailed from La Navidad Harbor in Mexico to settle the Philippines. As navigator, Urdaneta guessed correctly that from the Philippines a ship could sail north toward Japan and catch the prevailing winds that would return it across the northern Pacific to the coasts of North America. The clockwise pattern of sailing across the Pacific functioned for the galleon trade from Manila to Acapulco and back until 1815. It was the only predictable connection for Europe in the Pacific Ocean until the exploratory voyages of the French and British navies in the latter half of the eighteenth century.

Spaniards also sailed from Callao, the port city of Peru. Álvaro de Mendaña de Neira (1541–1595) in 1567 sailed west from Peru into western Melanesia. The Spaniards named the islands after the biblical king Solomon in hopes of finding the legendary gold of King Solomon's mines. That they sailed through the waters of Polynesia is a remarkable fact of misguided yet dogged sailing. Almost thirty years later, in 1595, Mendaña equipped another four ships to sail west from Peru and this time landed on islands he named the Marquesas, after the wife of the viceroy of Peru. The Mendaña crew made it back to the Solomon Islands, but the colony failed again after Mendaña's death. Under Pedro Fernández de Quiros (1565–1615), the group sailed north to the Marianas and the Philippines. After provisioning in Manila, they returned by the established route to Mexico and back to Callao. In 1605 Quiros again sailed westward from Peru and came across the Tuamotu Islands, but the hope of finding the legendary great southern continent lured the two ships farther westward. His second in command, Luis Vaez de Torres (fl. 1606), sailed west from the Solomon Islands. The Torres Strait dividing New Guinea and Australia is named after him.

The annual Manila galleon trade left from the Philippines between May and September, hoping to cross the northern Pacific within six months and arrive in Acapulco by December. Upon arrival on the western shores of Mexico, the galleon's merchandise was off-loaded for sale and replaced with American silver, cacao, cochineal, oil, and wines in preparation for departure by March or April. The return voyage across the Pacific Ocean was expected to take three months, with a stop at the Mariana Islands for fresh water and supplies. The only long-lasting European outpost in Oceania existed on Guam, the largest of the Mariana Islands. The native Chamorros interacted with European ships once a year, with a few sailors staying longer. In 1668 the Jesuits obtained support from Queen Mariana of Spain to convert the inhabitants to Christianity. The motivating figure behind the request was Diego Luis de Sanvítores (1627–1672). He had sailed to the Philippines but always remembered the Chamorros he had briefly seen from the decks of the galleon as it passed Guam. The Jesuits came to Christianize, but the unintended consequences were rampant disease, tragic warfare, and a legacy of colonial oppression.

As the Spaniards explored routes across the Pacific, English commanders sought to obtain the wealth aboard the Spanish vessels. Francis Drake (1540/1543–1596) sailed through the Strait of Magellan in September 1578. He filled his ship with booty from raids on Spanish colonies and ships and, avoiding capture, sailed westward across the Pacific, eventually circumnavigating the globe. In 1587 Thomas Cavendish (c. 1560–1592) was even more successful when he captured the Manila galleon Santa Ana, full of gold, pearls, and silks on its return to Acapulco. The Spanish managed to defend their trade, even capturing later English raiders, such as Richard Hawkins (c. 1560–1622), who surrendered to a Spanish fleet off the coasts of California in 1594.

Dutch Exploration

Dutch explorers also looked for profit in the Pacific. In 1598 five ships left Holland for the Pacific by way of the Strait of Magellan. The Portuguese and Spanish each captured a ship, the Japanese sacked another, and one was lost at sea. Only the ship Faith survived, returning to the Low Countries in 1600. Of the 491 original crew members, only 36 returned home. These losses were often expected when early modern Europeans sailed into the Pacific Ocean. In 1616 the Dutch ship Eendracht, commanded by Jakob Le Maire (1585–1616) and Willem Schouten (c. 1580–1625), pushed south far enough that they rounded the southern tip of South America and found a new way to enter the Pacific other than through the Strait of Magellan. As they sailed west, the Dutch sailors encountered islanders in the Tuamotus, Tonga, and New Guinea. Later Dutch explorers made other discoveries in the Pacific Ocean. In 1642 Abel Tasman (1603?–1659?) sailed from Batavia on the island of Java (modern-day Jakarta, Indonesia) into the southwestern reaches of the Pacific. He named Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania). He also named other lands after his Dutch states, including Staten Island (New Zealand). Sailing farther he came across the Tonga Islands of Haapai and later passed through the Fiji Islands. He can be credited as the first European explorer to enter the South Pacific from the west and to sail completely around Australia. In 1721 Jacob Roggeveen (1659–1729) hoped to discover the great southern continent. On Easter Day 1722 he landed at Rapa Nui (Easter Island), taking note of the tattooed inhabitants and large stone statues. He sailed back from the eastern Pacific, describing some of the northern Tuamotu Islands and the Manua Islands of Samoa. He made no permanent settlements.

British Exploration

British explorations in the eighteenth century were reanimated by the spectacular success of George Anson (1697–1762) in 1742. When Anson captured another Manila galleon, the reported booty in silver amounted to 400,000 pounds sterling. Afterward the Royal Navy commissioned John Byron (1723–1786) with two ships to discover islands for British possession in the South Seas. In 1765 Byron sailed into the Pacific Ocean and declared that two northern Tuamotu Islands and Pukapuka in the northern Cook Islands were British possessions. He resupplied at Tinian in the Mariana Islands and then returned to the British Isles by May 1766. Immediately afterward Samuel Wallis (1728–1795) departed with three ships, entering the Pacific in April 1767. He sailed less to the north than previous explorers had and in his westward line came across the island of Tahiti on 18 June 1767. With the European discovery of Tahiti, eighteenth-century Europeans sustained the enticing image of the noble savage and interacted with the many islanders.

After Wallis's return home in 1768, Captain James Cook (1728–1779) sailed on his first voyage to the Pacific with specific orders to observe the transit of Venus from Tahiti. He also sailed for Tasman's Staten Island, sailing around it completely. In so doing Cook proved that the two islands of New Zealand were definitely not part of some larger southern continent. On his second voyage (1772–1775) Cook proved that the southern continent did not exist, leaving the Pacific Ocean even larger than Europeans had thought possible. On his third voyage (1776) Cook sailed to the northwest coast of North America after visiting the familiar South Pacific islands. In December 1777 he sighted the island of Kauai in the eastern Hawaiian Archipelago. The islands of Hawaii were among the last of Oceania officially discovered by Europeans in the concluding years of the eighteenth century. Cook returned a year later to resupply after having had no success in finding the western end of the Northwest Passage. Hawaiians killed him at Kealakekua Bay in February 1779. Nonetheless other voyages by French and Spanish explorers followed in the wake of Cook.

The European exploration and intrusion into Oceania during the early modern era have diverging interpretations. The brave men, successful technology, and dogged persistence of Pacific exploration signaled a dynamic European desire to reach to every area of the world. The diseases, violence, and complex legacy of cultural contact in Oceania are the other side of the same coin.

Bibliography

Finney, Ben. "The Other One-Third of the Globe." Journal of World History 5, no. 2 (1994): 273–297.

Hiroa, Te Rangi (Peter H. Buck). Explorers of the Pacific: European and American Discoveries in Polynesia. Honolulu, 1953.

Spate, O. H. K. Monopolists and Freebooters. Minneapolis, 1983.

——. Paradise Found and Lost. Minneapolis, 1988.

——. The Spanish Lake. Minneapolis, 1979.

—JAMES B. TUELLER

The largest ocean in the world, separating Asia and Australia on the west from North America and South America on the east.

The country code is: 0
The city code is: 872

"Pacific" and "North Pacific" redirect here. For other uses, see Pacific (disambiguation) and North Pacific (disambiguation).

The Pacific Ocean

Earth's oceans (World Ocean)
Arctic Ocean Atlantic Ocean Indian Ocean Pacific Ocean Southern Ocean

This video was taken by the crew of Expedition 29 on board the ISS on a pass from the Middle East to the South Pacific Ocean.

If you go to the bottom you will find a graveyard of fat people.

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.

At 165.2 million square kilometres (64.1 million square miles) in area, this largest division of the World Ocean – and, in turn, the hydrosphere – covers about 46% of the Earth's water surface and about one-third of its total surface area, making it larger than all of the Earth's land area combined.^[1] The equator subdivides it into the North Pacific Ocean and South Pacific Ocean, with two exceptions: the Galápagos and Gilbert Islands, while straddling the equator, are deemed wholly within the South Pacific.^[2] The Mariana Trench in the western North Pacific is the deepest point in the world, reaching a depth of 10,911 metres (35,797 ft).^[3]

The eastern Pacific Ocean was first sighted by Europeans early in the 16th century. Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa crossed the Isthmus of Panama in 1513 and named it Mar del Sur (South Sea). The ocean's current name was given by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan during the Spanish expedition of world circumnavigation in 1521, who encountered favourable winds as he reached the ocean and called it Mar Pacifico in Portuguese, meaning "peaceful sea".^[4]

Contents 1 Overview 2 Extent 3 Water characteristics 4 Geology 4.1 Geological history 4.2 Seamount chains 5 Landmasses and islands 6 History and economy 7 Environmental issues 8 Bordering countries and territories 8.1 Sovereign nations 8.2 Territories 9 Major ports and harbors 10 See also 11 References 12 Further reading 13 External links

Overview

Sunset over the Pacific Ocean as seen from the International Space Station. Anvil tops of thunderclouds are also visible.

The Pacific Ocean encompasses approximately one-third of the Earth's surface, having an area of 165.2 million square kilometres (64.1 million square miles) —significantly larger than Earth's entire landmass, with room for another Africa to spare.

Extending approximately 15,500 kilometres (9,600 mi) from the Bering Sea in the Arctic to the northern extent of the circumpolar Southern Ocean at 60°S (older definitions extend it to Antarctica's Ross Sea), the Pacific reaches its greatest east-west width at about 5°N latitude, where it stretches approximately 19,800 kilometres (12,300 mi) from Indonesia to the coast of Colombia – halfway across the world, and more than five times the diameter of the Moon. The lowest known point on Earth—the Mariana Trench—lies 10,911 metres (35,797 ft or 5,966 fathoms) below sea level. Its average depth is 4,028~4,188 metres (14,000 ft or 2,333 fathoms).^[1]

The Pacific Ocean is currently shrinking due to plate tectonics, while the Atlantic Ocean is increasing in size, by roughly an inch per year (2–3 cm/yr) on 3 sides, roughly averaging 0.2 square miles (0.52 km²) a year.

Storm in Pacifica, California

Along the Pacific Ocean's irregular western margins lie many seas, the largest of which are the Celebes Sea, Coral Sea, East China Sea, Philippine Sea, Sea of Japan, South China Sea, Sulu Sea, Tasman Sea, and Yellow Sea. The Strait of Malacca joins the Pacific and the Indian Oceans on the west, and Drake Passage and the Straits of Magellan link the Pacific with the Atlantic Ocean on the east. To the north, the Bering Strait connects the Pacific with the Arctic Ocean.

As the Pacific straddles the 180th meridian, the West Pacific (or western Pacific, near Asia) is in the Eastern Hemisphere, while the East Pacific (or eastern Pacific, near the Americas) is in the Western Hemisphere.

For most of Magellan's voyage from the Strait of Magellan to the Philippines, the explorer indeed found the ocean peaceful. However, the Pacific is not always peaceful. Many tropical storms batter the islands of the Pacific. The lands around the Pacific Rim are full of volcanoes and often affected by earthquakes. Tsunamis, caused by underwater earthquakes, have devastated many islands and in some cases destroyed entire towns.

Extent

Main article: Borders of the oceans#Pacific Ocean

Water characteristics

Sunset in Monterey County, California, U.S.

The volume of the Pacific Ocean is approximately 622 million cubic km. Water temperatures in the Pacific vary from freezing in the poleward areas to about 30 °C (86 °F) near the equator. Salinity also varies latitudinally. The water near the equator is less salty than that found in the mid-latitudes because of abundant equatorial precipitation throughout the year. Poleward of the temperate latitudes salinity is also low, because little evaporation of seawater takes place in these frigid areas.

The motion of Pacific waters is generally clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere (the North Pacific gyre) and counter-clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere. The North Equatorial Current, driven westward along latitude 15°N by the trade winds, turns north near the Philippines to become the warm Japan or Kuroshio Current.

Turning eastward at about 45°N, the Kuroshio forks and some waters move northward as the Aleutian Current, while the rest turn southward to rejoin the North Equatorial Current. The Aleutian Current branches as it approaches North America and forms the base of a counter-clockwise circulation in the Bering Sea. Its southern arm becomes the chilled slow, south-flowing California Current.

The South Equatorial Current, flowing west along the equator, swings southward east of New Guinea, turns east at about 50°S, and joins the main westerly circulation of the Southern Pacific, which includes the Earth-circling Antarctic Circumpolar Current. As it approaches the Chilean coast, the South Equatorial Current divides; one branch flows around Cape Horn and the other turns north to form the Peru or Humboldt Current.

Geology

Main article: Pacific Plate

The Pacific is ringed by many volcanoes and oceanic trenches

Ulawun stratovolcano situated on the island of New Britain, Papua New Guinea

The ocean was mapped by Abraham Ortelius; he called it Maris Pacifici because of Ferdinand Magellan, who sailed the Pacific during his circumnavigation from 1519 to 1522 and said that it was much more calm than the Atlantic.

The andesite line is the most significant regional distinction in the Pacific. It separates the deeper, mafic igneous rock of the Central Pacific Basin from the partially submerged continental areas of felsic igneous rock on its margins. The andesite line follows the western edge of the islands off California and passes south of the Aleutian arc, along the eastern edge of the Kamchatka Peninsula, the Kuril Islands, Japan, the Mariana Islands, the Solomon Islands, and New Zealand's North Island.

The dissimilarity continues northeastward along the western edge of the Andes Cordillera along South America to Mexico, returning then to the islands off California. Indonesia, the Philippines, Japan, New Guinea, and New Zealand lie outside the Andesite Line.

Within the closed loop of the Andesite Line are most of the deep troughs, submerged volcanic mountains, and oceanic volcanic islands that characterize the Pacific basin. Here basaltic lavas gently flow out of rifts to build huge dome-shaped volcanic mountains whose eroded summits form island arcs, chains, and clusters. Outside the Andesite Line, volcanism is of the explosive type, and the Pacific Ring of Fire is the world's foremost belt of explosive volcanism. The Ring of Fire is named after the several hundred active volcanoes that sit above the various subduction zones.

The Pacific Ocean is the only ocean which is almost totally bounded by subduction zones. Only the Antarctic and Australian coasts have no nearby subduction zones.

Geological history

The Pacific Ocean developed from the Panthalassic Ocean following the breakup of Pangaea. There is no firm date for when the changeover occurred, as the replacement of the sea bed is a continuous process, though reconstruction maps often change the name from Panthalassic to Pacific around the time the Atlantic Ocean began to open.^[5][6][7] The Panthalassic Ocean first opened 750 million years ago at the breakup of Rodinia,^[7] but the oldest Pacific Ocean floor is only around 180 Ma old.^[8]

Seamount chains

The Pacific Ocean contains several long seamount chains, formed by hotspot volcanism. These include the Hawaiian – Emperor seamount chain and the Louisville seamount chain.

Landmasses and islands

Tahuna maru islet, French Polynesia.

The largest landmass entirely within the Pacific Ocean is the island of New Guinea— the second largest island in the world. Almost all of the smaller islands of the Pacific lie between 30°N and 30°S, extending from Southeast Asia to Easter Island; the rest of the Pacific Basin is almost entirely submerged. During the last glacial period, New Guinea was part of Australia so the largest landmass would have been Borneo–Palawan.

The great triangle of Polynesia, connecting Hawaii, Easter Island, and New Zealand, encompasses the island arcs and clusters of the Cook Islands, Marquesas Islands, Samoa, Society, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuamotu, Tuvalu and the Wallis and Futuna islands.

North of the equator and west of the International Date Line are the numerous small islands of Micronesia, including the Caroline Islands, the Marshall Islands and the Mariana Islands.

Big Sur Coast in Central California.

In the southwestern corner of the Pacific lie the islands of Melanesia, dominated by New Guinea. Other important island groups of Melanesia include the Bismarck Archipelago, Fiji, New Caledonia, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu.

Islands in the Pacific Ocean are of four basic types: continental islands, high islands, coral reefs, and uplifted coral platforms. Continental islands lie outside the andesite line and include New Guinea, the islands of New Zealand, and the Philippines. Some of these islands are structurally associated with nearby continents. High islands are of volcanic origin, and many contain active volcanoes. Among these are Bougainville, Hawaii, and the Solomon Islands.

The third and fourth types of islands are both the result of coralline island building. Coral reefs are low-lying structures that have built up on basaltic lava flows under the ocean's surface. One of the most dramatic is the Great Barrier Reef off northeastern Australia. A second island type formed of coral is the uplifted coral platform, which is usually slightly larger than the low coral islands. Examples include Banaba (formerly Ocean Island) and Makatea in the Tuamotu group of French Polynesia.

History and economy

Further information: Oceania

Maris Pacifici by Ortelius (1589). One of the first printed maps to show the Pacific Ocean; see also Waldseemüller map (1507).^[9]

USS Lexington under air attack on 8 May 1942 during the Battle of the Coral Sea.

Important human migrations occurred in the Pacific in prehistoric times, most notably those of the Polynesians from the Asian edge of the ocean to Tahiti and then to Hawaii, New Zealand, and Easter Island.

The east side of the ocean was discovered by Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa in the early 16th century. Balboa's expedition crossed the Isthmus of Panama and reached the Pacific Ocean in 1513. He named it Mar del Sur (South Sea). Later, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan sailed the Pacific on a Spanish expedition of world circumnavigation from 1519 to 1522. Magellan called the ocean Pacífico or "Pacific" because he encountered calm seas throughout his journey. Although Magellan himself died in the Philippines in 1521, Spanish navigator Juan Sebastian Elcano led the expedition back to Spain across the Indian Ocean and round the Cape of Good Hope, completing the first world circumnavigation in 1522.

In 1564, Spanish explorers crossed the ocean from Mexico led by Miguel López de Legazpi who sailed to the Philippines and Mariana Islands. For the remainder of the 16th century, Spanish influence was paramount, with ships sailing from Mexico and Peru across the Pacific Ocean to the Philippines, via Guam, and establishing the Spanish East Indies. The Manila Galleons operated for two and a half centuries linking Manila and Acapulco, in one of the longest trade routes in history. Spanish expeditions also discovered Tuvalu, the Marquesas, the Solomon Islands and New Guinea in the South Pacific.

Later, in the quest for Terra Australis, Spanish explorers in the 17th century also discovered the Pitcairn and Vanuatu archipelagos, and sailed the Torres Strait between Australia and New Guinea, named after navigator Luis Vaz de Torres. Dutch explorers, sailing around southern Africa, also engaged in discovery and trade; Abel Janszoon Tasman discovered Tasmania and New Zealand in 1642. The 18th century marked the beginning of major exploration by the Russians in Alaska and the Aleutian Islands. The Spanish also sent expeditions to the Pacific Northwest reaching Vancouver Island in southern Canada, and Alaska. The French explored and settled Polynesia, and the British made three voyages with James Cook to the South Pacific and Australia, Hawaii, and the North American Pacific Northwest. In 1768 Pierre-Antoine Véron, a young astronomer accompanying Louis Antoine de Bougainville on his voyage of exploration, established the width of the Pacific with precision for the first time in history.^[10] The Spanish organized one of the earliest voyages of scientific exploration with the Malaspina Expedition of 1789-1794 that sailed vast areas of the Pacific, from Cape Horn to Alaska, Guam and the Philippines, New Zealand, Australia and the South Pacific.

The Bathyscaphe Trieste, before her record dive to the bottom of the Mariana Trench, 23 January 1960.

Growing imperialism during the 19th century resulted in the occupation of much of Oceania by other European powers, and later, the United States and Japan. Significant contributions to oceanographic knowledge were made by the voyages of HMS Beagle in the 1830s, with Charles Darwin aboard; HMS Challenger during the 1870s; the USS Tuscarora (1873–76); and the German Gazelle (1874–76).

Although the United States gained control of Guam and the Philippines from Spain in 1898, Japan controlled most of the western Pacific by 1914 and occupied many other islands during World War II. However, by the end of that war, Japan was defeated and the U.S. Pacific Fleet was the virtual master of the ocean. Since the end of World War II, many former colonies in the Pacific have become independent states.

The exploitation of the Pacific's mineral wealth is hampered by the ocean's great depths. In shallow waters of the continental shelves off the coasts of Australia and New Zealand, petroleum and natural gas are extracted, and pearls are harvested along the coasts of Australia, Japan, Papua New Guinea, Nicaragua, Panama, and the Philippines, although in sharply declining volume in some cases.

Fish are an important economic asset in the Pacific. The shoreline waters of the continents and the more temperate islands yield herring, salmon, sardines, snapper, swordfish, and tuna, as well as shellfish.

Environmental issues

Marine debris on a Hawaiian coast

Main article: Marine pollution

See also: Great Pacific Garbage Patch and Ship pollution

The quantity of small plastic fragments floating in the north-east Pacific Ocean has increased a hundred fold over the past 40 years (2012).^[11]

Marine pollution is a generic term for the harmful entry into the ocean of chemicals or particles. The biggest culprits are people who use the rivers for disposing of their waste.^[12] The rivers then empty into the Ocean, and with it the many chemicals used as fertilizers in agriculture. The excess of oxygen depleting chemicals in the water leads to hypoxia and the creation of a dead zone.^[13]

Marine debris, also known as marine litter, is a term used to describe human-created waste that has ended up floating in a lake, sea, ocean or waterway. Oceanic debris tends to accumulate at the centre of gyres and coastlines, frequently washing aground where it is known as beach litter.^[12]

In addition, the Pacific Ocean served as the crash site of satellites, including Mars 96, Fobos-Grunt and Upper Atmospheric Research Satellite.

Bordering countries and territories

Sovereign nations

Australia  Brunei  Cambodia  Canada  Chile  People's Republic of China1  Republic of China (Taiwan)1  Colombia  Costa Rica  East Timor  El Salvador  Ecuador

Fiji  Guatemala  Honduras  Indonesia  Japan  Kiribati  North Korea  South Korea  Malaysia  Marshall Islands  Mexico

Federated States of Micronesia  Nauru  New Zealand  Nicaragua  Palau  Panama  Papua New Guinea  Peru  Philippines  Russia

Samoa  Singapore  Solomon Islands  Thailand  Tonga  Tuvalu  United States  Vanuatu  Vietnam

¹ The status of the PRC vs. the ROC is disputed. For more information, see status of Taiwan.

Territories

American Samoa (US) Baker Island (US)  Cook Islands (New Zealand) Coral Sea Islands (Australia)  Easter Island (Chile)  French Polynesia (France)  Guam (US)

Hong Kong (China) Howland Island (US) Jarvis Island (US) Johnston Island (US) Kingman Reef (US)

Macau (China) Midway Atoll (US)  New Caledonia (France)  Norfolk Island (Australia)  Niue (New Zealand)

Northern Mariana Islands (US) Palmyra Atoll (US)  Pitcairn Islands (UK)  Tokelau (New Zealand)  Wallis and Futuna (France) Wake Island (US)

Major ports and harbors

Acajutla, Sonsonate, El Salvador Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico Anchorage, Alaska, United States Antofagasta, Chile Arica, Chile Auckland, New Zealand Bacolod City, Philippines Bangkok, Thailand Batangas City, Philippines Bluff, New Zealand Brisbane, Queensland, Australia Buenaventura, Colombia Busan, South Korea Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, Mexico Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines Callao, Peru Cebu City, Philippines Chongjin, North Korea Dalian, People's Republic of China Danang, Vietnam Davao City, Philippines Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico Esmeraldas, Ecuador Eureka, California, United States General Santos City, Philippines Guayaquil, Ecuador Haiphong, Vietnam Hong Kong, People's Republic of China Honolulu, Hawaii, United States Incheon, South Korea

Iloilo, Philippines Iquique, Chile Jayapura, Indonesia Kaohsiung, Republic of China (Taiwan) Kitimat, British Columbia, Canada Keelung, Republic of China (Taiwan) Kobe, Japan Kuantan, Malaysia La Libertad, El Salvador La Union, El Salvador Laem Chabang, Thailand Legazpi City, Philippines Lyttelton, New Zealand Long Beach, California, United States Los Angeles, California, United States Manta, Ecuador Manzanillo, Colima, Mexico Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Manila, Philippines Nampho, North Korea Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia Oakland, California, United States Panama City, Panama Pearl Harbor Portland, Oregon, United States Puerto Bolivar, Ecuador Prince Rupert, British Columbia, Canada Puerto Chacabuco, Chile Puerto Montt, Chile

Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico Pyeongtaek, South Korea Qingdao, People's Republic of China Saigon, Vietnam San Antonio, Chile San Diego, California, United States San Francisco, California, United States Seattle, Washington, United States Shanghai, People's Republic of China Shenzhen, People's Republic of China Singapore Songkhla, Thailand Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Tacoma, Washington, United States Taichung, Republic of China (Taiwan) Talcahuano, Chile Tauranga, New Zealand Tianjin, People's Republic of China Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico Tokyo, Japan Tumaco, Colombia Valparaíso, Chile Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Victoria, British Columbia, Canada Vladivostok, Russia Wellington, New Zealand Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia Xiamen, People's Republic of China Yantai, People's Republic of China Yokohama, Japan Zamboanga, Philippines

See also

	Environment portal
	Ecology portal
	Geography portal
	Weather portal

• Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
• Ocean
• Pacific-Antarctic Ridge
• Pacific coast
• Pacific hurricane
• Pacific Islands
• Pacific Time Zone
• Pacific War
• Seven seas
• Typhoon
• War of the Pacific

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Pacific Ocean". Britannica Concise. 2006. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
2. ^ International Hydrographic Organization (1953). "Limits of Oceans and Seas, 3rd edition". Monte Carlo, Monaco: International Hydrographic Organization. http://www.iho-ohi.net/iho_pubs/standard/S-23/S23_1953.pdf. Retrieved 12 June 2010. 
3. ^ "Japan Atlas: Japan Marine Science and Technology Center". http://web-japan.org/atlas/technology/tec03.html. Retrieved 2007-07-04. 
4. ^ "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Ferdinand Magellan". Newadvent.org. 1910-10-01. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09526b.htm. Retrieved 2010-10-31. 
5. ^ "Triassic". Scotese.com. http://www.scotese.com/newpage8.htm. Retrieved 2010-10-31. 
6. ^ "Late Jurassic". Scotese.com. http://www.scotese.com/late1.htm. Retrieved 2010-10-31. 
7. ^ ^{a b} "GEOL 102 The Proterozoic Eon II: Rodinia and Pannotia". Geol.umd.edu. 2010-01-05. http://www.geol.umd.edu/~tholtz/G102/102prot2.htm. Retrieved 2010-10-31. 
8. ^ "Age of the Ocean Floor". Geology.about.com. 2010-08-05. http://geology.about.com/library/bl/maps/blseafloorage.htm. Retrieved 2010-10-31. 
9. ^ "LOC.gov". LOC.gov. 2001-07-23. http://www.loc.gov/today/pr/2001/01-093.html. Retrieved 2010-10-31. 
10. ^ Thomas Suárez, Early mapping of the Pacific: The Epic Story of Seafarers, Adventurers and Cartographers Who Mapped the Earth's Greatest Ocean, Periplus Editions, 2004 ISBN 978-0-7946-0092-1
11. ^ Plastic waste in the North Pacific is an ongoing concern BBC 9 May 2012
12. ^ ^{a b} "PHOTOS: Giant Ocean-Trash Vortex Documented-A First". News.nationalgeographic.com. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/09/photogalleries/pacific-garbage-patch-pictures/. Retrieved 2010-10-31. 
13. ^ Gerlach: Marine Pollution, Springer, Berlin (1975)

Further reading

Based on public domain text from US Naval Oceanographer

• Barkley, Richard A. (1968). Oceanographic Atlas of the Pacific Ocean. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. 
• prepared by the Special Publications Division, National Geographic Society. (1985). Blue Horizons: Paradise Isles of the Pacific. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society. ISBN 0-87044-544-8. 
• Cameron, Ian (1987). Lost Paradise: The Exploration of the Pacific. Topsfield, Mass.: Salem House. ISBN 0-88162-275-3. 
• Couper, A. D. (ed.) (1989). Development and Social Change in the Pacific Islands. London: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-00917-0. 
• Gilbert, John (1971). Charting the Vast Pacific. London: Aldus. ISBN 0-490-00226-9. 
• Lower, J. Arthur (1978). Ocean of Destiny: A Concise History of the North Pacific, 1500-1978. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press. ISBN 0-7748-0101-8. 
• Napier, W.; Gilbert, J., and Holland, J. (1973). Pacific Voyages. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday. ISBN 0-385-04335-X. 
• Oliver, Douglas L. (1989). The Pacific Islands (3rd ed.). Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 0-8248-1233-6. 
• Ridgell, Reilly (1988). Pacific Nations and Territories: The Islands of Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia (2nd ed.). Honolulu: Bess Press. ISBN 0-935848-50-9. 
• Soule, Gardner (1970). The Greatest Depths: Probing the Seas to 20,000 feet (6,100 m) and Below. Philadelphia: Macrae Smith. ISBN 0-8255-8350-0. 
• Spate, O. H. K. (1988). Paradise Found and Lost. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. ISBN 0-8166-1715-5. 
• Terrell, John (1986). Prehistory in the Pacific Islands: A Study of Variation in Language, Customs, and Human Biology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-30604-3. 

External links

Look up pacific ocean in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Pacific Ocean

• EPIC Pacific Ocean Data Collection Viewable on-line collection of observational data
• NOAA In-situ Ocean Data Viewer plot and download ocean observations
• NOAA PMEL Argo profiling floats Realtime Pacific Ocean data
• NOAA TAO El Niño data Realtime Pacific Ocean El Niño buoy data
• NOAA Ocean Surface Current Analyses – Realtime (OSCAR) Near-realtime Pacific Ocean Surface Currents derived from satellite altimeter and scatterometer data

Coordinates: 0°N 160°W / 0°N 160°W / 0; -160

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - Stillehavet

Français (French)
n. - Océan Pacifique

Deutsch (German)
n. - Pazifischer Ozean, Pazifik

Português (Portuguese)
n. - Oceano Pacífico

Español (Spanish)
n. - Océano Pacífico

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
太平洋

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 太平洋

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮האוקיינוס השקט‬

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