The school course of the geography program includes the study of the largest water bodies - the oceans. This topic is quite interesting. Students are happy to prepare reports and essays on it. This article will provide information that describes the geographical position of the Indian Ocean, its characteristics and features. So let's get started.
Brief Description of the Indian Ocean
In terms of scale and quantity of water reserves, the Indian Ocean is comfortably located in third place, giving way to the Pacific and Atlantic. A significant part of it is located on the territory of the southern hemisphere of our planet, and its natural aisles are:
- The southern part of Eurasia in the north.
- East coast of Africa in the west.
- The north and northwest shores of Australia in the east.
- Northern Antarctica in the south.
In order to indicate the exact geographical position of the Indian Ocean, you need a map. It can also be used during a presentation. So, on the world map, the water area has the following coordinates: 14 ° 05′33.68 ″ south latitude and 76 ° 18′38.01 ″ east longitude.
According to one version, the ocean in question was first named Indian in the work of the Portuguese scientist S. Munster under the name Cosmography, which was published in 1555.
Characteristic
The total area of the Indian Ocean , taking into account all the seas included in its composition, is 76.174 million square meters. km, the depth (average) is more than 3.7 thousand meters, and the maximum was recorded at around 7.7 thousand meters.
The geographical position of the Indian Ocean has its own characteristics. Due to its large size, it is located in several climatic zones. It is also worth paying attention to the size of the water area. For example, the maximum width is between Linde Bay and Toros Strait. The length from west to east is almost 12 thousand km. And if you look at the ocean from north to south, then the largest indicator will be from Cape Ras Jaddy to Antarctica. This distance is 10.2 thousand km.
Features of the water area
Studying the features of the geographical position of the Indian Ocean, it is necessary to consider its borders. First, note that the entire water area is in the eastern hemisphere. From the southwest side it borders on the Atlantic Ocean. In order to see this place on the map, you need to find 20 ° along the meridian. The border with the Pacific Ocean is located in the southeast. It runs along the 147 ° meridian. The Indian Ocean is not communicated with the Arctic Ocean. Its border in the north is the largest continent - Eurasia.
The structure of the coastline has a weak dissection. There are several large bays and 8 seas. There are relatively few islands. The largest are Sri Lanka, Seychelles, Curia Muria, Madagascar and others.
Bottom relief
The characterization of the geographical position of the Indian Ocean will not be complete if we do not consider the features of the relief.
The Central Indian Ridge is an underwater formation located in the central part of the water area. Its length is about 2.3 thousand km. The width of the relief formation is within 800 km. The height of the ridge is more than 1 thousand m. Some peaks emerge from the water, forming volcanic islands.
The West Indian Ridge is located in the southwestern part of the ocean. There is increased seismic activity. The length of the ridge is about 4 thousand km. But in width it is less than the previous one by about half.
The Arabian-Indian ridge is an underwater relief formation. It is located in the northwestern part of the water area. Its length is slightly less than 4 thousand km, and its width is about 650 km. At the final point (Father Rodriguez) it passes into the Central Indian Ridge.
The bottom of the Indian Ocean consists of Cretaceous sediments. In some places, their thickness reaches 3 km. The deepest trench has a length of about 4,500 km in length, and its width varies from 10 to 50 km. It is called Javanese. The depth of the basin is 7729 m (the largest indicator in the Indian Ocean).
Climatic features
One of the most important factors in the formation of climate is the geographical position of the Indian Ocean relative to the equator. It divides the water area into two parts (the largest is in the south). Naturally, this arrangement affects temperature fluctuations and rainfall. The highest temperatures are recorded in the waters of the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf. Here the average is a mark of +35 ° C. And at the southern point, the temperature can drop to -16 ° C in winter and to -4 degrees in summer.
The northern part of the ocean is located in a hot climatic zone, due to which its waters are one of the warmest in the oceans. Here, it is mainly influenced by the Asian continent. Due to the current situation in the northern part, there are only two seasons - a hot rainy summer and a cold cloudless winter. As for the equatorial belt, the climate in this part of the water area remains almost unchanged throughout the year.
Given the geographical position of the Indian Ocean, it is worth noting that its largest part is under the influence of air currents. From this we can conclude: basically the climate is formed thanks to the monsoons. In summer, areas with low pressure are established over land, and high with pressure over the ocean. During this season, the wet monsoon has a direction from west to east. In winter, the situation changes, and then the arid monsoon begins to dominate, which comes from the east and moves west.
In the southern part of the water area, the climate is more severe, since it lies in the subarctic zone. Here, the ocean is influenced by proximity to Antarctica. Along the coast of this continent, the average temperature is fixed at -1.5 ° C, and the buoyancy limit of ice reaches 60 ° parallel.
To summarize
The geographical position of the Indian Ocean is a very important issue that deserves special attention. Due to the relatively large size, this area has many features. Cliffs, estuaries, atolls, coral reefs are present in huge numbers along the coastline. Also worth noting are islands such as Madagascar, Socotra, and the Maldives. They represent sections of ancient continents. And Andaman, Nicobar descended from volcanoes that rose to the surface.
Having studied the proposed material, each student will be able to present an informative and interesting presentation.