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Over 70 percent of the world is covered with water - that's a lot of beaches for you beach lovers. Until the year 2000, there were only four oceans - the Pacific, the Atlantic, the Indian and the Arctic Oceans. In 2000, scientists labeled a new ocean, the Southern Ocean, which is near Antarctica. The truth is, there's only one ocean, because all the oceans run into each other, but scientists have labeled the various areas of the ocean by different names.

Not only do oceans provide a home for thousands of plants and animals, they also help regulate the earth's weather and temperature. The oceans keep the earth warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer.

The Arctic Ocean sits at the top of the planet and is covered with ice for much of the year. During the summer, most of the ice melts away, although some ice remains permanently frozen at the North Pole. This permanent ice gets smaller each year as the earth warms up. The Arctic Ocean covers 5.4 million square miles, with an average depth of 3,953 feet.

The Atlantic Ocean covers 29.7 million square miles and makes up 29 percent of the world's oceans. It borders Europe to the east and North America and South America to the west. The average depth of the Atlantic Ocean is 10,950 feet. The Atlantic Ocean is slowly getting bigger because the plates beneath the surface are pushing apart.

The Indian Ocean, which lies between Africa, Australia and India, is the world's warmest ocean. It covers 26.5 million square miles with an average depth of 13,002 feet. The warm water causes summer tropical storms.

The Pacific Ocean is the largest ocean on Earth, but it is shrinking because of the Earth's tectonic plate movement. This ocean is filled with small islands. The Pacific Ocean covers 60 million square miles with an average depth of 15,215 feet. The Mariana Trench - the deepest ocean point in the world - is 35,840 feet deep.

The Southern Ocean lies at the South Pole, but has no continental boundaries. Much of this ocean freezes in the winter. The Southern Ocean covers 7.8 million square miles with an average depth of 14,763 feet.

Fun Facts All About the Oceans of the World for Kids

One cubic foot of ocean water contains over 2 pounds of salt. The Red Sea and the Persian Gulf have the saltiest water.

The oceans become salty because water picks up small amounts of dissolved salt minerals as it flows through rivers and streams. When this water enters the ocean, it slowly makes the ocean saltier.

Winds cause the waves on the ocean's surface. The tides are caused by the gravitational pull of the moon.

The water spins clockwise in northern oceans; it spins counterclockwise in southern oceans.

In the Atlantic Ocean is a huge mountain range. It is longer than the Rockies, Himalaya and Andes mountains combined.

Oceans of the World Vocabulary

1. Surface: area at the top of the ocean

2. Gravitational: caused by gravity

3. Counterclockwise: the opposite direction of clockwise, which is the direction a clock runs

Learn More All About the Oceans of the World

Watch and listen to this video all about the oceans of the world:

A video song about the 5 oceans of the world.

Oceans of the world Q&A

Answer: The sun's heat causes water on the Earth to evaporate. The water droplets condense together to form clouds. When the clouds become heavy, the water drops as rain, and the process begins again.

Enjoyed the Geography for Kids all about the Oceans of the World info? Take the FREE & fun all about the Oceans of the World quiz and download FREE Oceans of the World worksheet for kids. For lengthy info click here.

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Over 70 percent of the world is covered with water - that's a lot of beaches for you beach lovers. Until the year 2000, there were only four oceans - the Pacific, the Atlantic, the Indian and the Arctic Oceans. In 2000, scientists labeled a new ocean, the Southern Ocean, which is near Antarctica.

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But the ocean's role doesn't end there. Because it's so vast and deep the ocean absorbs much of the heat and light that comes from the sun. In fact it is so deep (average depth about 13,000 feet, with a maximum depth of 36,198 feet), that sunlight can't even reach the ocean floor in most places.

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Location | Weather | Plants | Animals | People | Links

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Enjoy our awesome range of Earth facts for kids. Check out the cool trivia and have fun learning about some of our planet's most amazing features.

Fun Ocean Facts

Check out these fun ocean facts for kids and learn more about the regions of water that cover much of the Earth's surface. Enjoy a range of interesting facts about the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Arctic and Southern Oceans as well as information relating to marine life, historical events and amazing statistics.

Around 70% of the Earth's surface is covered by oceans.

The world's oceans contain enough water to fill a cube with edges over 1000 kilometres (621 miles) in length.

Ocean tides are caused by the Earth rotating while the Moon and Sun's gravitational pull acts on ocean water.

While there are hundreds of thousands of known marine life forms, there are many that are yet to be discovered, some scientists suggest that there could actually be millions of marine life forms out there.

Oceans are frequently used as a means of transport with various companies shipping their products across oceans from one port to another.

The largest ocean on Earth is the Pacific Ocean, it covers around 30% of the Earth's surface.

The Pacific Ocean's name has an original meaning of 'peaceful sea'.

Located to the east of the Mariana Islands in the western Pacific Ocean, the Mariana Trench is the deepest known area of Earth's oceans. It has a deepest point of around 11000 metres (36000 feet).

The Pacific Ocean contains around 25000 different islands, many more than are found in Earth's other oceans.

The Pacific Ocean is surrounded by the Pacific Ring of Fire, a large number of active volcanoes.

The second largest ocean on Earth is the Atlantic Ocean, it covers over 21% of the Earth's surface.

The Atlantic Ocean's name refers to Atlas of Greek mythology.

The Bermuda Triangle is located in the Atlantic Ocean, check out our Bermuda Triangle mystery facts.

Amelia Earhart became the first female to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean in 1932.

The third largest ocean on Earth is the Indian Ocean, it covers around 14% of the Earth's surface.

During winter the Arctic Ocean is almost completely covered in sea ice.

While some disagree on whether it is an ocean or just part of larger oceans, the Southern Ocean includes the area of water that encircles Antarctica.

Learn more with our facts about rivers, lakes, seas and beaches.

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Fun Ocean Facts for Kids - Interesting Facts about the Pacific, Atlantic & Indian Oceans

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Enjoy our awesome range of Earth facts for kids. Check out the cool trivia and have fun learning about some of our planet's most amazing features. Fun Ocean Facts Check out these fun ocean facts for kids and learn more about the regions of water that cover much of the Earth's surface.