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165

INDIAN

OCEAN

This mainly

tropical ocean is

notorious for the

tsunami that swept

across it from Sumatra

in 2004. It had a serious

impact on nearby coasts and

low-lying coral islands like the

Maldives, which crown the peaks

of an underwater mountain ridge

extending south from India.

ARCTIC OCEAN

Most of the Arctic Ocean is covered by

thick floating ice in winter. A lot of

this melts in spring, allowing sunlight

to reach the cold waters and fuel

the growth of ocean life. The sea

near the North Pole stays frozen

in summer, but the area covered

by ice is shrinking every year

because of global warming.

Maldives

Baltic Sea

Mediterranean is an

enclosed, almost

tideless sea that was

once a great ocean

Great Barrier Reef

is the world’s

biggest coral reef

Black Sea

Ocean trench marks

where the Pacific floor

is grinding beneath

Japan, causing

earthquakes

SOUTHERN OCEAN

With no obvious northern boundaries, the

Southern Ocean forms a ring of cold, stormy water

around Antarctica. Ice covers a vast area in winter, and

the giant icebergs that break off Antarctic glaciers

and ice shelves sometimes drift well north.

The 2004 Asian

tsunami was caused

by an earthquake

in the Java Trench

off Sumatra

Mariana

Trench is

the lowest

point on

Earth, 11 km

(6.8 miles)

below the

waves

North Sea

Red Sea

Caspian Sea

Arctic Ocean

Atlantic

Ocean

Southern Ocean

Indian

Ocean

Pacific

Ocean

164_165_Oceans.indd 165 03/01/19 12:10 PM