Pacific Ocean
Топик Тихий океан рассказывает о самом большом по площади (49,5% поверхности Мирового океана) и глубине (10 994 м в Марианской впадине) океане на Земле. Он расположен между материками Евразией и Австралией на западе, Северной и Южной Америкой на востоке, Антарктидой на юге. Большая часть его морей находится в западной части океана вдоль Евразии: Берингово, Охотское, Японское, Внутреннее Японское, Желтое, Восточно-Китайское и Филиппинское. Вдоль Северной и Южной Америки нет морей, но располагаются крупные заливы: Аляскинский, Калифорнийский, Панамский. По количеству (около 10 тысяч) и общей площади островов Тихий океан занимает среди других океанов первое место. В океане находятся второй и третий по величине острова Земли: Новая Гвинея и Калимантан и крупнейшая группа островов: Большие Зондские острова. Крупные реки Азии — Амур, Хуанхэ, Янцзы, Мекон и крупнейшие реки Америки — Юкон, Колорадо, Колумбия выносят к океану свои воды. Наиболее крупными центрами промышленного освоения являются побережье США: от района Лос-Анджелеса до района Сан-Франциско; побережье Японии и Южной Кореи; значительна роль океана в экономической жизни Австралии и Новой Зеландии. Южная часть Тихого океана является «кладбищем» космических кораблей: здесь, вдали от судоходных маршрутов, затапливаются вышедшие из эксплуатации космические объекты. Через Тихий океан пролегают важные морские и воздушные коммуникации между странами тихоокеанского бассейна и транзитные пути между странами Атлантического и Индийского океанов. Тихий океан соединен с Атлантическим океаном искусственным Панамским каналом, прорытым между Северной и Южной Америками по Панамскому перешейку.
Pacific Ocean — largest and deepest ocean, c.70,000,000 sq mi (181,300,000 sq km), occupying about one third of the earth’s surface; named by the explorer Ferdinand Magellan; the southern part is also known as the South Sea.
Physical Geography
Extent and Seas
The Pacific Ocean extends from the arctic to antarctic regions between North and South America on the east and Asia and Australia on the west. The international date line passes through it. It is connected with the Arctic Ocean by the Bering Strait; with the Atlantic Ocean by the Drake Passage, Straits of Magellan, and the Panama Canal; and with the Indian Ocean by passages in the Malay Archipelago and between Australia and Antarctica. Its maximum length is c.9,000 mi (14,500 km), and its greatest width c.11,000 mi (17,700 km), between the Isthmus of Panama and the Malay Peninsula. The principal arms of the Pacific Ocean are (in the north) the Bering Sea; (in the east) the Gulf of California; (in the south) Ross Sea; and (in the west) the Sea of Okhotsk, the Sea of Japan, and the Yellow, East China, South China, Philippine, Coral, and Tasman seas. Few large rivers drain into the Pacific Ocean; the largest are the Columbia of North America and the Huang He and Chang (Yangtze) of China.
Coastline and Islands
Along the E Pacific shore, generally, the coast rises abruptly from a deep seafloor to mountain heights on land, and there is a narrow continental shelf. The Asian coast is generally low and indented and is fringed with islands rising from a wide continental shelf. A series of volcanoes, the Circum-Pacific Ring of Fire, rims the Pacific basin.
The approximately 20,000 islands in the Pacific Ocean are concentrated in the south and west. Most of the larger islands are structurally part of the continent and rise from the continental shelf; these include the Japanese islands, the Malay Archipelago, and the islands of NW North America and SW South America. Scattered around the Pacific and rising from the ocean floor are high volcanic islands (such as the Hawaiian Islands) and low coral islands (such as those of Oceania).
Ocean Floor
The floor of the Pacific Ocean, which has an average depth of c.14,000 ft (4,300 m), is largely a deep-sea plain. The greatest known depth (35,798.6 ft/10,911.5 m) is in the Challenger Deep in the Marianas trench c.250 mi (400 km) SW of Guam. Rising from the plain are swells (many of which are volcanic), seamounts, and guyots; the extensive Albatross Plateau covers most of the SE and E central Pacific basin.
Currents
Huge whirls, formed by the major ocean currents, are found roughly north and south of the equator; the Equatorial Counter Current separates them. The northern whirl is formed by the North Equatorial Current, Japan Current, North Pacific Drift, and California Current; the southern whirl is formed by the South Equatorial Current, East Australian Current, West Wind Drift, and Peruvian (or Humboldt) Current. There are many branch and feeder currents that help to constantly circulate ocean water of differing temperatures and salinities.
Commerce and Shipping
The principal commercial fishing areas in the Pacific are found in the shallower waters of the continental shelf; salmon, halibut, herring, sardines, and tuna are the chief catch. Most of the transpacific sea-lines pass through the Hawaiian Islands; the chief Pacific ports are San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Tokyo-Yokohama, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Manila, and Sydney. Since the 1950s many of the South Pacific islands have become tourist centers.
Exploration and Settlement
The Pacific islands of the south and west were populated by Asian migrants who crossed long distances of open sea in primitive boats. European travelers including Marco Polo had reported an ocean off Asia, and in the late 15th cent. trading ships had sailed around Africa to the western rim of the Pacific, but recognition of the Pacific as distinct from the Atlantic Ocean dates from Balboa’s sighting of its eastern shore (1513). Magellan’s crossing of the Philippines (1520-21) initiated a series of explorations, including those of Drake, Tasman, Dampier, Cook, Bering, and Vancouver, which by the end of the 18th cent. had disclosed the coastline and the major islands. In the 16th cent. supremacy in the Pacific area was shared by Spain and Portugal. The English and the Dutch established footholds in the 17th cent., France and Russia in the 18th, and Germany, Japan, and the United States in the 19th. Sealers and whalers sailed the Pacific from the late 18th cent., and Yankee clippers entered Pacific trade in the early 19th cent.
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Топик Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest ocean in the world, with the area of around 70,000,000 sq mi (181,300,000 sq km), occupying about one third of the earth’s surface; named by the explorer Ferdinand Magellan; its southern part is also known as the South Sea. Extent and Seas
The Pacific Ocean extends from the Arctic to Antarctic regions between North and South America on the east and Asia and Australia on the west. The international date line passes through it. It is connected with the Arctic Ocean by the Bering Strait; with the Atlantic Ocean by the Drake Passage, Straits of Magellan, and the Panama Canal; and with the Indian Ocean by passages in the Malay Archipelago and between Australia and Antarctica. Its maximum length is c.9,000 mi (14,500 km), and its greatest width c.11,000 mi (17,700 km), between the Isthmus of Panama and the Malay Peninsula. The principal arms of the Pacific Ocean are (in the north) the Bering Sea; (in the east) the Gulf of California; (in the south) Ross Sea; and (in the west) the Sea of Okhotsk, the Sea of Japan, and the Yellow, East China, South China, Philippine, Coral, and Tasman seas. Few large rivers drain into the Pacific Ocean; the largest are the Columbia of North America and the Huang He and Chang (Yangtze) of China.
Coastline and Islands
Along the E Pacific shore, generally, the coast rises abruptly from a deep seafloor to mountain heights on land, and there is a narrow continental shelf. The Asian coast is generally low and indented and is fringed with islands rising from a wide continental shelf. A series of volcanoes, the Circum-Pacific Ring of Fire, rims the Pacific basin.
The approximately 20,000 islands in the Pacific Ocean are concentrated in the south and west. Most of the larger islands are structurally part of the continent and rise from the continental shelf; these include the Japanese island arc, the Malay Archipelago, and the islands of NW North America and SW South America. Scattered around the Pacific and rising from the ocean floor are high volcanic islands (such as the Hawaiian Islands) and low coral islands (such as those of Oceania).
The floor of the Pacific Ocean, which has an average depth of c.14,000 ft (4,300 m), is largely a deep-sea plain. The greatest known depth (35,798.6 ft/10,911.5 m) is in the Challenger Deep in the Marianas trench c.250 mi (400 km) SW of Guam. Rising from the plain are swells (many of which are volcanic), seamounts, and guyots; the extensive Albatross Plateau covers most of the SE and E central Pacific basin.
Huge whirls, formed by the major ocean currents, are found roughly north and south of the equator; the Equatorial Counter Current separates them. The northern whirl is formed by the North Equatorial Current, Japan Current, North Pacific Drift, and California Current; the southern whirl is formed by the South Equatorial Current, East Australian Current, West Wind Drift, and Peruvian (or Humboldt) Current. There are many branch and feeder currents that help to constantly circulate ocean water of differing temperatures and salinities.
Commerce and Shipping
The principal commercial fishing areas in the Pacific are found in the shallower waters of the continental shelf; salmon, halibut, herring, sardines, and tuna are the chief catch. Most of the transpacific sea-lanes pass through the Hawaiian Islands; the chief Pacific ports are San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Tokyo-Yokohama, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Manila, and Sydney. Since the 1950s many of the South Pacific islands have become tourist centers.
Exploration and Settlement
The Pacific islands of the south and west were populated by Asian migrants who crossed long distances of open sea in primitive boats. European travelers including Marco Polo had reported an ocean off Asia, and in the late 15th cent. trading ships had sailed around Africa to the western rim of the Pacific, but recognition of the Pacific as distinct from the Atlantic Ocean dates from Balboa’s sighting of its eastern shore (1513). Magellan’s crossing of the Philippines (1520-21) initiated a series of explorations, including those of Drake, Tasman, Dampier, Cook, Bering, and Vancouver, which by the end of the 18th cent. had disclosed the coastline and the major islands. In the 16th cent. supremacy in the Pacific area was shared by Spain and Portugal. The English and the Dutch established footholds in the 17th cent., France and Russia in the 18th, and Germany, Japan, and the United States in the 19th. Sealers and whalers sailed the Pacific from the late 18th cent., and Yankee clippers entered Pacific trade in the early 19th cent.
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Океания (Oceania)
On the map of the Pacific Ocean, sunny tropical islands seem like grains of sand thrown into the boundless sea. The first settlers sailed here from Southeast Asia. They gradually settled on the islands, overcoming the expanses of the sea on fragile wooden boats and rafts.
The islands form three groups: Micronesia in the north, Melanesia in the south and Polynesia in the east. In the Pacific today there are 12 independent countries, including Fiji, Tonga and Nauru — the smallest nations of the world.
Europeans first appeared in Oceania in the 16th century, and since then many islands have been closely associated with Europe. New Caledonia, for example, belongs to France. The United States owns a number of islands in Oceania, including Wake Island and Midway, where one of the battles of World War II broke out. The Hawaiian Islands is an American state.
In the Pacific, about 25,000 islands, of which only a few thousand are inhabited. They are scattered in the middle of the ocean in an area larger than mainland Asia. Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand are located to the west and southwest, and North and South Americas in the east.
Many islands in the ocean are the tops of underwater volcanoes. Coral reef rings protect them from the surf and storms. The population of distant islands lives just like their ancestors lived. Their homes are covered with palm leaves. The Islanders keep pigs and chickens, grow fruits and vegetables. Boats are used for fishing and shopping trips.
New Guinea — one of the largest islands — belongs to Melanesia. It is western half, Irian Jaya, belongs to Indonesia. The independent country of Papua New Guinea is located in the east. In its mountain forests inhabited by tribes, almost not in contact with the outside world.
Easter Island on the eastern edge of Polynesia was named after the Easter holiday in 1722 by the Dutch admiral Roggeven. More than a thousand years ago, the ancestors of the Polynesians carved out of the basalt stone giants, which keep their deserted shores.
Pine Island is one of the most sparsely populated in the New Caledonia group of islands, which, like many Pacific islands, is under the control of a more powerful country — France. Help France provides 1/3 of the income of this territory. The rest comes from the export of nickel — 40% of its world reserves are concentrated here.
На карте Тихого океана солнечные тропические острова кажутся песчинками, брошенными в бескрайнее море. Первые поселенцы приплыли сюда из Юго-Восточной Азии. Они постепенно расселялись по островам, преодолевая морские просторы на утлых деревянных лодках и плотах.
Острова образуют три группы: Микронезию на севере, Меланезию на юге и Полинезию на востоке. В Тихом океане сегодня 12 независимых стран, включая Фиджи, Тонга и Науру – самые малочисленные нации мира.
Европейцы впервые появились в Океании в XVI веке, и с тех пор многие острова тесно связаны с Европой. Новая Каледония, например, принадлежит Франции. Соединенные Штаты Америки владеют рядом островов в Океании, включая остров Уэйк и Мидуэй, где разыгралось одно из сражений Второй мировой войны. Гавайские острова являются американским штатом.
В Тихом океане около 25 000 островов, из них обитаемы всего несколько тысяч. Они разбросаны посреди океана на территории, превышающей площадь материковой Азии. К западу и юго-западу расположены ЮгоВосточная Азия, Австралия и Новая Зеландия, на востоке — Северная и Южная Америк.
Многие острова в океане — это вершины подводных вулканов. Кольца коралловых рифов защищают их от прибоя и штормов. Население дальних островов живет так же, как жили их предки. Их жилища покрыты пальмовыми листьями. Островитяне держат свиней и кур, выращивают фрукты и овощи. Для рыбной ловли и торговых поездок используются лодки.
Новая Гвинея — один из крупнейших островов — относится к Меланезии. Его западная половина, Ириан-Джая, принадлежит Индонезии. На востоке расположена независимая страна Папуа — Новая Гвинея. В ее горных лесах обитают племена, почти не соприкасающиеся со внешним миром.
Остров Пасхи на восточной окраине Полинезии был назван в честь праздника пасхи в 1722 году голландским адмиралом Роггевеном. Более тысячи лет назад предки полинезийцев высекли из базальта каменных исполинов, которые сторожат его пустынные берега.
Остров Пайн — один из самых малонаселенных в группе островов Новая Каледония, которая, как и многие тихоокеанские острова, находится под управлением более могущественной страны — Франции. Помощь Франции обеспечивает 1/3 доходов этой территории. Остальное дает экспорт никеля — здесь сосредоточены 40% его мировых запасов.
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