South Seas

Home > ... > Places > Oceans, Continents, and Polar Regions > Oceans and Continents > ...

Essential reading Compare
side-by-side The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition

South Seas

South Seas name given by early explorers to the whole of the Pacific Ocean. In recent times the name has been used to mean only the central Pacific, the S Pacific, and the SW Pacific. More particularly it is applied to the South Sea Islands (see Oceania ) and the waters about them.

Create a link to this page

Copy and paste this link tag into your Web page or blog:

<a href="http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/.aspx#1E1-SthSeas" title="Facts and information about South Seas">South Seas</a>

Give this article a thumbs-up on StumbleUpon

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

MLA
Chicago
APA

"South Seas." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 28 Nov. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"South Seas." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (November 28, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-SthSeas.html

"South Seas." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Retrieved November 28, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-SthSeas.html

Learn more about citation styles

South Seas

The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea | 2006 | Â© The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea 2006, originally published by Oxford University Press 2006. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

South Seas, the old term for the Pacific Ocean. It was given this name by Vasco Nuñez de Balboa in 1513 when, after sighting the ocean from the top of a mountain range, he reached the coast near Panama and took possession of the ‘Great South Sea’ in the name of King Ferdinand of Spain. The expression occurs in most of the books of voyages at least up to the middle of the 18th century. It embraced the whole of the Pacific Ocean, purely from the fact that the only means of reaching it from the east was round Cape Horn or through the Magellan Straits.

See also exploration by sea.

Create a link to this page

Copy and paste this link tag into your Web page or blog:

<a href="http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/.aspx#1O225-SouthSeas" title="Facts and information about South Seas">South Seas</a>

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

MLA
Chicago
APA

"South Seas." The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. Oxford University Press. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 28 Nov. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"South Seas." The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. Oxford University Press. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (November 28, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O225-SouthSeas.html

"South Seas." The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. Oxford University Press. 2006. Retrieved November 28, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O225-SouthSeas.html

Learn more about citation styles

Related entries from encyclopedias, dictionaries and thesauruses

Rate these entries|See all related entries

Free newspaper and magazine articles

	Decline in sea otter (Enhydra lutris) populations along the Alaska Peninsula, 1986-2001. Magazine article from: Fishery Bulletin; 4/1/2005
	Dead Sea peril: sinkholes swallow up the unwary News Wire article from: AP Online; 6/21/2009
	Sea creatures capture attention.(Animals) Newspaper article from: The Register-Guard (Eugene, OR); 6/17/2002

Facts and information from other sites

Related articles from newspapers, magazines, and more

	`East Sea,' `Sea of Japan' Used Together by Nat'l Geographic. Newspaper article from: Korea Times (Seoul, Korea); 4/7/2000; 700+ words ; ...East Sea disappeared when the Sea of Japan became internationally used. Koreans feel that the Sea of Japan should be renamed the East Sea, because the East Sea has been...of Japan. In 1995, concerned South Korean scholars, journalists...
	Sea fog around the Korean peninsula Magazine article from: Journal of Applied Meteorology; 12/1/2000; ; 700+ words ; ...aspects (Fig. 1). The west sea and the south sea are shelf seas with maximum depths of less than 100 m, while the east sea has a mean depth of over 1000...supplies heat to the east sea and the south sea throughout the year, while...
	SEA, AIR, RAIL Newspaper article from: The Press; 4/14/1997; ; 700+ words ; ...Wellington, today. Dong Won 522, sea, today. Bass Reefer, Tauranga...today. Liao Da Kai Yu No. 2, sea, today. Liao Da Kai Yu No...No. 1. Pelican, No.2 South. Chang Long N, No. 2 North. Novopskov, No. 3 South. San Arawa, No. 3 North...
	Sea Lamprey Attached to a Greenland Shark in the St. Lawrence Estuary, Canada Magazine article from: Northeastern Naturalist; 1/1/2006; ; 700+ words ; ...This is the first record of a sea lamprey attached to a member of Somniosidae (Squaliformes). Sea lampreys are found from the shallows...north, to deep waters as far south as off Georgia (Herdendorf and Berra 1995). Thus, sea lampreys and Greenland sharks...
	Sea World sheds light on its plans for nearby park. (San Diego, California) Magazine article from: San Diego Business Journal; 5/27/1991; ; 700+ words ; ...issue is not whether (Sea World) is good or bad...as the city's future South Shores Park, a $7...Bay that will include South Shores Park. If a planned...truths resulting from Sea World's prior secretiveness...World's plans for the South Shores area. Ball fields...
	SEA SWEEP SETS PACE FOR ABSORBENTS.(Business)(CORPORATE PROFILE) Newspaper article from: Rocky Mountain News (Denver, CO); 10/24/1999; ; 700+ words ; ...pounds of waste, Markham said. Sea Sweep ``has been a very useful tool,'' he said. Sea Sweep was included in R&...received a gold medal at the Clean Seas International Conference that...approvals for its use. While Sea Sweep costs more than competing...of which 20 tons is sold to South ...
	Sea turtles of New York. Magazine article from: New York State Conservationist; 2/1/2005; 700+ words ; ...New York's largest turtles, sea turtles are graceful, amazing...adapted to life in the ocean, sea turtles have streamlined bodies...short time. In fact, green sea turtles have been known to travel...mid-November, they migrate south in search of warmer waters...
	Sea level along Chinese coasts continues to rise By Wang Jingzhong, Meng Na News Wire article from: Xinhua News Agency; 1/31/2004; 558 words ; Sea level along Chinese coasts...East China Sea, the South China Sea and the Bohai...which in turn causes sea levels to rise. Guan...said that the rising sea level may aggravate the...Hainan island province off South China Sea, mainly caused...
	SEA,, AIR, RAIL Newspaper article from: The Press; 7/12/2001; 700+ words ; ...Competition, Wellington, today. Sea-Hunter 1, sea, today. Port of Greymouth...Grace, Grace Mary, Corsair, sea. DEPARTED Sea Fury, Hinewai...2 North. Pelican, No. 3 South. Tomi Maru 86, No. 3 South. ARRIVED Nil. DEPARTED Nil...
	Sea lion den on the Oregon coast is a natural wonder News Wire article from: AP Worldstream; 9/25/2003; ; 700+ words ; ...foul-smelling cavern called Sea Lion Caves. Visitors enter through...a preserve for two species of sea lion at their only known West...meter-long) bull Steller sea lions lounge around about 30...the natural wonder as north-south U.S. 101 was paved and road...