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ocean
ocean interconnected mass of saltwater covering 70.78% of the surface of the earth, often called the world ocean. It is subdivided into four (or five) major units that are separated from each other in most cases by the continental masses. See also oceanography .
The World Ocean
Of the ma...
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Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean third largest ocean, c.28,350,000 sq mi (73,427,000 sq km), extending from S Asia to Antarctica and from E Africa to SE Australia; it is c.4,000 mi (6,400 km) wide at the equator. It constitutes about 20% of the world's total ocean area. The Indian Ocean is connected with the Pacific O...
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Southern Ocean
Southern Ocean or Antarctic Ocean, name sometimes given to those parts of the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian oceans that surround Antarctica S of roughly 60°S. These waters are marked by the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, or West Wind Drift Current, a surface current that flows E around Anta...
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Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean [Lat.,=of Atlas], second largest ocean (c.31,800,000 sq mi/82,362,000 sq km; c.36,000,000 sq mi/93,240,000 sq km with marginal seas).
Physical Geography
Extent and Seas
The Atlantic Ocean extends in an S shape from the arctic to the antarctic regions between North and ...
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Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean largest and deepest ocean, c.70,000,000 sq mi (181,300,000 sq km), occupying about one third of the earth's surface; named by the explorer Ferdinand Magellan ; the southern part is also known as the South Sea.
Physical Geography
Extent and Seas
The Pacific Ocean extend...
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Arctic Ocean
Arctic Ocean the smallest ocean, c.5,400,000 sq mi (13,986,000 sq km), located entirely within the Arctic Circle and occupying the region around the North Pole.
Oceanography and Environment
Nearly landlocked, the Arctic Ocean is bordered by Greenland, Canada, Alaska, Russia, and Norway. T...
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Oceanic art
Oceanic art works produced by the island peoples of the S and NW Pacific, including Melanesia (New Guinea and the islands to its north and east), Micronesia (Mariana, Caroline, Marshall, and Gilbert islands), and Polynesia (which includes the Hawaiian Islands, the Samoas, Tonga, New Zealand, and Ea...
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mid-ocean ridge
mid-ocean ridge A long, linear, elevated, volcanic structure often lying along the middle of the ocean floor. Such ridges tend to occupy central positions because the oceans have formed by the symmetrical spreading of two lithospheric plates from the ridge sites. Ocean ridges occur in all the Earth'...
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British Indian Ocean Territory
British Indian Ocean Territory archipelago, c.1,180 mi (1,900 km), NE of Mauritius, in the central Indian Ocean. The islands, which form the Chagos Archipelago and are located on the southern end of a chain of sea mounts that also includes Lakshadweep and the Maldives , were administered by Mau...
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Great Dividing Range
Great Dividing Range crest line of the Eastern Highlands of Australia. For the most part it separates rivers draining into the Pacific Ocean from those flowing into the Indian Ocean and the Arafura Sea.
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