The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepesta reservoir in the world. Its area is estimated at 179 million square meters. km. This is 30 square kilometers more than the entire terrestrial land. The maximum width of the basin is about 17.2 thousand km, and the length is 15.5 thousand km. The water area of the ocean extends from the shores of the American continent to Australia itself. The pool includes dozens of large seas and bays.
How the Pacific was formed
The water area of the present basin began to emergeback in the Mesozoic era. The first stage was the disintegration of Pangea's continent into Laurasia and Gondwana. As a result, the Pantalassa reservoir began to decrease. The seas and bays of the Pacific began to form between the break of Laurasia and Gondwana. In the Jurassic period, several tectonic plates formed beneath the reservoir. At the end of the chalky era, the Arctic continent began to split. At the same time, the Australian plate took the course to the equator, and the Pacific plate to the west. In the Miocene, the active tectonic movement of the seams ceased.
Today, the displacement of the plates is at a minimum,but it continues. The motion is along the axis of the middle-rift submarine zones. Because of this, the seas and bays of the Pacific Ocean are decreasing or expanding. Displacement of the largest plates occurs at a speed of up to 10 cm / year. This mainly applies to the Australian and Eurasian plates. The smaller plates can reach a displacement speed 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 were formed. In recent years the water area of the basin has changed by several meters.
Location of the Pacific
Акваторию водоема принято разделять на две части:southern and northern. The border of the regions is the equator. The largest bays of the Pacific Ocean are located in the northern part, like the largest seas and straits. However, many specialists consider such a division in the field to be inaccurate, since it does not take into account the direction of the current. 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 Oceanare in close proximity to the American mainland. This applies primarily to countries such as the USA, Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador, Ecuador, Nicaragua, etc. In the southern region of the water area there are many small seas between the islands: Tasmanovo, Arafura, Corallo, Flores, Javan, and others. They are adjacent to such bays and straits of the Pacific Ocean, as Carpentaria, Siamese, Bakbo, Makasarsky.
A special place in the northern part of the basin is occupied bythe sea of Sulu. It is located within the Philippine archipelago. It includes about a dozen small coves and bays. Near Asia the most significant seas are the Japanese, Yellow, Chinese, Okhotsk.
Alaska Bay
The border of the basin is a coastline from the Alexander archipelago to the Alaska peninsula. This is the largest gulf of the Pacific Ocean. Its depth in 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, rugged. 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 coves.
To date, the Alaska water areaIt is considered to be the main source of large storms moving to the sides 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 classified as a national reserve.
Panamanian
It is 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 gulf of the Pacific Ocean in the total area reaches 2,400 sq. Km. km.
The largest bays are Parita and San Miguel. The straits here are semi-diurnal, 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 originatesPanama Canal. At the entrance to it is located the largest port of the Balboa basin. The canal itself unites the Caribbean Sea, the Panama Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. Also, the Tuira River flows into the water area.
Largest bays: California
This pool is also known as the SeaCortez. This gulf of the Pacific separates the Mexican coast from the peninsula of California. The Sea of Cortez has one of the oldest water areas. Its age is 5.3 million years. Thanks to the bay, the Colorado River received a direct exit to the ocean.
The area of the pool is 177 thousand square meters. km.The deepest point reaches 3,400 meters, and the average mark is 820 meters. Brody near the bay is uneven. To date, the California water area is considered the deepest in the Pacific Ocean. The maximum point is in the estuary near the town of Yuma.
The largest islands of the Gulf are Tiburon and Angel de la Guarda. From small ports it is possible to allocate Isla-Partida and Espirito-Santo.
Gulf of Fonseca
It washes the shores of Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua. It is the easternmost bay of the Pacific Ocean. It was discovered at the beginning of the 16th century by the Spaniards and was named after the archbishop named Juan Fonseca.
The water area is about 3.2 thousand square meters.km The width of the pool is up to 35 km, and the length is up to 74 km. It is worth noting that this is the shallowest bay in the Pacific Ocean (the peak is 27 meters). The semi-daily straits flow into Fonseku, the height of which varies from 2 to 4.5 m. The coastline is 261 km. Most of it is located in Honduras (70%). The remaining percentage is divided by Nicaragua and El Salvador.
The largest islands of the pool areEl Tigre, Meanguera, Sacate Grande and Conchaguit. The water area of Fonseca is located in the seismically active zone, therefore, within its limits there are regular earthquakes and minor tsunamis. At the beginning of the bay there are two active volcanoes Kosiguin and Konchagua.
Interestingly, Honduras and El Salvador have long fought for sole dominance in Fonseca. It was possible to reach a compromise only in 1992.
