The Pacific Ocean claimed its namesake from the Latin name Mare Pacificum (peaceful sea), bestowed upon it by the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan. For most of Magellan’s voyage from the Strait of Magellan to the Philippines, the explorer did find the ocean peaceful; however, this is not always the case. Many tropical cyclones (typhoons – the equivalent of Atlantic hurricanes), batter the islands of the Pacific; the lands around the Pacific rim are full of volcanoes and often affected by earthquakes; tsunamis, caused by underwater earthquakes, have devastated many islands and destroyed entire towns. Because of this, the islands in the Pacific Ocean face natural disasters on a daily basis. The Pacific Ocean encompasses a third of the Earth’s surface, making it the largest body of water with an area of 69.4 million square miles (179.7 million square kilometers), an area significantly larger than the entire Earth’s landmass. The lowest point on earth, the Mariana Trench, lies in the Pacific Ocean at 35,797 feet (10,911 meters) below sea level. However, the average depth of the entire ocean is 14,000 feet (4,300 meters).
posted by Hills @ 1:59 PM
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