Our planet is luxurious in every way: a huge variety of vegetation, the myriad richness of the animal world and the endless abundance of aquatic inhabitants. All this and much more is contained on our most beautiful Earth.
Surely everyone knows that there are four vast oceans on our planet. All of them are magnificent in their own way. The quiet, for example, is the largest, the Atlantic is salty, the Arctic is cold, and the Indian is the warmest. It is to the latter that we will devote our article.
Do you know that the Indian Ocean is considered the third largest? Its area is no less than 76.17 million km, which is 20% of the entire globe. So what secrets does our mysterious hero keep? Let's see below.
General location information
In the north, the ocean is washed by mysterious Asia, in the east - adventurous Australia, in the west - sunny Africa, and in the south - frosty Antarctica. At 30 about the north latitude meridian is the highest point of the Indian Ocean. It is located in the Persian Gulf. The border with the Atlantic Ocean runs along the 20th about the east longitude meridian, and 146 about 55 of the same longitude along the Pacific Ocean. The Indian Ocean is 100,000 km long.
A few words about the story
Some areas of ancient civilizations were located precisely on the shores of our hero. Researchers argue that one of the very first sailings was carried out on the waters of the Indian Ocean, about 6 thousand years ago. The Arab sailors described the ocean route in detail. The first geographic information appeared in the 90s of the 15th century, during the life of Vasco de Gama himself, the first in history to overcome the path from Europe to India. It was he who spoke about the countless water beauties that the Indian Ocean provided.
The depth of the ocean was first measured by the world famous sailor James Cook, famous for his round-the-world expeditions and numerous discoveries in the field of geography. Members of one of the famous English expeditions plowing endless expanses on the famous Challenger ship began exploring the ocean in all respects back in the 19th century.
What countries is washed by the Indian Ocean?
This giant washes a huge number of states, both mainland and island.
Mainland Indian Ocean countries:
- India;
- Australia;
- Thailand;
- Saudi Arabia;
- Iran;
- Iraq;
- Indonesia;
- Egypt;
- Somalia;
- Kenya;
- South Africa;
- Pakistan;
- UAE;
- Myanmar;
- Malaysia;
- Mozambique;
- Bangladesh;
- Oman.
Indian Ocean Island Countries:
- Mauritius;
- Maldives;
- Sri Lanka;
- Madagascar;
- Seychelles.
Here is such a vast Indian Ocean.
Depth of the ocean
The Indian Ocean has five seas. They form the depth and area of our hero. So, for example, the Arabian Sea is one of the deepest in the Indian Ocean. A significant point is located on the mid-ocean ridge, in its center, where the rift valley is located. The depth above it is no less than 3600 m.The deepest point of the Indian Ocean is located near the island of Java, in the Java Depression, and is 7455 m.In contrast to the Pacific Ocean, this is small, because its maximum depth is 11022 m. ( Mariana Trench).
Indian Ocean Climate
Most of the ocean lies in the tropical, equatorial and subequatorial zones, only its southern region is in high latitudes.
The climate is represented by monsoons and seasonal winds in the northern part of the ocean. There are two seasons in this area: warm, calm winters and hot, rainy, cloudy, stormy summers. Closer to the south hosts the southeast trade wind. In temperate latitudes, a strong westerly wind prevails. The maximum amount of precipitation is observed in the equatorial belt (about 3000 mm per year). Minimum - off the coast of the Red Sea, Arabia, in the Persian Gulf.
Salinity
The maximum salinity of the surface waters of the Indian Ocean is in the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf (41%). A fairly high salinity coefficient is also observed in the southern tropics in the eastern part. As you move towards the Bay of Bengal, the performance decreases significantly - up to 34%.
In many respects, an increase in the salinity coefficient depends on precipitation and evaporation.
Minimum indicators are characteristic for the territory of Antarctic waters. As a rule, such a factor in this area is affected by the melting of glaciers.
Temperature
The temperature of the Indian Ocean on the surface of the water is +29 . This is the highest indicator. Less observed on the African coast, where the Somali current runs - + 22–23 ° C. At the equator, the temperature of surface water averages + 26–28 ° C. If you move south, it reaches -1 ° C (off the coast of Antarctica).
Icebergs, which in rare cases swim in the territory of southern latitudes, also contribute to temperature changes.
As you can see, the average temperature of the Indian Ocean is generally high, which is why our hero was awarded the title "the warmest ocean in the world."
Bays
The Indian Ocean has 19 bays (3 of them belong to the Red Sea):
- Gulf of Aden. It is quite important in the economy. It is used to transport gas and oil to Europe. The bay connects with the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Red Sea. It is an integral part of the Arabian Sea. Its length is 890 km square. In recent years, cases of pirate robberies have become more frequent in the Gulf of Aden.
- Great Australian Gulf. The length is 1335 thousand km sq. Depth - 5670 km. The bay stretched from the Western Cape to the Cape located in Tasmania.
- Carpentaria. Depth - 69 m. The bay belongs to the Arafura Sea. It extends into the land for 600 km.
- Shark. Located 650 km from the city of Perth. All the bays of the Indian Ocean have their own history and features, Sharque is the one of a kind UNESCO heritage. Annually, its natural beauty attracts 120,000 tourists a year.
- Spencer Located in South Australia. Its length is 322 km, its width is 129 km. Washes the peninsulas of York and Air.
- Van Diemen. It was named by the discoverer Abel Tasman in honor of Governor General Anthony van Dymen. The area of the bay is 14,000 square meters. km
- Manza. Located on the coast of Tanzania, 16 km from the city of Tanga.
- Gulf of cambia. It is an important trading center, connects the trade routes of the Indian Ocean with India. The length is 130 km.
- Gulf of Oman. Connects the Persian Gulf with the Arabian Sea. Its length is 45 km, its width is 330 km, and its depth is 3695 km.
- Joseph Bonaparte. Named after Napoleon's older brother. Its area is 26,780 km square. There are numerous oil fields in this bay.
- Maputo Its length is 112 km, its depth is 16 m, its width is 40 km. Fishing is well developed in this bay, in particular shrimp fishing.
- Saint Vincent. One of the largest bays in southern Australia.
- Persian Gulf. Rich in oil reserves. It is the most important geopolitical object. Area - 233,000 km2, depth - 75 m, width - 320 km, length - 925 km.
- Tajura. Washes Djibouti and Somalia. At the initiative of N. I. Ashinov, a village called “New Moscow” was erected on its territory.
- Phang Nga. It is popular among tourists. Area - 400 square meters. km
- Moutama. Washes the shores of Myanmar. Length - 150 km, width - 220 km, depth - 20 m.
- Manar Bay. The richest representative of flora and fauna in the Indian Ocean. It inhabits more than 3,500 species of fish. Pearl mining has been developed. A national park was created on the territory of the bay, later declared a biosphere reserve.
Gulfs Indian Ocean Red Sea
- Aqaba In recent years, has gained resort value. Length - 175 km, width - 29 km. The west coast belongs to Egypt, the east to Saudi Arabia, the north to Jordan and Israel.
- Makadi. Attracts tourists with its amazing coral beaches. It is a bay, stretched for 30 km along the coast of the Red Sea.
- Gulf of Suez. Separates the Asian Sinai Peninsula from Africa. Length - 290 km, width - 55 km.
Relief
The relief of the Indian Ocean is characterized by the presence at its depth of a ridge called the Indian central ridge. It stretched along the western shores of Hindustan. On average, the depth above it is 3.5 km. In some places, it decreases and is already about 2.4 km. After this, the ridge branches. The first branch goes towards the east and reaches the Pacific Ocean, almost touching Antarctica, and ends at the Australian-Antarctic Rise, the depth over which is 3.5 km.
Another branch goes south to Antarctica and ends with a ridge called Kargelen-Gausberg, with a minimum depth of 0.5 km and a maximum of 2.3 km.
The central Indian ridge divides the ocean into two parts of different sizes: western and eastern. In the eastern part, there are the Indian-Australian and South-Australian basins, the depths of which vary from 500 to 7455 m. In the north-eastern part of the Indian-Australian basin is the deepest hollow that the Indian Ocean has. The depth of the ocean, more precisely, its maximum point, is located near the island of Java (7455 m).
The bottom of the Indian Ocean in the western relief part is significantly different from the eastern one, it is more complex in its structure. This is due to the fact that the latter quite often undergoes a significant increase in the bottom (due to this, in most cases, islands of small size are formed) and uneven arrangement of hollows.
North of the island of Madagascar there is a basin called Somali, the depth over which is 5.2 km. South of the island is a plateau called Crozet, surrounded on all sides by basins. The depth above it is 2.5 km. If you move to the northeast, the Central Indian Basin appears. The depth above it is 5.5 km. Between Madagascar and Crozet, a little to the north, there is a basin called Madagascar with a depth of 5.78 km. Further south is the hollow belonging to Cape Igolny, the depth above which is 5.5 km. The relief of the Indian Ocean in the direction of the Antarctic is characterized by the presence of lowering of the bottom. The depth over this area reaches 5.8 km.
Flora and fauna
The nature of the Indian Ocean is diverse and very interesting. It is home to animals and plants that are accustomed to regular droughts and floods.
Many tropical shores of the Indian Ocean are represented by mangroves, or rhizophores (mangroves). Of the animals in the area there are numerous varieties of crabs. A fish called silt jumper inhabits almost the entire territory of the mangrove region of the Indian Ocean.
In shallow areas of tropical waters, corals have taken root with the fish that live on them and numerous invertebrates.
Brown, blue-green and red algae grow in temperate zones , most of them are kelp, microcystis and fucus. Among the phytoplankton, diatoms predominate, and in the tropical zones - peridinea.
The most famous crayfish, which are more prevalent in the Indian Ocean, are copepods. Now they number more than 20 thousand species. In second place among the animals living in this ocean are jellyfish and squid. Among the fish, tuna, sailboats, flying fish, luminaries and light anchovies are known.
They chose the territory of the ocean and dangerous species of animals. Sharks, crocodiles and poisonous snakes regularly inspire fear in the locals.
Of the mammals in the Indian Ocean, dolphins, whales, dugongs and fur seals predominate. Birds - penguins, albatrosses and frigates.
Swimming pool
The Indian Ocean basin is quite diverse. It includes African rivers - Zambezi and Limpopo; the largest Asian rivers - Irrawaddy, Saluin; Euphrates and Tigris, which merge with each other just above the confluence with the Persian Gulf; Indus, flowing into the Arabian Sea.
Fishing and marine fishing
The coastal population has been engaged in economic activities for quite some time. To this day, fishing and seafood is of great importance for the economy of many countries that are washed by the Indian Ocean. The depths of the ocean provide rich gifts to people, for example, in Sri Lanka, in the north-west of Australia and on the Bahrain islands, intensive extraction of nacre and pearls is in progress.
Near Antarctica, people are actively engaged in whaling, and tuna fishing is carried out near the equator.
The Persian Gulf has rich sources of oil, both on the coastal territory and under water.
Ecological problems of the Indian Ocean
Human activity has led to terrifying consequences. Ocean waters began to become significantly polluted, which gradually leads to the extinction of some species of marine inhabitants. For example, several species of cetaceans at the end of the 20th century were in danger of complete extinction. The number of sailes and sperm whales was greatly reduced.
In the 80s of the 20th century, the Whale Fishing Commission imposed a complete ban on hunting them. Violation of the moratorium was strictly punishable by law. But in 2010, under the influence of countries such as Japan, Denmark, Iceland, the ban, unfortunately, was canceled.
A great danger to marine life is the pollution of ocean waters with oil products, all kinds of waste from the nuclear industry and heavy metals. Also, the paths of oil tankers pass through the ocean, which deliver oil from the Persian Gulf to European countries. If an accident occurs on such a vehicle, this will lead to the mass death of underwater inhabitants.
Studying geography is quite interesting, especially when it comes to marine beauties and inhabitants. The Indian Ocean is studying in detail the 7th grade of a comprehensive school. Children enthusiastically listen to everything that the teacher tells about this beautiful and mysterious giant, which is teeming with a variety of vegetation and the richness of the animal world.