The Pacific Ocean is considered the largest and deepest body of water in the world. Its area is estimated at 179 million square meters. km This is 30 square kilometers more than all terrestrial land. The maximum width of the basin is about 17.2 thousand km, and the length is 15.5 thousand km. The ocean stretches from the shores of the American continent to Australia itself. The pool includes dozens of large seas and bays.
How the Pacific formed
The water area of the current basin began to emerge in the Mesozoic era. The first step was the disintegration of the Pangea continent into Laurasia and Gondwana. As a result, Pantalassa’s body of water began to decline. The seas and bays of the Pacific Ocean began to form between the rift of Laurasia and Gondwana. In the Jurassic period, several tectonic plates formed immediately under the pond. At the end of the Cretaceous era, the Arctic continent began to split. At the same time, the Australian plate headed for the equator, and the Pacific plate to the west. In the Miocene, active tectonic movement of the strata ceased.
Today, plate displacement is minimal, but it continues. The movement is carried out along the axis of the mid-rift underwater zones. Because of this, the seas and bays of the Pacific are shrinking or expanding. The largest plates are displaced at a speed of up to 10 cm / year. This mainly concerns the Australian and Eurasian plates. Smaller slabs can reach displacement speeds of up to 12-14 cm / year. The slowest - up to 3 cm per year. Thanks to this continuous movement, the largest bays of the Pacific Ocean have formed. In recent years, the basin water area has changed by several meters.
Pacific Ocean Location
The water area of the reservoir is usually divided into two parts: southern and northern. The boundary of the regions is the equator. The largest bays of the Pacific Ocean are located in the northern part, as are the largest seas and straits. However, many experts consider this division into regions inaccurate, since it does not take into account the direction of the flow. Therefore, there is an alternative classification of areas of the water area to the southern, central and northern.
The largest seas,
bays, straits of the Pacific Ocean are in close proximity to the American mainland. This primarily applies to countries such as the United States, Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador, Ecuador, Nicaragua and others. In the southern region of the water area there are many small seas between the islands: Tasmanovo, Arafur, Coral, Flores, Yavan and others. Such bays and straits of the Pacific Ocean adjoin them, such as Carpentaria, Siamese, Bakbo, Makassarsky.
A special place in the northern region of the basin is occupied by the Sulu Sea. It is located within the Philippine archipelago. It includes about a dozen small bays and bays. Near Asia, the most significant seas are the Japanese, Yellow, Chinese, and Okhotsk.
Gulf of alaska
The boundary of the basin is the coastline from the Alexander Archipelago to the Alaska Peninsula. This is the largest bay in the Pacific. Its depth in some places exceeds the mark of 5.5 thousand meters.
The main ports are Prince Rupert and Seward. The coastal boundary of the water area is uneven, indented. It is represented not only by azure sands, but also by
high mountains, forests, waterfalls and even glaciers, like Hubbard. The bay includes many estuaries and bays.
Today, Alaska is considered the main source of major storms moving in the direction of the entire American coast, including the states of Oregon and Washington. In addition, the bay is enriched with natural hydrocarbon. Seasonal rains in the water area do not stop even for a week. Some islands of the basin are assigned to the national reserve.
Panamanian
Located off the coast of Central America. It borders with Panama on the isthmus of 140 km. Its minimum width is about 185 km, and the maximum reaches 250. The deepest point of the basin is a depression at 100 m. This Pacific Bay in a total area reaches 2400 sq. km
The largest bays are Parita and San Miguel. The straits are semidiurnal, and their average height is 6.4 meters. In the east of the water area are the famous Pearl Islands.
In the northern part of the bay, the Panama Canal originates. At the entrance to it is based the largest port of the Balboa basin. The canal itself unites the
Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Panama and the Atlantic Ocean. The Tuira River also flows into the water area.
Largest bays: California
This pool is also known as the Sea of Cortez. This Pacific Gulf separates the Mexican coast from the California Peninsula. The Sea of Cortez has one of the oldest water areas. Her age is 5.3 million years. Thanks to the Gulf, the Colorado River got direct access to the ocean.
The pool area is 177 thousand square meters. km The deepest point reaches 3400 meters, and the average elevation is 820 m. The ford at the bay is uneven. Today, the California water area is considered the deepest in the Pacific Ocean. The maximum point is in the estuary near the city of Yuma.
The largest islands of the bay are Tiburon and Angel de la Guarda. Of the small ports, Isla Partida and Espiritu Santo can be distinguished.
Fonseca Bay
Washes the shores of Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua. This is the easternmost bay of the Pacific Ocean. It was opened in the early 16th century by the Spaniards and named after the archbishop named Juan Fonseca.
The water area is about 3.2 thousand square meters. km The width of the pool is within 35 km, and the length is up to 74 km. It is worth noting that this is the most inland bay in the Pacific Ocean (peak - 27 meters). Semi-daily straits flow into Fonseca, the height of which varies from 2 to 4.5 m. The length of the coastline is 261 km. Most of it is in Honduras (70%). The remaining percentage is shared by Nicaragua and Salvador.
The largest islands of the basin are El Tigre, Meenguera, Sacate Grande and Conchaguita. The water area of Fonseca is located in a seismically active zone; therefore, earthquakes and minor tsunamis regularly occur within it. At the beginning of the bay are two active volcanoes of Kosiguin and Konchagua.
It is interesting that Honduras and El Salvador fought for sole domination in Fonseca for a long time. A compromise was reached only in 1992.