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Pacific Ocean and Islands

The Pacific is the largest and deepest of the world's oceans. With an area of some 70,000,000 square miles (180,000,000 square kilometers), including neighboring seas, the Pacific has nearly half of the earth's ocean surface and makes up more than one third of its total surface. It is more than twice the size of the Atlantic Ocean, the world's second largest body of water. Because of its enormous area, the Pacific Ocean is often considered the earth's principal physical feature.

The Pacific was given its name, which means "peaceful," by the Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan. Magellan, who sailed across the Pacific in the 1520's, found its waters especially calm. But he may have been luckier than he realized. The Pacific, although it can be peaceful, is also subject to destructive typhoons, or storms similar to hurricanes.

Boundaries, Extent, and Depth

The Pacific extends from the Arctic Ocean on the north to Antarctica on the south, a distance of more than 9,000 miles (14,480 kilometers). The coastlines of North and South America make up its eastern boundary. The western boundary is more difficult to define, because of the numerous islands and seas found there, but it is broadly formed by the mainland of Asia, Indonesia, and Australia. The Pacific measures about 11,000 miles (17,700 kilometers) from east to west along the equator, which divides it into the North Pacific and South Pacific oceans.

The Pacific and Indian oceans are linked by the Strait of Malacca (between Malaysia and Indonesia). They also join south of Australia. The Bering Strait connects the Pacific with the Arctic Ocean, and at Cape Horn (at the southern tip of South America), the Pacific merges with the Atlantic Ocean.

The Pacific has an average depth of about 14,000 feet (about 4,270 meters). The Earth's greatest known depth, the Mariana Trench, is located there, near the island of Guam. It plunges 36,198 feet (11,033 meters)—or more than 7 miles—below the ocean surface.

Islands: Continental and Oceanic

The Pacific has an enormous number of islands, estimated at about 25,000, most of which are found in the southern ocean and particularly in its western reaches. Although they vary in size, most are relatively small in area. The islands fall into two main but very different groups—continental and oceanic.

The continental islands rise from the continental shelves, the underwater areas surrounding most continents. These islands are really partially submerged mountain chains. They belong to the long chain of mountains and volcanoes that border the Pacific Basin.

Two processes helped to form the Pacific's oceanic islands—volcanism and subsidence. In volcanism, lava (hot, melted rock) is extruded, or poured out, from the earth's interior and then cools. An island forms if enough lava is extruded to produce a mass rising above the ocean surface. Hawaii is the largest of the Pacific islands formed by volcanism.

In subsidence, the great weight of the volcanic mass forces the crust of the ocean basin to sink, or subside. The older an island is, the more it will have sunk and, therefore, the lower it appears in the water.

In 1993 oceanographers mapping the ocean floor discovered more than 1,000 volcanoes in an area of the South Pacific. It was considered to be the largest known concentration of active volcanoes on earth.

Coral Reefs, Islands, Atolls

As a volcanic island subsides, colonies of small organisms called corals, living just below the surface of the water, sometimes attach themselves to it. In time the volcanic material may disappear beneath the ocean. But the corals go on building upward, forming reefs. If sand, formed by breakup of the coral rock, collects on top of the rock, a low sandy island results. If this sandy island is shaped like a ring, it is called an atoll. The water enclosed by an atoll is a lagoon. In some cases masses of coral rock have been lifted above the surface by upward movement of the earth's crust. Many islands of the Tonga group were formed in this way.

Oceania: Land of the Pacific

The islands of the Pacific are often called Oceania. Australia and the islands and island groups in the shallow waters off the Asian mainland (such as the Philippines and Japan) are generally not considered part of Oceania. New Zealand is sometimes included.

The islands of Oceania are divided into three main groups—Polynesia ("many islands"), Melanesia ("black islands"), and Micronesia ("small islands").

Polynesia, the largest division, is made up of a large triangle of islands in the central and southeastern Pacific. It includes French Polynesia; the Hawaiian Islands; Tonga; Tuvalu; American Samoa and Samoa; part of Kiribati; Easter, Midway, and Niue islands; and the Tokelau, Cook, Pitcairn, and Wallis and Futuna island groups. The Maori, who are the original inhabitants of the islands of New Zealand, are also Polynesian. Many of the Polynesian islands are the tops of submerged mountains. Others are atolls or coral islands.

Melanesia, in the southwestern Pacific, includes Papua (the Indonesian half of the large island of New Guinea); New Caledonia; and the nations of Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands, and Fiji. The larger Melanesian islands are mountainous, and many of them are densely forested.

The many small islands in northwestern Oceania are known as Micronesia. This region includes Nauru, Wake Island, part of Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, the Carolines (including the Federated States of Micronesia), and the Marianas. Most of the islands of Micronesia are low-lying coral atolls.

Peoples of the Pacific

The peoples of Oceania are often divided into three

ethnic groups that parallel the geographic division of the islands. This is not strictly correct, as only the Polynesians form a distinct ethnic group. Melanesians and Micronesians include peoples of many different origins. Other groups include Americans, Japanese, and Chinese on the Hawaiian Islands and people of East Indian descent, who make up about half the population of Fiji. Native Fijians are a mixture of Melanesian and Polynesian ethnic groups.

Polynesians share the same basic language and have common physical and cultural characteristics. Before Europeans came to Oceania, Polynesians occupied almost all the islands of the South Pacific, as well as Hawaii and New Zealand.

Most Melanesians live on New Guinea and nearby islands. Although generally dark-skinned, they differ in appearance, language, and customs. Many of them, especially in the remote, mountainous areas of New Guinea, had little contact with the outside world until fairly recent times. The Micronesians live mainly on the small islands scattered over a vast area of the northwestern Pacific. They, too, have different languages, customs, and physical characteristics.

Most islanders live in villages or small towns. There are few large cities, except on Hawaii and New Zealand.

Climate

Most of the islands of Oceania lie within the tropics, and the climate here is uniformly warm. Temperatures along the equator vary only from about 70 to 81°F (21 to 27°C) throughout the year. By contrast, in the far northern and southern waters, temperatures fall to less than 14°F (−10°C). The amount of rainfall varies considerably, with most of the islands having distinct wet and dry seasons. The most destructive typhoons occur in the western and southwestern Pacific.

Economic Activity

Agriculture remains the region's most important economic activity. Most Pacific islanders practice subsistence farming, growing food for their own use. On the low coral islands, which have little fertile soil and receive relatively light rainfall, copra (dried coconut meat) is the only cash crop. On the higher volcanic islands, which usually have more rainfall and better soil, such crops as pineapples, sugarcane, cacao, and bananas are grown for export. The surrounding waters teem with fish.

There is little industry, aside from the processing of copra and other agricultural products, although tourism is a major source of income on some of the Pacific islands. Mineral resources are limited. New Caledonia has important nickel deposits, and copper is found on Bougainville. New Guinea has oil and gold, and tiny Nauru is rich in phosphate rock, used in making fertilizer.

Early History

The first migration of peoples to the Pacific islands probably originated from Southeast Asia tens of thousands of years ago, when the largest islands were linked by a land bridge. Later, seafarers ventured farther out on the uncharted waters of the Pacific.

The Europeans and Americans

The first European known to have seen the Pacific was the Spanish explorer and adventurer Vasco Núñez de Balboa. After crossing the Isthmus of Panama in 1513, Balboa sighted the great ocean, which he called the South Sea. Magellan, a few years later, gave the ocean its present name during his attempt to sail around the world. Although Magellan himself was killed, his crew completed the epic voyage. Other Spanish and Portuguese navigators explored the islands in the 1500's and 1600's. The greatest of the Pacific explorers, the British captain James Cook, discovered Hawaii and mapped much of Oceania during the late 1760's and 1770's. American and British whaling ships also began to call at the islands. Europeans and Americans settled here as planters and traders, and missionaries soon followed. A few of the islands became important as naval bases or as coaling stations in the days when ships were fueled by coal. By the end of the 1800's, Britain, France, Germany, and the United States all had established themselves as colonial powers in the Pacific.

Two World Wars and After

Germany lost its Pacific colonies after its defeat, in 1918, in World War I. Japan received the German colonies in the Marianas, the Carolines, and the Marshalls under a mandate from the League of Nations. During World War II, many of the islands were battlegrounds in the Pacific war (1941–45). Its defeat in the war forced Japan to give up the islands, which then became a United Nations trust territory, administered by the United States.

Since the 1960's, several Pacific islands have gained independence. Hawaii became a state of the United States in 1959. The islands of the U.S. Trust Territory of the Pacific became independent in 1986 and 1994, in free association with the United States.

Pacific Islands and Island Groups

The following is an overview of many of the islands and island groups of Oceania. Areas given are land areas, with measurements in square miles (sq mi) and square kilometers (km²).

Admiralty Islands (Papua New Guinea) are part of the Bismarck Archipelago. (An archipelago is a chain of islands.) They are located in the southwestern Pacific and are volcanic in origin. Manus is the largest of the Admiralty group. Area: about 800 sq mi (2,072 km²).

American Samoa (U.S.A.) consists of seven islands in the eastern part of the Samoa group. The western part forms the independent country of Samoa. American Samoa is a U.S. territory. It has local self-government under an elected governor and legislature. Area: 75 sq mi (195 km²).

Belau, Republic of.

Bismarck Archipelago (Papua New Guinea) consists of New Britain, New Ireland, the Admiralty Islands, and other islands, making up part of Papua New Guinea. Most of the larger islands are volcanic. Area: 19,200 sq mi (49,730 km²).

Bonin Islands (Japan) are a group of small volcanic islands in the western Pacific. Area: 40 sq mi (104 km²).

Borneo, the world's third largest island, is shared by the nations of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei.

Bougainville (Papua New Guinea) is the largest island of the Solomon Islands chain. It has one of the world's largest copper mines. Area: 3,880 sq mi (10,049 km²).

Buka (Papua New Guinea) is one of the Solomon Islands. Area: 190 sq mi (492 km²).

Caroline Islands number nearly 1,000 coral and volcanic islands, spread over a vast area of the western Pacific but with a total land area of only about 450 sq mi (1,165 km²). At the end of World War II, they became part of the U.S. Trust Territory of the Pacific. They include the Republic of Palau and the Federated States of Micronesia.

Christmas Island (Kiribati), one of the Line Islands of the central Pacific, is the largest island of Kiribati. Area: 60 sq mi (155 km²).

Chuuk, (formerly called Truk), in the Carolines, is the main island of Chuuk state in the Federated States of Micronesia. Area: 39 sq mi (100 km²).

Cook Islands (New Zealand) are a group of 15 small islands in the South Pacific. The largest is Rarotonga. The islands are internally self- governing. Area: 93 sq mi (240 km²).

Easter Island (Chile).

Ellice Islands.

Fiji.

French Polynesia includes Clipperton Island, and the Society, Marquesas, Gambier, Tuamotu, and Austral islands. A French overseas territory, its people are citizens of France. The capital is Papeete, on the island of Tahiti. Extending over a large area of the Pacific, the islands have a land area of about 1,550 sq mi (4,000 km²).

Gilbert Islands (Kiribati) are a group of coral atolls in the central Pacific.

Guadalcanal (Solomon Islands) is the largest island of the nation of Solomon Islands. It was the site of one of the decisive battles of the Pacific in World War II. Area: 2,500 sq mi (6,500 km²).

Guam (U.S.A.) is the largest and most populous of the Marianas Islands, in the west central Pacific. It was ceded by Spain to the United States in 1898.

Hawaiian Islands (U.S.A.).

Iwo To (Iwo Jima). (See Volcano Islands.)

Kiribati.

Kosrae is the largest island of Kosrae state in the Federated States of Micronesia. Area: 42 sq mi (110 km²).

Line Islands (Kiribati) are a group of small coral islands in the central Pacific. Area: 222 sq mi (576 km²).

Marianas, Northern, Commonwealth of the, (U.S.A.) includes all the islands of the Marianas chain except Guam. The islands are internally self-governing. Saipan, the largest island, and Tinian were the scene of fierce fighting in the Pacific war.

Marquesas Islands (France) are the northernmost islands of French Polynesia. They consist of twelve volcanic islands. Area: 492 sq mi (1,274 km²).

Marshall Islands, Republic of.

Micronesia includes more than 2,000 islands scattered over a vast area in the northwestern Pacific Ocean.

Midway (U.S.A.) consists of a coral atoll and two islets, lying in the north central Pacific. The islands are a naval base, as well as a national wildlife preserve. The U.S. victory at the Battle of Midway (1942) was a turning point in World War II. Area: 2 sq mi (5 km²).

Nauru.

New Britain (Papua New Guinea) is the largest island of the Bismarck Archipelago. Rabaul is its largest town and chief port. The island is mountainous, with several active volcanoes. Area: 14,570 sq mi (37,736 km²).

New Caledonia (France) is a large island in the southwest Pacific, with several smaller island dependencies. An overseas territory of France, its people are French citizens. The capital is Noumea. Nickel is the chief export. Area: 7,243 sq mi (18,760 km²).

New Guinea, the world's second largest island, is divided between Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.

New Hebrides (formerly Vanuatu).

New Ireland (Papua New Guinea) is the second largest of the islands of the Bismarck Archipelago. Area: 3,700 sq mi (9,600 km²).

New Zealand is sometimes considered part of Oceania.

Niue (New Zealand) is an island in the South Pacific Ocean. Its people have internal self-government and are New Zealand citizens. Area: 100 sq mi (259 km²).

Northern Marianas. (See Marianas, Northern.)

Okinawa (Japan), in the western Pacific, is the largest of the Ryukyu Islands chain. It was the site of the last major battle between U.S. and Japanese forces in World War II. Area: 454 sq mi (1,176 km²).

Palau includes numerous small islands in the western Carolines. The last of the U.S. trust territories of the Pacific, it gained independence, in free association with the United States, in 1994.

Papua New Guinea includes the eastern half of New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago, the northern Solomon Islands, and other islands.

Pitcairn Island (U.K.) is a British dependency in the South Pacific. Area: 2 sq mi (5 km²).

Pohnpei (formerly Ponape) is the largest island of Pohnpei state in the Federated States of Micronesia and home to its capital, Palikir. Area: 129 sq mi (334 km²).

Samoa, an island group in the South Pacific, is divided, politically, into American Samoa and the nation of Samoa (formerly Western Samoa).

Society Islands (France) are a chain of 14 islands in French Polynesia. They are an overseas territory of France. Area: 650 sq mi (1,660 km²).

Solomon Islands are an archipelago in the southwestern Pacific. The northernmost islands, including Bougainville, Buka, and smaller islands, are part of Papua New Guinea. The remainder, including Guadalcanal and other islands, make up the nation of Solomon Islands. Total area: 15,130 sq mi (39,190 km²).

Tahiti (France), the largest of the Society Islands, is the chief island of French Polynesia. Its scenic beauty and tropical climate make it a byword for the ideal South Pacific island. The French artist Paul Gauguin painted some of his greatest works here in the 1890's. Area: 402 sq mi (1,042 km²).

Tokelau (New Zealand) is a small island group in the central Pacific. Area: 4 sq mi (10 km²).

Tonga.

Truk. (See Chuuk.)

Tuamotu Islands (France) are a chain of about 75 atolls spread over a large area of the South Pacific. Politically, it is part of French Polynesia. Area: 300 sq mi (775 km²).

Tuvalu.

Vanuatu.

Volcano Islands (Japan) are three small islands southeast of the Bonin Islands. Iwo To (Iwo Jima), the largest island, was the site of a major battle between U.S. and Japanese troops in World War II. Area: 11 sq mi (28 km²).

Wake Island (U.S.A.) consists mainly of a coral atoll in the central Pacific.

Wallis and Futuna Islands (France) are two groups of islands in the southwestern Pacific west of Samoa. Area: 106 sq mi (274 km²).

Yap is an island group and one of the Federated States of Micronesia. The island of Yap is the largest of Yap state's four islands. Area of Yap state: 85 square miles (220 km²).

Ward Barrett
University of Minnesota
Author
Mission in the Marianas

How to cite this article:MLA (Modern Language Association) style:Barrett, Ward. "Pacific Ocean and Islands." . Scholastic Grolier Online, go.scholastic.com/content/schgo/D/article/a20/222/a202220
0-h.html. Accessed 30 Apr. 2019.Chicago Manual of Style:Barrett, Ward. "Pacific Ocean and Islands." . Scholastic Grolier Online. https://go.scholastic.com/content/schgo/D/article/a20/222/a202220
0-h.html (accessed April 30, 2019).APA (American Psychological Association) style:Barrett, W. (2019). Pacific Ocean and Islands. . Retrieved April 30, 2019, from Scholastic Grolier Online. https://go.scholastic.com/content/schgo/D/article/a20/222/a202220
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# data[].attributes.headline
North Pacific", "Pacific", and "Pacific region" redirect here. For the region in Colombia, see Pacific Region, Colombia. For other uses, see North Pacific (disambiguation) and Pacific (disambiguation).Pacific OceanMap of the Pacific OceanCoordinates	0°N 160°WCoordinates: 0°N 160°WSurface area	165,250,000 km2 (63,800,000 sq mi)Average depth	4,280 m (14,040 ft)Max. depth	10,911 m (35,797 ft)Water volume	710,000,000 km3 (170,000,000 cu mi)Islands	List of islandsSettlements	Auckland, Guayaquil, Honolulu, Ilagan, Lima, Los Angeles, Shanghai, Tokyo, Sydney, VancouverView of the Earth where all five oceans visibleEarth's oceansArcticAtlanticIndianPacificSouthernWorld OceanvteThe Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south and is bounded by Asia and Australia in the west and the Americas in the east.At 165,250,000 square kilometers (63,800,000 square miles) in area (as defined with an Antarctic southern border), this largest division of the World Ocean—and, in turn, the hydrosphere—covers about 46% of Earth's water surface and about one-third of its total surface area, making it larger than all of Earth's land area combined.[1] The centers of both the Water Hemisphere and the Western Hemisphere are in the Pacific Ocean. The equator subdivides it into the North Pacific Ocean and South Pacific Ocean, with two exceptions: the Galápagos and Gilbert Islands, while straddling the equator, are deemed wholly within the South Pacific.[2] Its mean depth is 4,000 meters (13,000 feet).[3] The Mariana Trench in the western North Pacific is the deepest point in the world, reaching a depth of 10,911 meters (35,797 feet).[4] The western Pacific has many peripheral seas.Though the peoples of Asia and Oceania have traveled the Pacific Ocean since prehistoric times, the eastern Pacific was first sighted by Europeans in the early 16th century when Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa crossed the Isthmus of Panama in 1513 and discovered the great "southern sea" which he named Mar del Sur (in Spanish). The ocean's current name was coined by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan during the Spanish circumnavigation of the world in 1521, as he encountered favorable winds on reaching the ocean. He called it Mar Pacífico, which in both Portuguese and Spanish means "peaceful sea".[5]Contents1	History1.1	Early migrations1.2	European exploration1.3	New Imperialism2	Geography2.1	Bordering countries and territories2.1.1	Sovereign nations2.1.2	Territories2.2	Landmasses and islands3	Water characteristics4	Climate5	Geology5.1	Geological history5.2	Seamount chains6	Economy6.1	Fishing7	Environmental issues8	Major ports and harbors9	See also10	References11	Further reading11.1	Historiography12	External linksHistoryEarly migrationsUniversalis Cosmographia, the Waldseemüller map dated 1507, from a time when the nature of the Americas was ambiguous, particularly North America, as a possible part of Asia, was the first map to show the Americas separating two distinct oceans. South America was generally considered a "new world" and shows the name "America" for the first time, after Amerigo VespucciMade in 1529, the Diogo Ribeiro map was the first to show the Pacific at about its proper sizeMaris Pacifici by Ortelius (1589). One of the first printed maps to show the Pacific Ocean[6]Important human migrations occurred in the Pacific in prehistoric times. About 3000 BC, the Austronesian peoples on the island of Taiwan mastered the art of long-distance canoe travel and spread themselves and their languages south to the Philippines, Indonesia, and maritime Southeast Asia; west towards Madagascar; southeast towards New Guinea and Melanesia (intermarrying with native Papuans); and east to the islands of Micronesia, Oceania and Polynesia.[7]Long-distance trade developed all along the coast from Mozambique to Japan. Trade, and therefore knowledge, extended to the Indonesian islands but apparently not Australia. By at least 878 when there was a significant Islamic settlement in Canton much of this trade was controlled by Arabs or Muslims. In 219 BC Xu Fu sailed out into the Pacific searching for the elixir of immortality. From 1404 to 1433 Zheng He led expeditions into the Indian Ocean.European explorationMap of the Pacific Ocean during European Exploration, circa 1702–1707.Map of the Pacific Ocean during European Exploration, circa 1754.The first contact of European navigators with the western edge of the Pacific Ocean was made by the Portuguese expeditions of António de Abreu and Francisco Serrão, via the Lesser Sunda Islands, to the Maluku Islands, in 1512,[8][9] and with Jorge Álvares's expedition to southern China in 1513,[10] both ordered by Afonso de Albuquerque from Malacca.The east side of the ocean was discovered by Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa in 1513 after his expedition crossed the Isthmus of Panama and reached a new ocean.[11] He named it Mar del Sur (literally, "Sea of the South" or "South Sea") because the ocean was to the south of the coast of the isthmus where he first observed the Pacific.Spanish explorations and routes across the Pacific Ocean.In 1519, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan sailed the Pacific East to West on a Spanish expedition to the Spice Islands that would eventually result in the first world circumnavigation. Magellan called the ocean Pacífico (or "Pacific" meaning, "peaceful") because, after sailing through the stormy seas off Cape Horn, the expedition found calm waters. The ocean was often called the Sea of Magellan in his honor until the eighteenth century.[12] Although Magellan himself died in the Philippines in 1521, Spanish Basque navigator Juan Sebastián Elcano led the remains of the expedition back to Spain across the Indian Ocean and round the Cape of Good Hope, completing the first world circumnavigation in a single expedition in 1522.[13] Sailing around and east of the Moluccas, between 1525 and 1527, Portuguese expeditions discovered the Caroline Islands,[14] the Aru Islands,[15] and Papua New Guinea.[16] In 1542–43 the Portuguese also reached Japan.[17]In 1564, five Spanish ships carrying 379 explorers crossed the ocean from Mexico led by Miguel López de Legazpi, and sailed to the Philippines and Mariana Islands.[18] For the remainder of the 16th century, Spanish influence was paramount, with ships sailing from Mexico and Peru across the Pacific Ocean to the Philippines via Guam, and establishing the Spanish East Indies. The Manila galleons operated for two and a half centuries, linking Manila and Acapulco, in one of the longest trade routes in history. Spanish expeditions also discovered Tuvalu, the Marquesas, the Cook Islands, the Solomon Islands, and the Admiralty Islands in the South Pacific.[19]Later, in the quest for Terra Australis ("the [great] Southern Land"), Spanish explorations in the 17th century, such as the expedition led by the Portuguese navigator Pedro Fernandes de Queirós, discovered the Pitcairn and Vanuatu archipelagos, and sailed the Torres Strait between Australia and New Guinea, named after navigator Luís Vaz de Torres. Dutch explorers, sailing around southern Africa, also engaged in discovery and trade; Willem Janszoon, made the first completely documented European landing in Australia (1606), in Cape York Peninsula,[20] and Abel Janszoon Tasman circumnavigated and landed on parts of the Australian continental coast and discovered Tasmania and New Zealand in 1642.[21]In the 16th and 17th centuries Spain considered the Pacific Ocean a mare clausum—a sea closed to other naval powers. As the only known entrance from the Atlantic, the Strait of Magellan was at times patrolled by fleets sent to prevent entrance of non-Spanish ships. On the western side of the Pacific Ocean the Dutch threatened the Spanish Philippines.[22]The 18th century marked the beginning of major exploration by the Russians in Alaska and the Aleutian Islands, such as the First Kamchatka expedition and the Great Northern Expedition, led by the Danish Russian navy officer Vitus Bering. Spain also sent expeditions to the Pacific Northwest, reaching Vancouver Island in southern Canada, and Alaska. The French explored and settled Polynesia, and the British made three voyages with James Cook to the South Pacific and Australia, Hawaii, and the North American Pacific Northwest. In 1768, Pierre-Antoine Véron, a young astronomer accompanying Louis Antoine de Bougainville on his voyage of exploration, established the width of the Pacific with precision for the first time in history.[23] One of the earliest voyages of scientific exploration was organized by Spain in the Malaspina Expedition of 1789–1794. It sailed vast areas of the Pacific, from Cape Horn to Alaska, Guam and the Philippines, New Zealand, Australia, and the South Pacific.[19]New ImperialismSee also: New ImperialismThe Bathyscaphe Trieste, before her record dive to the bottom of the Mariana Trench, 23 January 1960Growing imperialism during the 19th century resulted in the occupation of much of Oceania by European powers, and later Japan and the United States. Significant contributions to oceanographic knowledge were made by the voyages of HMS Beagle in the 1830s, with Charles Darwin aboard;[24] HMS Challenger during the 1870s;[25] the USS Tuscarora (1873–76);[26] and the German Gazelle (1874–76).[27]Dupetit Thouars taking over Tahiti on 9 September 1842In Oceania, France obtained a leading position as imperial power after making Tahiti and New Caledonia protectorates in 1842 and 1853 respectively.[28] After navy visits to Easter Island in 1875 and 1887, Chilean navy officer Policarpo Toro negotiated the incorporation of the island into Chile with native Rapanui in 1888. By occupying Easter Island, Chile joined the imperial nations.[29](p53) By 1900 nearly all Pacific islands were in control of Britain, France, United States, Germany, Japan, and Chile.[28]Although the United States gained control of Guam and the Philippines from Spain in 1898,[30] Japan controlled most of the western Pacific by 1914 and occupied many other islands during World War II. However, by the end of that war, Japan was defeated and the U.S. Pacific Fleet was the virtual master of the ocean. Since the end of World War II, many former colonies in the Pacific have become independent states.GeographySunset over the Pacific Ocean as seen from the International Space Station. Anvil tops of thunderclouds are also visible.The Pacific separates Asia and Australia from the Americas. It may be further subdivided by the equator into northern (North Pacific) and southern (South Pacific) portions. It extends from the Antarctic region in the South to the Arctic in the north.[1] The Pacific Ocean encompasses approximately one-third of the Earth's surface, having an area of 165,200,000 km2 (63,800,000 sq mi)—significantly larger than Earth's entire landmass of some 150,000,000 km2 (58,000,000 sq mi).[31]Extending approximately 15,500 km (9,600 mi) from the Bering Sea in the Arctic to the northern extent of the circumpolar Southern Ocean at 60°S (older definitions extend it to Antarctica's Ross Sea), the Pacific reaches its greatest east-west width at about 5°N latitude, where it stretches approximately 19,800 km (12,300 mi) from Indonesia to the coast of Colombia—halfway around the world, and more than five times the diameter of the Moon.[32] The lowest known point on Earth—the Mariana Trench—lies 10,911 m (35,797 ft; 5,966 fathoms) below sea level. Its average depth is 4,280 m (14,040 ft; 2,340 fathoms), putting the total water volume at roughly 710,000,000 km3 (170,000,000 cu mi).[1]Due to the effects of plate tectonics, the Pacific Ocean is currently shrinking by roughly 2.5 cm (1 in) per year on three sides, roughly averaging 0.52 km2 (0.20 sq mi) a year. By contrast, the Atlantic Ocean is increasing in size.[33][34]Along the Pacific Ocean's irregular western margins lie many seas, the largest of which are the Celebes Sea, Coral Sea, East China Sea (East Sea), Philippine Sea, Sea of Japan, South China Sea (South Sea), Sulu Sea, Tasman Sea, and Yellow Sea (West Sea of Korea). The Indonesian Seaway (including the Strait of Malacca and Torres Strait) joins the Pacific and the Indian Ocean to the west, and Drake Passage and the Strait of Magellan link the Pacific with the Atlantic Ocean on the east. To the north, the Bering Strait connects the Pacific with the Arctic Ocean.[35]As the Pacific straddles the 180th meridian, the West Pacific (or western Pacific, near Asia) is in the Eastern Hemisphere, while the East Pacific (or eastern Pacific, near the Americas) is in the Western Hemisphere.[36]The Southern Pacific Ocean harbors the Southeast Indian Ridge crossing from south of Australia turning into the Pacific-Antarctic Ridge (north of the South Pole) and merges with another ridge (south of South America) to form the East Pacific Rise which also connects with another ridge (south of North America) which overlooks the Juan de Fuca Ridge.For most of Magellan's voyage from the Strait of Magellan to the Philippines, the explorer indeed found the ocean peaceful. However, the Pacific is not always peaceful. Many tropical storms batter the islands of the Pacific.[37] The lands around the Pacific Rim are full of volcanoes and often affected by earthquakes.[38] Tsunamis, caused by underwater earthquakes, have devastated many islands and in some cases destroyed entire towns.[39]The Martin Waldseemüller map of 1507 was the first to show the Americas separating two distinct oceans.[40] Later, the Diogo Ribeiro map of 1529 was the first to show the Pacific at about its proper size.[41]Bordering countries and territoriesThe island geography of the Pacific Ocean BasinRegions, island nations and territories of OceaniaSovereign nations Australia Brunei Cambodia Canada Chile China1 Colombia Costa Rica Ecuador El Salvador Federated States of Micronesia Fiji Guatemala Honduras Indonesia Japan Kiribati North Korea South Korea Malaysia Marshall Islands Mexico Nauru Nicaragua New Zealand Palau Panama Papua New Guinea Peru Philippines Russia Samoa Singapore Solomon Islands Taiwan1 Thailand Timor-Leste Tonga Tuvalu United States Vanuatu Vietnam1 The status of Taiwan and China is disputed. For more information, see political status of Taiwan.Territories American Samoa (US)United States Baker Island (US)France Clipperton Island (France) Cook Islands (New Zealand)Australia Coral Sea Islands (Australia) Easter Island (Chile) French Polynesia (France) Guam (US) Hong Kong (China)United States Howland Island (US)United States Jarvis Island (US)United States Johnston Island (US)United States Kingman Reef (US) Macau (China)United States Midway Atoll (US) New Caledonia (France) Niue (New Zealand) Norfolk Island (Australia) Northern Mariana Islands (US)United States Palmyra Atoll (US) Pitcairn Islands (UK) Tokelau (New Zealand) Wallis and Futuna (France)United States Wake Island (US)Landmasses and islandsMain article: Pacific IslandsThis ocean has most of the islands in the world. There are about 25,000 islands in the Pacific Ocean.[42][43][44] The islands entirely within the Pacific Ocean can be divided into three main groups known as Micronesia, Melanesia and Polynesia. Micronesia, which lies north of the equator and west of the International Date Line, includes the Mariana Islands in the northwest, the Caroline Islands in the center, the Marshall Islands to the west and the islands of Kiribati in the southeast.[45][46]Melanesia, to the southwest, includes New Guinea, the world's second largest island after Greenland and by far the largest of the Pacific islands. The other main Melanesian groups from north to south are the Bismarck Archipelago, the Solomon Islands, Santa Cruz, Vanuatu, Fiji and New Caledonia.[47]The largest area, Polynesia, stretching from Hawaii in the north to New Zealand in the south, also encompasses Tuvalu, Tokelau, Samoa, Tonga and the Kermadec Islands to the west, the Cook Islands, Society Islands and Austral Islands in the center, and the Marquesas Islands, Tuamotu, Mangareva Islands, and Easter Island to the east.[48]Islands in the Pacific Ocean are of four basic types: continental islands, high islands, coral reefs and uplifted coral platforms. Continental islands lie outside the andesite line and include New Guinea, the islands of New Zealand, and the Philippines. Some of these islands are structurally associated with nearby continents. High islands are of volcanic origin, and many contain active volcanoes. Among these are Bougainville, Hawaii, and the Solomon Islands.[49]The coral reefs of the South Pacific are low-lying structures that have built up on basaltic lava flows under the ocean's surface. One of the most dramatic is the Great Barrier Reef off northeastern Australia with chains of reef patches. A second island type formed of coral is the uplifted coral platform, which is usually slightly larger than the low coral islands. Examples include Banaba (formerly Ocean Island) and Makatea in the Tuamotu group of French Polynesia.[50][51]Ladrilleros Beach in Colombia on the coast of Chocó natural region Point Reyes headlands, Point Reyes National Seashore, California Tahuna maru islet, French Polynesia Los Molinos on the coast of Southern ChileWater characteristicsSunset in Monterey County, California, U.S.The volume of the Pacific Ocean, representing about 50.1 percent of the world's oceanic water, has been estimated at some 714 million cubic kilometers (171 million cubic miles).[52] Surface water temperatures in the Pacific can vary from −1.4 °C (29.5 °F), the freezing point of sea water, in the poleward areas to about 30 °C (86 °F) near the equator.[53] Salinity also varies latitudinally, reaching a maximum of 37 parts per thousand in the southeastern area. The water near the equator, which can have a salinity as low as 34 parts per thousand, is less salty than that found in the mid-latitudes because of abundant equatorial precipitation throughout the year. The lowest counts of less than 32 parts per thousand are found in the far north as less evaporation of seawater takes place in these frigid areas.[54] The motion of Pacific waters is generally clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere (the North Pacific gyre) and counter-clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere. The North Equatorial Current, driven westward along latitude 15°N by the trade winds, turns north near the Philippines to become the warm Japan or Kuroshio Current.[55]Turning eastward at about 45°N, the Kuroshio forks and some water moves northward as the Aleutian Current, while the rest turns southward to rejoin the North Equatorial Current.[56] The Aleutian Current branches as it approaches North America and forms the base of a counter-clockwise circulation in the Bering Sea. Its southern arm becomes the chilled slow, south-flowing California Current.[57] The South Equatorial Current, flowing west along the equator, swings southward east of New Guinea, turns east at about 50°S, and joins the main westerly circulation of the South Pacific, which includes the Earth-circling Antarctic Circumpolar Current. As it approaches the Chilean coast, the South Equatorial Current divides; one branch flows around Cape Horn and the other turns north to form the Peru or Humboldt Current.[58]ClimateImpact of El Niño and La Niña on North AmericaTyphoon Tip at global peak intensity on 12 October 1979The climate patterns of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres generally mirror each other. The trade winds in the southern and eastern Pacific are remarkably steady while conditions in the North Pacific are far more varied with, for example, cold winter temperatures on the east coast of Russia contrasting with the milder weather off British Columbia during the winter months due to the preferred flow of ocean currents.[59]In the tropical and subtropical Pacific, the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) affects weather conditions. To determine the phase of ENSO, the most recent three-month sea surface temperature average for the area approximately 3,000 km (1,900 mi) to the southeast of Hawaii is computed, and if the region is more than 0.5 °C (0.9 °F) above or below normal for that period, then an El Niño or La Niña is considered in progress.[60]In the tropical western Pacific, the monsoon and the related wet season during the summer months contrast with dry winds in the winter which blow over the ocean from the Asian landmass.[61] Worldwide, tropical cyclone activity peaks in late summer, when the difference between temperatures aloft and sea surface temperatures is the greatest. However, each particular basin has its own seasonal patterns. On a worldwide scale, May is the least active month, while September is the most active month. November is the only month in which all the tropical cyclone basins are active.[62] The Pacific hosts the two most active tropical cyclone basins, which are the northwestern Pacific and the eastern Pacific. Pacific hurricanes form south of Mexico, sometimes striking the western Mexican coast and occasionally the southwestern United States between June and October, while typhoons forming in the northwestern Pacific moving into southeast and east Asia from May to December. Tropical cyclones also form in the South Pacific basin, where they occasionally impact island nations.In the arctic, icing from October to May can present a hazard for shipping while persistent fog occurs from June to December.[63] A climatological low in the Gulf of Alaska keeps the southern coast wet and mild during the winter months. The Westerlies and associated jet stream within the Mid-Latitudes can be particularly strong, especially in the Southern Hemisphere, due to the temperature difference between the tropics and Antarctica,[64] which records the coldest temperature readings on the planet. In the Southern hemisphere, because of the stormy and cloudy conditions associated with extratropical cyclones riding the jet stream, it is usual to refer to the Westerlies as the Roaring Forties, Furious Fifties and Shrieking Sixties according to the varying degrees of latitude.[65]GeologyMain articles: Geology of the Pacific Ocean and Pacific PlateRing of Fire. The Pacific is ringed by many volcanoes and oceanic trenches.Ulawun stratovolcano situated on the island of New Britain, Papua New GuineaThe ocean was first mapped by Abraham Ortelius; he called it Maris Pacifici following Ferdinand Magellan's description of it as "a pacific sea" during his circumnavigation from 1519 to 1522. To Magellan, it seemed much more calm (pacific) than the Atlantic.[66]The andesite line is the most significant regional distinction in the Pacific. A petrologic boundary, it separates the deeper, mafic igneous rock of the Central Pacific Basin from the partially submerged continental areas of felsic igneous rock on its margins.[67] The andesite line follows the western edge of the islands off California and passes south of the Aleutian arc, along the eastern edge of the Kamchatka Peninsula, the Kuril Islands, Japan, the Mariana Islands, the Solomon Islands, and New Zealand's North Island.[68][69]The dissimilarity continues northeastward along the western edge of the Andes Cordillera along South America to Mexico, returning then to the islands off California. Indonesia, the Philippines, Japan, New Guinea, and New Zealand lie outside the andesite line.Within the closed loop of the andesite line are most of the deep troughs, submerged volcanic mountains, and oceanic volcanic islands that characterize the Pacific basin. Here basaltic lavas gently flow out of rifts to build huge dome-shaped volcanic mountains whose eroded summits form island arcs, chains, and clusters. Outside the andesite line, volcanism is of the explosive type, and the Pacific Ring of Fire is the world's foremost belt of explosive volcanism.[45] The Ring of Fire is named after the several hundred active volcanoes that sit above the various subduction zones.The Pacific Ocean is the only ocean which is almost totally bounded by subduction zones. Only the Antarctic and Australian coasts have no nearby subduction zones.Geological historyThe Pacific Ocean was born 750 million years ago at the breakup of Rodinia, although it is generally called the Panthalassic Ocean until the breakup of Pangea, about 200 million years ago.[70] The oldest Pacific Ocean floor is only around 180 Ma old, with older crust subducted by now.[71]Seamount chainsThe Pacific Ocean contains several long seamount chains, formed by hotspot volcanism. These include the Hawaiian–Emperor seamount chain and the Louisville Ridge.EconomyThe exploitation of the Pacific's mineral wealth is hampered by the ocean's great depths. In shallow waters of the continental shelves off the coasts of Australia and New Zealand, petroleum and natural gas are extracted, and pearls are harvested along the coasts of Australia, Japan, Papua New Guinea, Nicaragua, Panama, and the Philippines, although in sharply declining volume in some cases.[72]FishingFish are an important economic asset in the Pacific. The shallower shoreline waters of the continents and the more temperate islands yield herring, salmon, sardines, snapper, swordfish, and tuna, as well as shellfish.[73] Overfishing has become a serious problem in some areas. For example, catches in the rich fishing grounds of the Okhotsk Sea off the Russian coast have been reduced by at least half since the 1990s as a result of overfishing.[74]Environmental issuesMain article: Marine pollutionSee also: Great Pacific garbage patch and Environmental impact of shippingMarine debris on a Hawaiian coastThe quantity of small plastic fragments floating in the north-east Pacific Ocean increased a hundredfold between 1972 and 2012.[75]Marine pollution is a generic term for the harmful entry into the ocean of chemicals or particles. The main culprits are those using the rivers for disposing of their waste.[76] The rivers then empty into the ocean, often also bringing chemicals used as fertilizers in agriculture. The excess of oxygen-depleting chemicals in the water leads to hypoxia and the creation of a dead zone.[77]Marine debris, also known as marine litter, is human-created waste that has ended up floating in a lake, sea, ocean, or waterway. Oceanic debris tends to accumulate at the center of gyres and coastlines, frequently washing aground where it is known as beach litter.[76]In addition, the Pacific Ocean has served as the crash site of satellites, including Mars 96, Fobos-Grunt, and Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite.Major ports and harborsMain article: List of ports and harbors of the Pacific OceanSee alsoAsia-Pacific Economic CooperationPacific AlliancePacific coastPacific Time ZonePacific WarSeven SeasTrans-Pacific PartnershipWar of the PacificAegopodium podagraria1 ies.jpgEnvironment portalEarth Day Flag.pngEcology portalTerra.pngGeography portalCumulus clouds in fair weather.jpegWeather portalReferences "Pacific Ocean". Britannica Concise. 2008: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. International Hydrographic Organization (1953). "Limits of Oceans and Seas" (PDF). Nature (3rd ed.). 172 (4376): 484. Bibcode:1953Natur.172R.484.. doi:10.1038/172484b0. Retrieved 12 June 2010. Administration, US Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric. "How big is the Pacific Ocean?". oceanexplorer.noaa.gov. Retrieved 18 October 2018. "Japan Atlas: Japan Marine Science and Technology Center". Retrieved 4 July 2007. "Catholic Encyclopedia : Ferdinand Magellan". Newadvent.org. 1 October 1910. Retrieved 31 October 2010. "Library Acquires Copy of 1507 Waldseemüller World Map – News Releases (Library of Congress)". Loc.gov. Retrieved 20 April 2013. Stanley, David (2004). South Pacific. David Stanley. p. 19. ISBN 978-1-56691-411-6. Retrieved 13 June 2013. Hannard (1991), page 7 Milton, Giles (1999). Nathaniel's Nutmeg. London: Sceptre. pp. 5, 7. ISBN 978-0-340-69676-7. Porter, Jonathan. (1996). Macau, the Imaginary City: Culture and Society, 1557 to the Present. Westview Press. ISBN 0-8133-3749-6 Ober, Frederick Albion (2010). Vasco Nuñez de Balboa. Library of Alexandria. p. 129. ISBN 978-1-4655-7034-5. Retrieved 12 June 2013. Camino, Mercedes Maroto. Producing the Pacific: Maps and Narratives of Spanish Exploration (1567–1606), p. 76. 2005. "Life in the sea: Pacific Ocean", Oceanário de Lisboa. Retrieved 9 June 2013. Galvano, Antonio (2004) [1563]. The Discoveries of the World from Their First Original Unto the Year of Our Lord 1555, issued by the Hakluyt Society. Kessinger Publishing. p. 168. ISBN 978-0-7661-9022-1. Retrieved 16 June 2011. Kratoska, Paul H. (2001). South East Asia, Colonial History: Imperialism before 1800, Volume 1 de South East Asia, Colonial History. Taylor & Francis. pp. 52–56.[1] Whiteway, Richard Stephen (1899). The rise of Portuguese power in India, 1497–1550. Westminster: A. Constable. Steven Thomas, "Portuguese in Japan". Steven's Balagan. 25 April 2006. Retrieved 22 May 2015. Henderson, James D.; Delpar, Helen; Brungardt, Maurice Philip; Weldon, Richard N. (2000). A Reference Guide to Latin American History. M.E. Sharpe. p. 28. ISBN 978-1-56324-744-6. Retrieved 12 June 2013. Fernandez-Armesto, Felipe (2006). Pathfinders: A Global History of Exploration. W.W. Norton & Company. pp. 305–307. ISBN 978-0-393-06259-5. J.P. Sigmond and L.H. Zuiderbaan (1979) Dutch Discoveries of Australia.Rigby Ltd, Australia. pp. 19–30 ISBN 0-7270-0800-5 Primary Australian History: Book F [B6] Ages 10–11. R.I.C. Publications. 2008. p. 6. ISBN 978-1-74126-688-7. Retrieved 12 June 2013. Lytle Schurz, William (1922), "The Spanish Lake", The Hispanic American Historical Review, 5 (2): 181–194, JSTOR 2506024 Williams, Glyndwr (2004). Captain Cook: Explorations And Reassessments. Boydell Press. p. 143. ISBN 978-1-84383-100-6. Retrieved 12 June 2013. Marty, Christoph. "Charles Darwin's Travels on the HMS Beagle". Scientific American. Retrieved 23 March 2018. "The Voyage of the HMS Challenger". www.interactiveoceans.washington.edu. Retrieved 23 March 2018. A Synopsis of the Cruise of the U.S.S. "Tuscarora": From the Date of Her Commission to Her Arrival in San Francisco, Cal. Sept. 2d, 1874. Cosmopolitan printing Company. 1874. Johnston, Keith (1881). "A Physical, Historical, Political, & Descriptive Geography". Nature. 22 (553): 95. Bibcode:1880Natur..22Q..95.. doi:10.1038/022095a0. Bernard Eccleston, Michael Dawson. 1998. The Asia-Pacific Profile. Routledge. p. 250. William Sater, Chile and the United States: Empires in Conflict, 1990 by the University of Georgia Press, ISBN 0-8203-1249-5 Tewari, Nita; Alvarez, Alvin N. (2008). Asian American Psychology: Current Perspectives. CRC Press. p. 161. ISBN 978-1-84169-749-9. Retrieved 12 June 2013. "Area of Earth's Land Surface", The Physics Factbook. Retrieved 9 June 2013. Nuttall, Mark (2005). Encyclopedia of the Arctic: A-F. Routledge. p. 1461. ISBN 978-1-57958-436-8. Retrieved 10 June 2013. "Plate Tectonics", Bucknell University. Retrieved 9 June 2013. Young, Greg (2009). Plate Tectonics. Capstone. pp. 9–. ISBN 978-0-7565-4232-0. Retrieved 9 June 2013. International Hydrographic Organization (1953). "Limits of Oceans and Seas". Nature. 172 (4376): 484. Bibcode:1953Natur.172R.484.. doi:10.1038/172484b0. Retrieved 9 June 2013. Agno, Lydia (1998). Basic Geography. Goodwill Trading Co., Inc. pp. 25–. ISBN 978-971-11-0165-7. Retrieved 9 June 2013. "Pacific Ocean: The trade winds", Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 9 June 2013. Shirley Rousseau Murphy (1979). The Ring of Fire. Avon. ISBN 978-0-380-47191-1. Bryant, Edward (2008). Tsunami: The Underrated Hazard. Springer. pp. 26–. ISBN 978-3-540-74274-6. Retrieved 9 June 2013. "The Map That Named America". www.loc.gov. Retrieved 3 December 2014. Ribero, Diego, Carta universal en que se contiene todo lo que del mundo se ha descubierto fasta agora / hizola Diego Ribero cosmographo de su magestad, ano de 1529, e[n] Sevilla, W. Griggs, retrieved 30 September 2017 K, Harsh (19 March 2017). "This ocean has most of the islands in the world". Mysticalroads. Archived from the original on 2 August 2017. Retrieved 6 April 2017. Ishihara, Masahide; Hoshino, Eiichi; Fujita, Yoko (2016). Self-determinable Development of Small Islands. Springer. p. 180. ISBN 978-981-10-0132-1. United States. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council (2009). Toward an Ecosystem Approach for the Western Pacific Region: from Species-based Fishery Management Plans to Place-based Fishery Ecosystem Plans: Environmental Impact Statement. Evanston, IL: Northwestern University. p. 60. Academic American encyclopedia. Grolier Incorporated. 1997. p. 8. ISBN 978-0-7172-2068-7. Retrieved 12 June 2013. Lal, Brij Vilash; Fortune, Kate (2000). The Pacific Islands: An Encyclopedia. University of Hawaii Press. pp. 63–. ISBN 978-0-8248-2265-1. Retrieved 14 June 2013. West, Barbara A. (2009). Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Asia and Oceania. Infobase Publishing. pp. 521–. ISBN 978-1-4381-1913-7. Retrieved 14 June 2013. Dunford, Betty; Ridgell, Reilly (1996). Pacific Neighbors: The Islands of Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia. Bess Press. pp. 125–. ISBN 978-1-57306-022-6. Retrieved 14 June 2013. Gillespie, Rosemary G.; Clague, David A. (2009). Encyclopedia of Islands. University of California Press. p. 706. ISBN 978-0-520-25649-1. Retrieved 12 June 2013. "Coral island", Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 22 June 2013. "Nauru", Charting the Pacific. Retrieved 22 June 2013. "PWLF.org – The Pacific WildLife Foundation – The Pacific Ocean". Archived from the original on 21 April 2012. Retrieved 23 August 2013. Mongillo, John F. (2000). Encyclopedia of Environmental Science. University Rochester Press. pp. 255–. ISBN 978-1-57356-147-1. Retrieved 9 June 2013. "Pacific Ocean: Salinity", Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 9 June 2013. "Wind Driven Surface Currents: Equatorial Currents Background", Ocean Motion. Retrieved 9 June 2013. "Kuroshio", Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 9 June 2013. "Aleutian Current", Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 9 June 2013. "South Equatorial Current", Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 9 June 2013. "Pacific Ocean: Islands", Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 13 June 2013. Climate Prediction Center (30 June 2014). "ENSO: Recent Evolution, Current Status and Predictions" (PDF). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. pp. 5, 19–20. Retrieved 30 June 2014. Glossary of Meteorology (2009). Monsoon. Archived 22 March 2008 at the Wayback Machine American Meteorological Society. Retrieved on 16 January 2009. Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory – Hurricane Research Division. "Frequently Asked Questions: When is hurricane season?". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 25 July 2006. "Pacific Ocean", World Factbook, CIA. Retrieved 13 June 2013. John P. Stimac. Air pressure and wind. Retrieved on 8 May 2008. Walker, Stuart (1998). The sailor's wind. W.W. Norton & Company. p. 91. ISBN 97-80393045550. Turnbull, Alexander (2006). Map New Zealand: 100 Magnificent Maps from the Collection of the Alexander Turnbull Library. Godwit. p. 8. ISBN 978-1-86962-126-1. Retrieved 10 June 2013. Trent, D. D.; Hazlett, Richard; Bierman, Paul (2010). Geology and the Environment. Cengage Learning. p. 133. ISBN 978-0-538-73755-5. Retrieved 10 June 2013. Lal, Brij Vilash; Fortune, Kate (2000). The Pacific Islands: An Encyclopedia. University of Hawaii Press. p. 4. ISBN 978-0-8248-2265-1. Retrieved 10 June 2013. Mueller-Dombois, Dieter (1998). Vegetation of the Tropical Pacific Islands. Springer. p. 13. ISBN 978-0-387-98313-4. Retrieved 10 June 2013. "GEOL 102 The Proterozoic Eon II: Rodinia and Pannotia". Geol.umd.edu. 5 January 2010. Retrieved 31 October 2010. Mussett, Alan E.; Khan, M. Aftab (2000). Looking Into the Earth: An Introduction to Geological Geophysics. Cambridge University Press. p. 332. ISBN 978-0-521-78574-7. Retrieved 10 June 2013. "Pacific Ocean: Fisheries", Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 12 June 2013. "Pacific Ocean: Commerce and Shipping", The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th edition. Retrieved 14 June 2013. "Pacific Ocean Threats & Impacts: Overfishing and Exploitation" Archived 12 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine, Center for Ocean Solutions. Retrieved 14 June 2013. Plastic waste in the North Pacific is an ongoing concern BBC 9 May 2012 "Photos: Giant Ocean-Trash Vortex Documented – A First". News.nationalgeographic.com. 4 September 2009. Retrieved 31 October 2010. Gerlach: Marine Pollution, Springer, Berlin (1975)Further readingBarkley, Richard A. (1968). Oceanographic Atlas of the Pacific Ocean. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.prepared by the Special Publications Division, National Geographic Society. (1985). Blue Horizons: Paradise Isles of the Pacific. Washington, DC: National Geographic Society. ISBN 978-0-87044-544-6.Cameron, Ian (1987). Lost Paradise: The Exploration of the Pacific. Topsfield, MA: Salem House. ISBN 978-0-88162-275-1.Couper, A.D. (ed.) (1989). Development and Social Change in the Pacific Islands. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-00917-1.Gilbert, John (1971). Charting the Vast Pacific. London: Aldus. ISBN 978-0-490-00226-5.Lower, J. Arthur (1978). Ocean of Destiny: A Concise History of the North Pacific, 1500–1978. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press. ISBN 978-0-7748-0101-0.Napier, W.; Gilbert, J.; Holland, J. (1973). Pacific Voyages. Garden City, NY: Doubleday. ISBN 978-0-385-04335-9.Nunn, Patrick D. (1998). Pacific Island Landscapes: Landscape and Geological Development of Southwest Pacific Islands, Especially Fiji, Samoa and Tonga. editorips@usp.ac.fj. ISBN 978-982-02-0129-3.Oliver, Douglas L. (1989). The Pacific Islands (3rd ed.). Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 978-0-8248-1233-1.Paine, Lincoln. The Sea and Civilization: A Maritime History of the World (2015).Ridgell, Reilly (1988). Pacific Nations and Territories: The Islands of Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia (2nd ed.). Honolulu: Bess Press. ISBN 978-0-935848-50-2.Samson, Jane. British imperial strategies in the Pacific, 1750–1900 (Ashgate Publishing, 2003).Soule, Gardner (1970). The Greatest Depths: Probing the Seas to 20,000 feet (6,100 m) and Below. Philadelphia: Macrae Smith. ISBN 978-0-8255-8350-6.Spate, O.H.K. (1988). Paradise Found and Lost. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. ISBN 978-0-8166-1715-9.Terrell, John (1986). Prehistory in the Pacific Islands: A Study of Variation in Language, Customs, and Human Biology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-30604-1.HistoriographyDavidson, James Wightman. "Problems of Pacific history." Journal of Pacific History 1#1 (1966): 5–21.Gulliver, Katrina. "Finding the Pacific world." Journal of World History 22#1 (2011): 83–100. online[dead link]Igler, David (2013). The Great Ocean: Pacific Worlds from Captain Cook to the Gold Rush. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-991495-1.Munro, Doug. The Ivory Tower and Beyond: Participant Historians of the Pacific (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2009).Routledge, David. "Pacific history as seen from the Pacific Islands." Pacific Studies 8#2 (1985): 81+ onlineSamson, Jane. "Pacific/Oceanic History" in Kelly Boyd, ed. (1999). Encyclopedia of Historians and Historical Writing vol 2. Taylor & Francis. pp. 901–02. ISBN 978-1-884964-33-6.External links	Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pacific Ocean.	Look up pacific ocean in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.EPIC Pacific Ocean Data Collection Viewable on-line collection of observational dataNOAA In-situ Ocean Data Viewer plot and download ocean observationsNOAA PMEL Argo profiling floats Realtime Pacific Ocean dataNOAA TAO El Niño data Realtime Pacific Ocean El Niño buoy dataNOAA Ocean Surface Current Analyses – Realtime (OSCAR) Near-realtime Pacific Ocean Surface Currents derived from satellite altimeter and scatterometer dataNorth Pacific", "Pacific", and "Pacific region" redirect here. For the region in Colombia, see Pacific Region, Colombia. For other uses, see North Pacific (disambiguation) and Pacific (disambiguation).Pacific OceanMap of the Pacific OceanCoordinates	0°N 160°WCoordinates: 0°N 160°WSurface area	165,250,000 km2 (63,800,000 sq mi)Average depth	4,280 m (14,040 ft)Max. depth	10,911 m (35,797 ft)Water volume	710,000,000 km3 (170,000,000 cu mi)Islands	List of islandsSettlements	Auckland, Guayaquil, Honolulu, Ilagan, Lima, Los Angeles, Shanghai, Tokyo, Sydney, VancouverView of the Earth where all five oceans visibleEarth's oceansArcticAtlanticIndianPacificSouthernWorld OceanvteThe Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south and is bounded by Asia and Australia in the west and the Americas in the east.At 165,250,000 square kilometers (63,800,000 square miles) in area (as defined with an Antarctic southern border), this largest division of the World Ocean—and, in turn, the hydrosphere—covers about 46% of Earth's water surface and about one-third of its total surface area, making it larger than all of Earth's land area combined.[1] The centers of both the Water Hemisphere and the Western Hemisphere are in the Pacific Ocean. The equator subdivides it into the North Pacific Ocean and South Pacific Ocean, with two exceptions: the Galápagos and Gilbert Islands, while straddling the equator, are deemed wholly within the South Pacific.[2] Its mean depth is 4,000 meters (13,000 feet).[3] The Mariana Trench in the western North Pacific is the deepest point in the world, reaching a depth of 10,911 meters (35,797 feet).[4] The western Pacific has many peripheral seas.Though the peoples of Asia and Oceania have traveled the Pacific Ocean since prehistoric times, the eastern Pacific was first sighted by Europeans in the early 16th century when Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa crossed the Isthmus of Panama in 1513 and discovered the great "southern sea" which he named Mar del Sur (in Spanish). The ocean's current name was coined by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan during the Spanish circumnavigation of the world in 1521, as he encountered favorable winds on reaching the ocean. He called it Mar Pacífico, which in both Portuguese and Spanish means "peaceful sea".[5]Contents1	History1.1	Early migrations1.2	European exploration1.3	New Imperialism2	Geography2.1	Bordering countries and territories2.1.1	Sovereign nations2.1.2	Territories2.2	Landmasses and islands3	Water characteristics4	Climate5	Geology5.1	Geological history5.2	Seamount chains6	Economy6.1	Fishing7	Environmental issues8	Major ports and harbors9	See also10	References11	Further reading11.1	Historiography12	External linksHistoryEarly migrationsUniversalis Cosmographia, the Waldseemüller map dated 1507, from a time when the nature of the Americas was ambiguous, particularly North America, as a possible part of Asia, was the first map to show the Americas separating two distinct oceans. South America was generally considered a "new world" and shows the name "America" for the first time, after Amerigo VespucciMade in 1529, the Diogo Ribeiro map was the first to show the Pacific at about its proper sizeMaris Pacifici by Ortelius (1589). One of the first printed maps to show the Pacific Ocean[6]Important human migrations occurred in the Pacific in prehistoric times. About 3000 BC, the Austronesian peoples on the island of Taiwan mastered the art of long-distance canoe travel and spread themselves and their languages south to the Philippines, Indonesia, and maritime Southeast Asia; west towards Madagascar; southeast towards New Guinea and Melanesia (intermarrying with native Papuans); and east to the islands of Micronesia, Oceania and Polynesia.[7]Long-distance trade developed all along the coast from Mozambique to Japan. Trade, and therefore knowledge, extended to the Indonesian islands but apparently not Australia. By at least 878 when there was a significant Islamic settlement in Canton much of this trade was controlled by Arabs or Muslims. In 219 BC Xu Fu sailed out into the Pacific searching for the elixir of immortality. From 1404 to 1433 Zheng He led expeditions into the Indian Ocean.European explorationMap of the Pacific Ocean during European Exploration, circa 1702–1707.Map of the Pacific Ocean during European Exploration, circa 1754.The first contact of European navigators with the western edge of the Pacific Ocean was made by the Portuguese expeditions of António de Abreu and Francisco Serrão, via the Lesser Sunda Islands, to the Maluku Islands, in 1512,[8][9] and with Jorge Álvares's expedition to southern China in 1513,[10] both ordered by Afonso de Albuquerque from Malacca.The east side of the ocean was discovered by Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa in 1513 after his expedition crossed the Isthmus of Panama and reached a new ocean.[11] He named it Mar del Sur (literally, "Sea of the South" or "South Sea") because the ocean was to the south of the coast of the isthmus where he first observed the Pacific.Spanish explorations and routes across the Pacific Ocean.In 1519, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan sailed the Pacific East to West on a Spanish expedition to the Spice Islands that would eventually result in the first world circumnavigation. Magellan called the ocean Pacífico (or "Pacific" meaning, "peaceful") because, after sailing through the stormy seas off Cape Horn, the expedition found calm waters. The ocean was often called the Sea of Magellan in his honor until the eighteenth century.[12] Although Magellan himself died in the Philippines in 1521, Spanish Basque navigator Juan Sebastián Elcano led the remains of the expedition back to Spain across the Indian Ocean and round the Cape of Good Hope, completing the first world circumnavigation in a single expedition in 1522.[13] Sailing around and east of the Moluccas, between 1525 and 1527, Portuguese expeditions discovered the Caroline Islands,[14] the Aru Islands,[15] and Papua New Guinea.[16] In 1542–43 the Portuguese also reached Japan.[17]In 1564, five Spanish ships carrying 379 explorers crossed the ocean from Mexico led by Miguel López de Legazpi, and sailed to the Philippines and Mariana Islands.[18] For the remainder of the 16th century, Spanish influence was paramount, with ships sailing from Mexico and Peru across the Pacific Ocean to the Philippines via Guam, and establishing the Spanish East Indies. The Manila galleons operated for two and a half centuries, linking Manila and Acapulco, in one of the longest trade routes in history. Spanish expeditions also discovered Tuvalu, the Marquesas, the Cook Islands, the Solomon Islands, and the Admiralty Islands in the South Pacific.[19]Later, in the quest for Terra Australis ("the [great] Southern Land"), Spanish explorations in the 17th century, such as the expedition led by the Portuguese navigator Pedro Fernandes de Queirós, discovered the Pitcairn and Vanuatu archipelagos, and sailed the Torres Strait between Australia and New Guinea, named after navigator Luís Vaz de Torres. Dutch explorers, sailing around southern Africa, also engaged in discovery and trade; Willem Janszoon, made the first completely documented European landing in Australia (1606), in Cape York Peninsula,[20] and Abel Janszoon Tasman circumnavigated and landed on parts of the Australian continental coast and discovered Tasmania and New Zealand in 1642.[21]In the 16th and 17th centuries Spain considered the Pacific Ocean a mare clausum—a sea closed to other naval powers. As the only known entrance from the Atlantic, the Strait of Magellan was at times patrolled by fleets sent to prevent entrance of non-Spanish ships. On the western side of the Pacific Ocean the Dutch threatened the Spanish Philippines.[22]The 18th century marked the beginning of major exploration by the Russians in Alaska and the Aleutian Islands, such as the First Kamchatka expedition and the Great Northern Expedition, led by the Danish Russian navy officer Vitus Bering. Spain also sent expeditions to the Pacific Northwest, reaching Vancouver Island in southern Canada, and Alaska. The French explored and settled Polynesia, and the British made three voyages with James Cook to the South Pacific and Australia, Hawaii, and the North American Pacific Northwest. In 1768, Pierre-Antoine Véron, a young astronomer accompanying Louis Antoine de Bougainville on his voyage of exploration, established the width of the Pacific with precision for the first time in history.[23] One of the earliest voyages of scientific exploration was organized by Spain in the Malaspina Expedition of 1789–1794. It sailed vast areas of the Pacific, from Cape Horn to Alaska, Guam and the Philippines, New Zealand, Australia, and the South Pacific.[19]New ImperialismSee also: New ImperialismThe Bathyscaphe Trieste, before her record dive to the bottom of the Mariana Trench, 23 January 1960Growing imperialism during the 19th century resulted in the occupation of much of Oceania by European powers, and later Japan and the United States. Significant contributions to oceanographic knowledge were made by the voyages of HMS Beagle in the 1830s, with Charles Darwin aboard;[24] HMS Challenger during the 1870s;[25] the USS Tuscarora (1873–76);[26] and the German Gazelle (1874–76).[27]Dupetit Thouars taking over Tahiti on 9 September 1842In Oceania, France obtained a leading position as imperial power after making Tahiti and New Caledonia protectorates in 1842 and 1853 respectively.[28] After navy visits to Easter Island in 1875 and 1887, Chilean navy officer Policarpo Toro negotiated the incorporation of the island into Chile with native Rapanui in 1888. By occupying Easter Island, Chile joined the imperial nations.[29](p53) By 1900 nearly all Pacific islands were in control of Britain, France, United States, Germany, Japan, and Chile.[28]Although the United States gained control of Guam and the Philippines from Spain in 1898,[30] Japan controlled most of the western Pacific by 1914 and occupied many other islands during World War II. However, by the end of that war, Japan was defeated and the U.S. Pacific Fleet was the virtual master of the ocean. Since the end of World War II, many former colonies in the Pacific have become independent states.GeographySunset over the Pacific Ocean as seen from the International Space Station. Anvil tops of thunderclouds are also visible.The Pacific separates Asia and Australia from the Americas. It may be further subdivided by the equator into northern (North Pacific) and southern (South Pacific) portions. It extends from the Antarctic region in the South to the Arctic in the north.[1] The Pacific Ocean encompasses approximately one-third of the Earth's surface, having an area of 165,200,000 km2 (63,800,000 sq mi)—significantly larger than Earth's entire landmass of some 150,000,000 km2 (58,000,000 sq mi).[31]Extending approximately 15,500 km (9,600 mi) from the Bering Sea in the Arctic to the northern extent of the circumpolar Southern Ocean at 60°S (older definitions extend it to Antarctica's Ross Sea), the Pacific reaches its greatest east-west width at about 5°N latitude, where it stretches approximately 19,800 km (12,300 mi) from Indonesia to the coast of Colombia—halfway around the world, and more than five times the diameter of the Moon.[32] The lowest known point on Earth—the Mariana Trench—lies 10,911 m (35,797 ft; 5,966 fathoms) below sea level. Its average depth is 4,280 m (14,040 ft; 2,340 fathoms), putting the total water volume at roughly 710,000,000 km3 (170,000,000 cu mi).[1]Due to the effects of plate tectonics, the Pacific Ocean is currently shrinking by roughly 2.5 cm (1 in) per year on three sides, roughly averaging 0.52 km2 (0.20 sq mi) a year. By contrast, the Atlantic Ocean is increasing in size.[33][34]Along the Pacific Ocean's irregular western margins lie many seas, the largest of which are the Celebes Sea, Coral Sea, East China Sea (East Sea), Philippine Sea, Sea of Japan, South China Sea (South Sea), Sulu Sea, Tasman Sea, and Yellow Sea (West Sea of Korea). The Indonesian Seaway (including the Strait of Malacca and Torres Strait) joins the Pacific and the Indian Ocean to the west, and Drake Passage and the Strait of Magellan link the Pacific with the Atlantic Ocean on the east. To the north, the Bering Strait connects the Pacific with the Arctic Ocean.[35]As the Pacific straddles the 180th meridian, the West Pacific (or western Pacific, near Asia) is in the Eastern Hemisphere, while the East Pacific (or eastern Pacific, near the Americas) is in the Western Hemisphere.[36]The Southern Pacific Ocean harbors the Southeast Indian Ridge crossing from south of Australia turning into the Pacific-Antarctic Ridge (north of the South Pole) and merges with another ridge (south of South America) to form the East Pacific Rise which also connects with another ridge (south of North America) which overlooks the Juan de Fuca Ridge.For most of Magellan's voyage from the Strait of Magellan to the Philippines, the explorer indeed found the ocean peaceful. However, the Pacific is not always peaceful. Many tropical storms batter the islands of the Pacific.[37] The lands around the Pacific Rim are full of volcanoes and often affected by earthquakes.[38] Tsunamis, caused by underwater earthquakes, have devastated many islands and in some cases destroyed entire towns.[39]The Martin Waldseemüller map of 1507 was the first to show the Americas separating two distinct oceans.[40] Later, the Diogo Ribeiro map of 1529 was the first to show the Pacific at about its proper size.[41]Bordering countries and territoriesThe island geography of the Pacific Ocean BasinRegions, island nations and territories of OceaniaSovereign nations Australia Brunei Cambodia Canada Chile China1 Colombia Costa Rica Ecuador El Salvador Federated States of Micronesia Fiji Guatemala Honduras Indonesia Japan Kiribati North Korea South Korea Malaysia Marshall Islands Mexico Nauru Nicaragua New Zealand Palau Panama Papua New Guinea Peru Philippines Russia Samoa Singapore Solomon Islands Taiwan1 Thailand Timor-Leste Tonga Tuvalu United States Vanuatu Vietnam1 The status of Taiwan and China is disputed. For more information, see political status of Taiwan.Territories American Samoa (US)United States Baker Island (US)France Clipperton Island (France) Cook Islands (New Zealand)Australia Coral Sea Islands (Australia) Easter Island (Chile) French Polynesia (France) Guam (US) Hong Kong (China)United States Howland Island (US)United States Jarvis Island (US)United States Johnston Island (US)United States Kingman Reef (US) Macau (China)United States Midway Atoll (US) New Caledonia (France) Niue (New Zealand) Norfolk Island (Australia) Northern Mariana Islands (US)United States Palmyra Atoll (US) Pitcairn Islands (UK) Tokelau (New Zealand) Wallis and Futuna (France)United States Wake Island (US)Landmasses and islandsMain article: Pacific IslandsThis ocean has most of the islands in the world. There are about 25,000 islands in the Pacific Ocean.[42][43][44] The islands entirely within the Pacific Ocean can be divided into three main groups known as Micronesia, Melanesia and Polynesia. Micronesia, which lies north of the equator and west of the International Date Line, includes the Mariana Islands in the northwest, the Caroline Islands in the center, the Marshall Islands to the west and the islands of Kiribati in the southeast.[45][46]Melanesia, to the southwest, includes New Guinea, the world's second largest island after Greenland and by far the largest of the Pacific islands. The other main Melanesian groups from north to south are the Bismarck Archipelago, the Solomon Islands, Santa Cruz, Vanuatu, Fiji and New Caledonia.[47]The largest area, Polynesia, stretching from Hawaii in the north to New Zealand in the south, also encompasses Tuvalu, Tokelau, Samoa, Tonga and the Kermadec Islands to the west, the Cook Islands, Society Islands and Austral Islands in the center, and the Marquesas Islands, Tuamotu, Mangareva Islands, and Easter Island to the east.[48]Islands in the Pacific Ocean are of four basic types: continental islands, high islands, coral reefs and uplifted coral platforms. Continental islands lie outside the andesite line and include New Guinea, the islands of New Zealand, and the Philippines. Some of these islands are structurally associated with nearby continents. High islands are of volcanic origin, and many contain active volcanoes. Among these are Bougainville, Hawaii, and the Solomon Islands.[49]The coral reefs of the South Pacific are low-lying structures that have built up on basaltic lava flows under the ocean's surface. One of the most dramatic is the Great Barrier Reef off northeastern Australia with chains of reef patches. A second island type formed of coral is the uplifted coral platform, which is usually slightly larger than the low coral islands. Examples include Banaba (formerly Ocean Island) and Makatea in the Tuamotu group of French Polynesia.[50][51]Ladrilleros Beach in Colombia on the coast of Chocó natural region Point Reyes headlands, Point Reyes National Seashore, California Tahuna maru islet, French Polynesia Los Molinos on the coast of Southern ChileWater characteristicsSunset in Monterey County, California, U.S.The volume of the Pacific Ocean, representing about 50.1 percent of the world's oceanic water, has been estimated at some 714 million cubic kilometers (171 million cubic miles).[52] Surface water temperatures in the Pacific can vary from −1.4 °C (29.5 °F), the freezing point of sea water, in the poleward areas to about 30 °C (86 °F) near the equator.[53] Salinity also varies latitudinally, reaching a maximum of 37 parts per thousand in the southeastern area. The water near the equator, which can have a salinity as low as 34 parts per thousand, is less salty than that found in the mid-latitudes because of abundant equatorial precipitation throughout the year. The lowest counts of less than 32 parts per thousand are found in the far north as less evaporation of seawater takes place in these frigid areas.[54] The motion of Pacific waters is generally clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere (the North Pacific gyre) and counter-clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere. The North Equatorial Current, driven westward along latitude 15°N by the trade winds, turns north near the Philippines to become the warm Japan or Kuroshio Current.[55]Turning eastward at about 45°N, the Kuroshio forks and some water moves northward as the Aleutian Current, while the rest turns southward to rejoin the North Equatorial Current.[56] The Aleutian Current branches as it approaches North America and forms the base of a counter-clockwise circulation in the Bering Sea. Its southern arm becomes the chilled slow, south-flowing California Current.[57] The South Equatorial Current, flowing west along the equator, swings southward east of New Guinea, turns east at about 50°S, and joins the main westerly circulation of the South Pacific, which includes the Earth-circling Antarctic Circumpolar Current. As it approaches the Chilean coast, the South Equatorial Current divides; one branch flows around Cape Horn and the other turns north to form the Peru or Humboldt Current.[58]ClimateImpact of El Niño and La Niña on North AmericaTyphoon Tip at global peak intensity on 12 October 1979The climate patterns of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres generally mirror each other. The trade winds in the southern and eastern Pacific are remarkably steady while conditions in the North Pacific are far more varied with, for example, cold winter temperatures on the east coast of Russia contrasting with the milder weather off British Columbia during the winter months due to the preferred flow of ocean currents.[59]In the tropical and subtropical Pacific, the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) affects weather conditions. To determine the phase of ENSO, the most recent three-month sea surface temperature average for the area approximately 3,000 km (1,900 mi) to the southeast of Hawaii is computed, and if the region is more than 0.5 °C (0.9 °F) above or below normal for that period, then an El Niño or La Niña is considered in progress.[60]In the tropical western Pacific, the monsoon and the related wet season during the summer months contrast with dry winds in the winter which blow over the ocean from the Asian landmass.[61] Worldwide, tropical cyclone activity peaks in late summer, when the difference between temperatures aloft and sea surface temperatures is the greatest. However, each particular basin has its own seasonal patterns. On a worldwide scale, May is the least active month, while September is the most active month. November is the only month in which all the tropical cyclone basins are active.[62] The Pacific hosts the two most active tropical cyclone basins, which are the northwestern Pacific and the eastern Pacific. Pacific hurricanes form south of Mexico, sometimes striking the western Mexican coast and occasionally the southwestern United States between June and October, while typhoons forming in the northwestern Pacific moving into southeast and east Asia from May to December. Tropical cyclones also form in the South Pacific basin, where they occasionally impact island nations.In the arctic, icing from October to May can present a hazard for shipping while persistent fog occurs from June to December.[63] A climatological low in the Gulf of Alaska keeps the southern coast wet and mild during the winter months. The Westerlies and associated jet stream within the Mid-Latitudes can be particularly strong, especially in the Southern Hemisphere, due to the temperature difference between the tropics and Antarctica,[64] which records the coldest temperature readings on the planet. In the Southern hemisphere, because of the stormy and cloudy conditions associated with extratropical cyclones riding the jet stream, it is usual to refer to the Westerlies as the Roaring Forties, Furious Fifties and Shrieking Sixties according to the varying degrees of latitude.[65]GeologyMain articles: Geology of the Pacific Ocean and Pacific PlateRing of Fire. The Pacific is ringed by many volcanoes and oceanic trenches.Ulawun stratovolcano situated on the island of New Britain, Papua New GuineaThe ocean was first mapped by Abraham Ortelius; he called it Maris Pacifici following Ferdinand Magellan's description of it as "a pacific sea" during his circumnavigation from 1519 to 1522. To Magellan, it seemed much more calm (pacific) than the Atlantic.[66]The andesite line is the most significant regional distinction in the Pacific. A petrologic boundary, it separates the deeper, mafic igneous rock of the Central Pacific Basin from the partially submerged continental areas of felsic igneous rock on its margins.[67] The andesite line follows the western edge of the islands off California and passes south of the Aleutian arc, along the eastern edge of the Kamchatka Peninsula, the Kuril Islands, Japan, the Mariana Islands, the Solomon Islands, and New Zealand's North Island.[68][69]The dissimilarity continues northeastward along the western edge of the Andes Cordillera along South America to Mexico, returning then to the islands off California. Indonesia, the Philippines, Japan, New Guinea, and New Zealand lie outside the andesite line.Within the closed loop of the andesite line are most of the deep troughs, submerged volcanic mountains, and oceanic volcanic islands that characterize the Pacific basin. Here basaltic lavas gently flow out of rifts to build huge dome-shaped volcanic mountains whose eroded summits form island arcs, chains, and clusters. Outside the andesite line, volcanism is of the explosive type, and the Pacific Ring of Fire is the world's foremost belt of explosive volcanism.[45] The Ring of Fire is named after the several hundred active volcanoes that sit above the various subduction zones.The Pacific Ocean is the only ocean which is almost totally bounded by subduction zones. Only the Antarctic and Australian coasts have no nearby subduction zones.Geological historyThe Pacific Ocean was born 750 million years ago at the breakup of Rodinia, although it is generally called the Panthalassic Ocean until the breakup of Pangea, about 200 million years ago.[70] The oldest Pacific Ocean floor is only around 180 Ma old, with older crust subducted by now.[71]Seamount chainsThe Pacific Ocean contains several long seamount chains, formed by hotspot volcanism. These include the Hawaiian–Emperor seamount chain and the Louisville Ridge.EconomyThe exploitation of the Pacific's mineral wealth is hampered by the ocean's great depths. In shallow waters of the continental shelves off the coasts of Australia and New Zealand, petroleum and natural gas are extracted, and pearls are harvested along the coasts of Australia, Japan, Papua New Guinea, Nicaragua, Panama, and the Philippines, although in sharply declining volume in some cases.[72]FishingFish are an important economic asset in the Pacific. The shallower shoreline waters of the continents and the more temperate islands yield herring, salmon, sardines, snapper, swordfish, and tuna, as well as shellfish.[73] Overfishing has become a serious problem in some areas. For example, catches in the rich fishing grounds of the Okhotsk Sea off the Russian coast have been reduced by at least half since the 1990s as a result of overfishing.[74]Environmental issuesMain article: Marine pollutionSee also: Great Pacific garbage patch and Environmental impact of shippingMarine debris on a Hawaiian coastThe quantity of small plastic fragments floating in the north-east Pacific Ocean increased a hundredfold between 1972 and 2012.[75]Marine pollution is a generic term for the harmful entry into the ocean of chemicals or particles. The main culprits are those using the rivers for disposing of their waste.[76] The rivers then empty into the ocean, often also bringing chemicals used as fertilizers in agriculture. The excess of oxygen-depleting chemicals in the water leads to hypoxia and the creation of a dead zone.[77]Marine debris, also known as marine litter, is human-created waste that has ended up floating in a lake, sea, ocean, or waterway. Oceanic debris tends to accumulate at the center of gyres and coastlines, frequently washing aground where it is known as beach litter.[76]In addition, the Pacific Ocean has served as the crash site of satellites, including Mars 96, Fobos-Grunt, and Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite.Major ports and harborsMain article: List of ports and harbors of the Pacific OceanSee alsoAsia-Pacific Economic CooperationPacific AlliancePacific coastPacific Time ZonePacific WarSeven SeasTrans-Pacific PartnershipWar of the PacificAegopodium podagraria1 ies.jpgEnvironment portalEarth Day Flag.pngEcology portalTerra.pngGeography portalCumulus clouds in fair weather.jpegWeather portalReferences "Pacific Ocean". Britannica Concise. 2008: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. International Hydrographic Organization (1953). "Limits of Oceans and Seas" (PDF). Nature (3rd ed.). 172 (4376): 484. Bibcode:1953Natur.172R.484.. doi:10.1038/172484b0. Retrieved 12 June 2010. 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"Limits of Oceans and Seas". Nature. 172 (4376): 484. Bibcode:1953Natur.172R.484.. doi:10.1038/172484b0. Retrieved 9 June 2013. Agno, Lydia (1998). Basic Geography. Goodwill Trading Co., Inc. pp. 25–. ISBN 978-971-11-0165-7. Retrieved 9 June 2013. "Pacific Ocean: The trade winds", Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 9 June 2013. Shirley Rousseau Murphy (1979). The Ring of Fire. Avon. ISBN 978-0-380-47191-1. Bryant, Edward (2008). Tsunami: The Underrated Hazard. Springer. pp. 26–. ISBN 978-3-540-74274-6. Retrieved 9 June 2013. "The Map That Named America". www.loc.gov. Retrieved 3 December 2014. Ribero, Diego, Carta universal en que se contiene todo lo que del mundo se ha descubierto fasta agora / hizola Diego Ribero cosmographo de su magestad, ano de 1529, e[n] Sevilla, W. Griggs, retrieved 30 September 2017 K, Harsh (19 March 2017). "This ocean has most of the islands in the world". Mysticalroads. Archived from the original on 2 August 2017. Retrieved 6 April 2017. Ishihara, Masahide; Hoshino, Eiichi; Fujita, Yoko (2016). Self-determinable Development of Small Islands. Springer. p. 180. ISBN 978-981-10-0132-1. United States. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council (2009). Toward an Ecosystem Approach for the Western Pacific Region: from Species-based Fishery Management Plans to Place-based Fishery Ecosystem Plans: Environmental Impact Statement. Evanston, IL: Northwestern University. p. 60. Academic American encyclopedia. Grolier Incorporated. 1997. p. 8. ISBN 978-0-7172-2068-7. Retrieved 12 June 2013. Lal, Brij Vilash; Fortune, Kate (2000). The Pacific Islands: An Encyclopedia. University of Hawaii Press. pp. 63–. ISBN 978-0-8248-2265-1. Retrieved 14 June 2013. West, Barbara A. (2009). Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Asia and Oceania. Infobase Publishing. pp. 521–. ISBN 978-1-4381-1913-7. Retrieved 14 June 2013. Dunford, Betty; Ridgell, Reilly (1996). Pacific Neighbors: The Islands of Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia. Bess Press. pp. 125–. ISBN 978-1-57306-022-6. Retrieved 14 June 2013. Gillespie, Rosemary G.; Clague, David A. (2009). Encyclopedia of Islands. University of California Press. p. 706. ISBN 978-0-520-25649-1. Retrieved 12 June 2013. "Coral island", Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 22 June 2013. "Nauru", Charting the Pacific. Retrieved 22 June 2013. "PWLF.org – The Pacific WildLife Foundation – The Pacific Ocean". Archived from the original on 21 April 2012. Retrieved 23 August 2013. Mongillo, John F. (2000). Encyclopedia of Environmental Science. University Rochester Press. pp. 255–. ISBN 978-1-57356-147-1. Retrieved 9 June 2013. "Pacific Ocean: Salinity", Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 9 June 2013. "Wind Driven Surface Currents: Equatorial Currents Background", Ocean Motion. Retrieved 9 June 2013. "Kuroshio", Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 9 June 2013. "Aleutian Current", Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 9 June 2013. "South Equatorial Current", Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 9 June 2013. "Pacific Ocean: Islands", Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 13 June 2013. Climate Prediction Center (30 June 2014). "ENSO: Recent Evolution, Current Status and Predictions" (PDF). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. pp. 5, 19–20. Retrieved 30 June 2014. Glossary of Meteorology (2009). Monsoon. Archived 22 March 2008 at the Wayback Machine American Meteorological Society. Retrieved on 16 January 2009. Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory – Hurricane Research Division. "Frequently Asked Questions: When is hurricane season?". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 25 July 2006. "Pacific Ocean", World Factbook, CIA. Retrieved 13 June 2013. John P. Stimac. Air pressure and wind. Retrieved on 8 May 2008. Walker, Stuart (1998). The sailor's wind. W.W. Norton & Company. p. 91. ISBN 97-80393045550. Turnbull, Alexander (2006). Map New Zealand: 100 Magnificent Maps from the Collection of the Alexander Turnbull Library. Godwit. p. 8. ISBN 978-1-86962-126-1. Retrieved 10 June 2013. Trent, D. D.; Hazlett, Richard; Bierman, Paul (2010). Geology and the Environment. Cengage Learning. p. 133. ISBN 978-0-538-73755-5. Retrieved 10 June 2013. Lal, Brij Vilash; Fortune, Kate (2000). The Pacific Islands: An Encyclopedia. University of Hawaii Press. p. 4. ISBN 978-0-8248-2265-1. Retrieved 10 June 2013. Mueller-Dombois, Dieter (1998). Vegetation of the Tropical Pacific Islands. Springer. p. 13. ISBN 978-0-387-98313-4. Retrieved 10 June 2013. "GEOL 102 The Proterozoic Eon II: Rodinia and Pannotia". Geol.umd.edu. 5 January 2010. Retrieved 31 October 2010. Mussett, Alan E.; Khan, M. Aftab (2000). Looking Into the Earth: An Introduction to Geological Geophysics. Cambridge University Press. p. 332. ISBN 978-0-521-78574-7. Retrieved 10 June 2013. "Pacific Ocean: Fisheries", Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 12 June 2013. "Pacific Ocean: Commerce and Shipping", The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th edition. Retrieved 14 June 2013. "Pacific Ocean Threats & Impacts: Overfishing and Exploitation" Archived 12 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine, Center for Ocean Solutions. Retrieved 14 June 2013. Plastic waste in the North Pacific is an ongoing concern BBC 9 May 2012 "Photos: Giant Ocean-Trash Vortex Documented – A First". News.nationalgeographic.com. 4 September 2009. Retrieved 31 October 2010. Gerlach: Marine Pollution, Springer, Berlin (1975)Further readingBarkley, Richard A. (1968). Oceanographic Atlas of the Pacific Ocean. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.prepared by the Special Publications Division, National Geographic Society. (1985). Blue Horizons: Paradise Isles of the Pacific. Washington, DC: National Geographic Society. ISBN 978-0-87044-544-6.Cameron, Ian (1987). Lost Paradise: The Exploration of the Pacific. Topsfield, MA: Salem House. ISBN 978-0-88162-275-1.Couper, A.D. (ed.) (1989). Development and Social Change in the Pacific Islands. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-00917-1.Gilbert, John (1971). Charting the Vast Pacific. London: Aldus. ISBN 978-0-490-00226-5.Lower, J. Arthur (1978). Ocean of Destiny: A Concise History of the North Pacific, 1500–1978. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press. ISBN 978-0-7748-0101-0.Napier, W.; Gilbert, J.; Holland, J. (1973). Pacific Voyages. Garden City, NY: Doubleday. ISBN 978-0-385-04335-9.Nunn, Patrick D. (1998). Pacific Island Landscapes: Landscape and Geological Development of Southwest Pacific Islands, Especially Fiji, Samoa and Tonga. editorips@usp.ac.fj. ISBN 978-982-02-0129-3.Oliver, Douglas L. (1989). The Pacific Islands (3rd ed.). Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 978-0-8248-1233-1.Paine, Lincoln. The Sea and Civilization: A Maritime History of the World (2015).Ridgell, Reilly (1988). Pacific Nations and Territories: The Islands of Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia (2nd ed.). Honolulu: Bess Press. ISBN 978-0-935848-50-2.Samson, Jane. British imperial strategies in the Pacific, 1750–1900 (Ashgate Publishing, 2003).Soule, Gardner (1970). The Greatest Depths: Probing the Seas to 20,000 feet (6,100 m) and Below. Philadelphia: Macrae Smith. ISBN 978-0-8255-8350-6.Spate, O.H.K. (1988). Paradise Found and Lost. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. ISBN 978-0-8166-1715-9.Terrell, John (1986). Prehistory in the Pacific Islands: A Study of Variation in Language, Customs, and Human Biology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-30604-1.HistoriographyDavidson, James Wightman. "Problems of Pacific history." Journal of Pacific History 1#1 (1966): 5–21.Gulliver, Katrina. "Finding the Pacific world." Journal of World History 22#1 (2011): 83–100. online[dead link]Igler, David (2013). The Great Ocean: Pacific Worlds from Captain Cook to the Gold Rush. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-991495-1.Munro, Doug. The Ivory Tower and Beyond: Participant Historians of the Pacific (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2009).Routledge, David. "Pacific history as seen from the Pacific Islands." Pacific Studies 8#2 (1985): 81+ onlineSamson, Jane. "Pacific/Oceanic History" in Kelly Boyd, ed. (1999). Encyclopedia of Historians and Historical Writing vol 2. Taylor & Francis. pp. 901–02. ISBN 978-1-884964-33-6.External links	Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pacific Ocean.	Look up pacific ocean in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.EPIC Pacific Ocean Data Collection Viewable on-line collection of observational dataNOAA In-situ Ocean Data Viewer plot and download ocean observationsNOAA PMEL Argo profiling floats Realtime Pacific Ocean dataNOAA TAO El Niño data Realtime Pacific Ocean El Niño buoy dataNOAA Ocean Surface Current Analyses – Realtime (OSCAR) Near-realtime Pacific Ocean Surface Currents derived from satellite altimeter and scatterometer data

# data[].attributes.subject
North Pacific", "Pacific", and "Pacific region" redirect here. For the region in Colombia, see Pacific Region, Colombia. For other uses, see North Pacific (disambiguation) and Pacific (disambiguation).Pacific OceanMap of the Pacific OceanCoordinates	0°N 160°WCoordinates: 0°N 160°WSurface area	165,250,000 km2 (63,800,000 sq mi)Average depth	4,280 m (14,040 ft)Max. depth	10,911 m (35,797 ft)Water volume	710,000,000 km3 (170,000,000 cu mi)Islands	List of islandsSettlements	Auckland, Guayaquil, Honolulu, Ilagan, Lima, Los Angeles, Shanghai, Tokyo, Sydney, VancouverView of the Earth where all five oceans visibleEarth's oceansArcticAtlanticIndianPacificSouthernWorld OceanvteThe Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south and is bounded by Asia and Australia in the west and the Americas in the east.At 165,250,000 square kilometers (63,800,000 square miles) in area (as defined with an Antarctic southern border), this largest division of the World Ocean—and, in turn, the hydrosphere—covers about 46% of Earth's water surface and about one-third of its total surface area, making it larger than all of Earth's land area combined.[1] The centers of both the Water Hemisphere and the Western Hemisphere are in the Pacific Ocean. The equator subdivides it into the North Pacific Ocean and South Pacific Ocean, with two exceptions: the Galápagos and Gilbert Islands, while straddling the equator, are deemed wholly within the South Pacific.[2] Its mean depth is 4,000 meters (13,000 feet).[3] The Mariana Trench in the western North Pacific is the deepest point in the world, reaching a depth of 10,911 meters (35,797 feet).[4] The western Pacific has many peripheral seas.Though the peoples of Asia and Oceania have traveled the Pacific Ocean since prehistoric times, the eastern Pacific was first sighted by Europeans in the early 16th century when Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa crossed the Isthmus of Panama in 1513 and discovered the great "southern sea" which he named Mar del Sur (in Spanish). The ocean's current name was coined by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan during the Spanish circumnavigation of the world in 1521, as he encountered favorable winds on reaching the ocean. He called it Mar Pacífico, which in both Portuguese and Spanish means "peaceful sea".[5]Contents1	History1.1	Early migrations1.2	European exploration1.3	New Imperialism2	Geography2.1	Bordering countries and territories2.1.1	Sovereign nations2.1.2	Territories2.2	Landmasses and islands3	Water characteristics4	Climate5	Geology5.1	Geological history5.2	Seamount chains6	Economy6.1	Fishing7	Environmental issues8	Major ports and harbors9	See also10	References11	Further reading11.1	Historiography12	External linksHistoryEarly migrationsUniversalis Cosmographia, the Waldseemüller map dated 1507, from a time when the nature of the Americas was ambiguous, particularly North America, as a possible part of Asia, was the first map to show the Americas separating two distinct oceans. South America was generally considered a "new world" and shows the name "America" for the first time, after Amerigo VespucciMade in 1529, the Diogo Ribeiro map was the first to show the Pacific at about its proper sizeMaris Pacifici by Ortelius (1589). One of the first printed maps to show the Pacific Ocean[6]Important human migrations occurred in the Pacific in prehistoric times. About 3000 BC, the Austronesian peoples on the island of Taiwan mastered the art of long-distance canoe travel and spread themselves and their languages south to the Philippines, Indonesia, and maritime Southeast Asia; west towards Madagascar; southeast towards New Guinea and Melanesia (intermarrying with native Papuans); and east to the islands of Micronesia, Oceania and Polynesia.[7]Long-distance trade developed all along the coast from Mozambique to Japan. Trade, and therefore knowledge, extended to the Indonesian islands but apparently not Australia. By at least 878 when there was a significant Islamic settlement in Canton much of this trade was controlled by Arabs or Muslims. In 219 BC Xu Fu sailed out into the Pacific searching for the elixir of immortality. From 1404 to 1433 Zheng He led expeditions into the Indian Ocean.European explorationMap of the Pacific Ocean during European Exploration, circa 1702–1707.Map of the Pacific Ocean during European Exploration, circa 1754.The first contact of European navigators with the western edge of the Pacific Ocean was made by the Portuguese expeditions of António de Abreu and Francisco Serrão, via the Lesser Sunda Islands, to the Maluku Islands, in 1512,[8][9] and with Jorge Álvares's expedition to southern China in 1513,[10] both ordered by Afonso de Albuquerque from Malacca.The east side of the ocean was discovered by Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa in 1513 after his expedition crossed the Isthmus of Panama and reached a new ocean.[11] He named it Mar del Sur (literally, "Sea of the South" or "South Sea") because the ocean was to the south of the coast of the isthmus where he first observed the Pacific.Spanish explorations and routes across the Pacific Ocean.In 1519, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan sailed the Pacific East to West on a Spanish expedition to the Spice Islands that would eventually result in the first world circumnavigation. Magellan called the ocean Pacífico (or "Pacific" meaning, "peaceful") because, after sailing through the stormy seas off Cape Horn, the expedition found calm waters. The ocean was often called the Sea of Magellan in his honor until the eighteenth century.[12] Although Magellan himself died in the Philippines in 1521, Spanish Basque navigator Juan Sebastián Elcano led the remains of the expedition back to Spain across the Indian Ocean and round the Cape of Good Hope, completing the first world circumnavigation in a single expedition in 1522.[13] Sailing around and east of the Moluccas, between 1525 and 1527, Portuguese expeditions discovered the Caroline Islands,[14] the Aru Islands,[15] and Papua New Guinea.[16] In 1542–43 the Portuguese also reached Japan.[17]In 1564, five Spanish ships carrying 379 explorers crossed the ocean from Mexico led by Miguel López de Legazpi, and sailed to the Philippines and Mariana Islands.[18] For the remainder of the 16th century, Spanish influence was paramount, with ships sailing from Mexico and Peru across the Pacific Ocean to the Philippines via Guam, and establishing the Spanish East Indies. The Manila galleons operated for two and a half centuries, linking Manila and Acapulco, in one of the longest trade routes in history. Spanish expeditions also discovered Tuvalu, the Marquesas, the Cook Islands, the Solomon Islands, and the Admiralty Islands in the South Pacific.[19]Later, in the quest for Terra Australis ("the [great] Southern Land"), Spanish explorations in the 17th century, such as the expedition led by the Portuguese navigator Pedro Fernandes de Queirós, discovered the Pitcairn and Vanuatu archipelagos, and sailed the Torres Strait between Australia and New Guinea, named after navigator Luís Vaz de Torres. Dutch explorers, sailing around southern Africa, also engaged in discovery and trade; Willem Janszoon, made the first completely documented European landing in Australia (1606), in Cape York Peninsula,[20] and Abel Janszoon Tasman circumnavigated and landed on parts of the Australian continental coast and discovered Tasmania and New Zealand in 1642.[21]In the 16th and 17th centuries Spain considered the Pacific Ocean a mare clausum—a sea closed to other naval powers. As the only known entrance from the Atlantic, the Strait of Magellan was at times patrolled by fleets sent to prevent entrance of non-Spanish ships. On the western side of the Pacific Ocean the Dutch threatened the Spanish Philippines.[22]The 18th century marked the beginning of major exploration by the Russians in Alaska and the Aleutian Islands, such as the First Kamchatka expedition and the Great Northern Expedition, led by the Danish Russian navy officer Vitus Bering. Spain also sent expeditions to the Pacific Northwest, reaching Vancouver Island in southern Canada, and Alaska. The French explored and settled Polynesia, and the British made three voyages with James Cook to the South Pacific and Australia, Hawaii, and the North American Pacific Northwest. In 1768, Pierre-Antoine Véron, a young astronomer accompanying Louis Antoine de Bougainville on his voyage of exploration, established the width of the Pacific with precision for the first time in history.[23] One of the earliest voyages of scientific exploration was organized by Spain in the Malaspina Expedition of 1789–1794. It sailed vast areas of the Pacific, from Cape Horn to Alaska, Guam and the Philippines, New Zealand, Australia, and the South Pacific.[19]New ImperialismSee also: New ImperialismThe Bathyscaphe Trieste, before her record dive to the bottom of the Mariana Trench, 23 January 1960Growing imperialism during the 19th century resulted in the occupation of much of Oceania by European powers, and later Japan and the United States. Significant contributions to oceanographic knowledge were made by the voyages of HMS Beagle in the 1830s, with Charles Darwin aboard;[24] HMS Challenger during the 1870s;[25] the USS Tuscarora (1873–76);[26] and the German Gazelle (1874–76).[27]Dupetit Thouars taking over Tahiti on 9 September 1842In Oceania, France obtained a leading position as imperial power after making Tahiti and New Caledonia protectorates in 1842 and 1853 respectively.[28] After navy visits to Easter Island in 1875 and 1887, Chilean navy officer Policarpo Toro negotiated the incorporation of the island into Chile with native Rapanui in 1888. By occupying Easter Island, Chile joined the imperial nations.[29](p53) By 1900 nearly all Pacific islands were in control of Britain, France, United States, Germany, Japan, and Chile.[28]Although the United States gained control of Guam and the Philippines from Spain in 1898,[30] Japan controlled most of the western Pacific by 1914 and occupied many other islands during World War II. However, by the end of that war, Japan was defeated and the U.S. Pacific Fleet was the virtual master of the ocean. Since the end of World War II, many former colonies in the Pacific have become independent states.GeographySunset over the Pacific Ocean as seen from the International Space Station. Anvil tops of thunderclouds are also visible.The Pacific separates Asia and Australia from the Americas. It may be further subdivided by the equator into northern (North Pacific) and southern (South Pacific) portions. It extends from the Antarctic region in the South to the Arctic in the north.[1] The Pacific Ocean encompasses approximately one-third of the Earth's surface, having an area of 165,200,000 km2 (63,800,000 sq mi)—significantly larger than Earth's entire landmass of some 150,000,000 km2 (58,000,000 sq mi).[31]Extending approximately 15,500 km (9,600 mi) from the Bering Sea in the Arctic to the northern extent of the circumpolar Southern Ocean at 60°S (older definitions extend it to Antarctica's Ross Sea), the Pacific reaches its greatest east-west width at about 5°N latitude, where it stretches approximately 19,800 km (12,300 mi) from Indonesia to the coast of Colombia—halfway around the world, and more than five times the diameter of the Moon.[32] The lowest known point on Earth—the Mariana Trench—lies 10,911 m (35,797 ft; 5,966 fathoms) below sea level. Its average depth is 4,280 m (14,040 ft; 2,340 fathoms), putting the total water volume at roughly 710,000,000 km3 (170,000,000 cu mi).[1]Due to the effects of plate tectonics, the Pacific Ocean is currently shrinking by roughly 2.5 cm (1 in) per year on three sides, roughly averaging 0.52 km2 (0.20 sq mi) a year. By contrast, the Atlantic Ocean is increasing in size.[33][34]Along the Pacific Ocean's irregular western margins lie many seas, the largest of which are the Celebes Sea, Coral Sea, East China Sea (East Sea), Philippine Sea, Sea of Japan, South China Sea (South Sea), Sulu Sea, Tasman Sea, and Yellow Sea (West Sea of Korea). The Indonesian Seaway (including the Strait of Malacca and Torres Strait) joins the Pacific and the Indian Ocean to the west, and Drake Passage and the Strait of Magellan link the Pacific with the Atlantic Ocean on the east. To the north, the Bering Strait connects the Pacific with the Arctic Ocean.[35]As the Pacific straddles the 180th meridian, the West Pacific (or western Pacific, near Asia) is in the Eastern Hemisphere, while the East Pacific (or eastern Pacific, near the Americas) is in the Western Hemisphere.[36]The Southern Pacific Ocean harbors the Southeast Indian Ridge crossing from south of Australia turning into the Pacific-Antarctic Ridge (north of the South Pole) and merges with another ridge (south of South America) to form the East Pacific Rise which also connects with another ridge (south of North America) which overlooks the Juan de Fuca Ridge.For most of Magellan's voyage from the Strait of Magellan to the Philippines, the explorer indeed found the ocean peaceful. However, the Pacific is not always peaceful. Many tropical storms batter the islands of the Pacific.[37] The lands around the Pacific Rim are full of volcanoes and often affected by earthquakes.[38] Tsunamis, caused by underwater earthquakes, have devastated many islands and in some cases destroyed entire towns.[39]The Martin Waldseemüller map of 1507 was the first to show the Americas separating two distinct oceans.[40] Later, the Diogo Ribeiro map of 1529 was the first to show the Pacific at about its proper size.[41]Bordering countries and territoriesThe island geography of the Pacific Ocean BasinRegions, island nations and territories of OceaniaSovereign nations Australia Brunei Cambodia Canada Chile China1 Colombia Costa Rica Ecuador El Salvador Federated States of Micronesia Fiji Guatemala Honduras Indonesia Japan Kiribati North Korea South Korea Malaysia Marshall Islands Mexico Nauru Nicaragua New Zealand Palau Panama Papua New Guinea Peru Philippines Russia Samoa Singapore Solomon Islands Taiwan1 Thailand Timor-Leste Tonga Tuvalu United States Vanuatu Vietnam1 The status of Taiwan and China is disputed. For more information, see political status of Taiwan.Territories American Samoa (US)United States Baker Island (US)France Clipperton Island (France) Cook Islands (New Zealand)Australia Coral Sea Islands (Australia) Easter Island (Chile) French Polynesia (France) Guam (US) Hong Kong (China)United States Howland Island (US)United States Jarvis Island (US)United States Johnston Island (US)United States Kingman Reef (US) Macau (China)United States Midway Atoll (US) New Caledonia (France) Niue (New Zealand) Norfolk Island (Australia) Northern Mariana Islands (US)United States Palmyra Atoll (US) Pitcairn Islands (UK) Tokelau (New Zealand) Wallis and Futuna (France)United States Wake Island (US)Landmasses and islandsMain article: Pacific IslandsThis ocean has most of the islands in the world. There are about 25,000 islands in the Pacific Ocean.[42][43][44] The islands entirely within the Pacific Ocean can be divided into three main groups known as Micronesia, Melanesia and Polynesia. Micronesia, which lies north of the equator and west of the International Date Line, includes the Mariana Islands in the northwest, the Caroline Islands in the center, the Marshall Islands to the west and the islands of Kiribati in the southeast.[45][46]Melanesia, to the southwest, includes New Guinea, the world's second largest island after Greenland and by far the largest of the Pacific islands. The other main Melanesian groups from north to south are the Bismarck Archipelago, the Solomon Islands, Santa Cruz, Vanuatu, Fiji and New Caledonia.[47]The largest area, Polynesia, stretching from Hawaii in the north to New Zealand in the south, also encompasses Tuvalu, Tokelau, Samoa, Tonga and the Kermadec Islands to the west, the Cook Islands, Society Islands and Austral Islands in the center, and the Marquesas Islands, Tuamotu, Mangareva Islands, and Easter Island to the east.[48]Islands in the Pacific Ocean are of four basic types: continental islands, high islands, coral reefs and uplifted coral platforms. Continental islands lie outside the andesite line and include New Guinea, the islands of New Zealand, and the Philippines. Some of these islands are structurally associated with nearby continents. High islands are of volcanic origin, and many contain active volcanoes. Among these are Bougainville, Hawaii, and the Solomon Islands.[49]The coral reefs of the South Pacific are low-lying structures that have built up on basaltic lava flows under the ocean's surface. One of the most dramatic is the Great Barrier Reef off northeastern Australia with chains of reef patches. A second island type formed of coral is the uplifted coral platform, which is usually slightly larger than the low coral islands. Examples include Banaba (formerly Ocean Island) and Makatea in the Tuamotu group of French Polynesia.[50][51]Ladrilleros Beach in Colombia on the coast of Chocó natural region Point Reyes headlands, Point Reyes National Seashore, California Tahuna maru islet, French Polynesia Los Molinos on the coast of Southern ChileWater characteristicsSunset in Monterey County, California, U.S.The volume of the Pacific Ocean, representing about 50.1 percent of the world's oceanic water, has been estimated at some 714 million cubic kilometers (171 million cubic miles).[52] Surface water temperatures in the Pacific can vary from −1.4 °C (29.5 °F), the freezing point of sea water, in the poleward areas to about 30 °C (86 °F) near the equator.[53] Salinity also varies latitudinally, reaching a maximum of 37 parts per thousand in the southeastern area. The water near the equator, which can have a salinity as low as 34 parts per thousand, is less salty than that found in the mid-latitudes because of abundant equatorial precipitation throughout the year. The lowest counts of less than 32 parts per thousand are found in the far north as less evaporation of seawater takes place in these frigid areas.[54] The motion of Pacific waters is generally clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere (the North Pacific gyre) and counter-clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere. The North Equatorial Current, driven westward along latitude 15°N by the trade winds, turns north near the Philippines to become the warm Japan or Kuroshio Current.[55]Turning eastward at about 45°N, the Kuroshio forks and some water moves northward as the Aleutian Current, while the rest turns southward to rejoin the North Equatorial Current.[56] The Aleutian Current branches as it approaches North America and forms the base of a counter-clockwise circulation in the Bering Sea. Its southern arm becomes the chilled slow, south-flowing California Current.[57] The South Equatorial Current, flowing west along the equator, swings southward east of New Guinea, turns east at about 50°S, and joins the main westerly circulation of the South Pacific, which includes the Earth-circling Antarctic Circumpolar Current. As it approaches the Chilean coast, the South Equatorial Current divides; one branch flows around Cape Horn and the other turns north to form the Peru or Humboldt Current.[58]ClimateImpact of El Niño and La Niña on North AmericaTyphoon Tip at global peak intensity on 12 October 1979The climate patterns of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres generally mirror each other. The trade winds in the southern and eastern Pacific are remarkably steady while conditions in the North Pacific are far more varied with, for example, cold winter temperatures on the east coast of Russia contrasting with the milder weather off British Columbia during the winter months due to the preferred flow of ocean currents.[59]In the tropical and subtropical Pacific, the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) affects weather conditions. To determine the phase of ENSO, the most recent three-month sea surface temperature average for the area approximately 3,000 km (1,900 mi) to the southeast of Hawaii is computed, and if the region is more than 0.5 °C (0.9 °F) above or below normal for that period, then an El Niño or La Niña is considered in progress.[60]In the tropical western Pacific, the monsoon and the related wet season during the summer months contrast with dry winds in the winter which blow over the ocean from the Asian landmass.[61] Worldwide, tropical cyclone activity peaks in late summer, when the difference between temperatures aloft and sea surface temperatures is the greatest. However, each particular basin has its own seasonal patterns. On a worldwide scale, May is the least active month, while September is the most active month. November is the only month in which all the tropical cyclone basins are active.[62] The Pacific hosts the two most active tropical cyclone basins, which are the northwestern Pacific and the eastern Pacific. Pacific hurricanes form south of Mexico, sometimes striking the western Mexican coast and occasionally the southwestern United States between June and October, while typhoons forming in the northwestern Pacific moving into southeast and east Asia from May to December. Tropical cyclones also form in the South Pacific basin, where they occasionally impact island nations.In the arctic, icing from October to May can present a hazard for shipping while persistent fog occurs from June to December.[63] A climatological low in the Gulf of Alaska keeps the southern coast wet and mild during the winter months. The Westerlies and associated jet stream within the Mid-Latitudes can be particularly strong, especially in the Southern Hemisphere, due to the temperature difference between the tropics and Antarctica,[64] which records the coldest temperature readings on the planet. In the Southern hemisphere, because of the stormy and cloudy conditions associated with extratropical cyclones riding the jet stream, it is usual to refer to the Westerlies as the Roaring Forties, Furious Fifties and Shrieking Sixties according to the varying degrees of latitude.[65]GeologyMain articles: Geology of the Pacific Ocean and Pacific PlateRing of Fire. The Pacific is ringed by many volcanoes and oceanic trenches.Ulawun stratovolcano situated on the island of New Britain, Papua New GuineaThe ocean was first mapped by Abraham Ortelius; he called it Maris Pacifici following Ferdinand Magellan's description of it as "a pacific sea" during his circumnavigation from 1519 to 1522. To Magellan, it seemed much more calm (pacific) than the Atlantic.[66]The andesite line is the most significant regional distinction in the Pacific. A petrologic boundary, it separates the deeper, mafic igneous rock of the Central Pacific Basin from the partially submerged continental areas of felsic igneous rock on its margins.[67] The andesite line follows the western edge of the islands off California and passes south of the Aleutian arc, along the eastern edge of the Kamchatka Peninsula, the Kuril Islands, Japan, the Mariana Islands, the Solomon Islands, and New Zealand's North Island.[68][69]The dissimilarity continues northeastward along the western edge of the Andes Cordillera along South America to Mexico, returning then to the islands off California. Indonesia, the Philippines, Japan, New Guinea, and New Zealand lie outside the andesite line.Within the closed loop of the andesite line are most of the deep troughs, submerged volcanic mountains, and oceanic volcanic islands that characterize the Pacific basin. Here basaltic lavas gently flow out of rifts to build huge dome-shaped volcanic mountains whose eroded summits form island arcs, chains, and clusters. Outside the andesite line, volcanism is of the explosive type, and the Pacific Ring of Fire is the world's foremost belt of explosive volcanism.[45] The Ring of Fire is named after the several hundred active volcanoes that sit above the various subduction zones.The Pacific Ocean is the only ocean which is almost totally bounded by subduction zones. Only the Antarctic and Australian coasts have no nearby subduction zones.Geological historyThe Pacific Ocean was born 750 million years ago at the breakup of Rodinia, although it is generally called the Panthalassic Ocean until the breakup of Pangea, about 200 million years ago.[70] The oldest Pacific Ocean floor is only around 180 Ma old, with older crust subducted by now.[71]Seamount chainsThe Pacific Ocean contains several long seamount chains, formed by hotspot volcanism. These include the Hawaiian–Emperor seamount chain and the Louisville Ridge.EconomyThe exploitation of the Pacific's mineral wealth is hampered by the ocean's great depths. In shallow waters of the continental shelves off the coasts of Australia and New Zealand, petroleum and natural gas are extracted, and pearls are harvested along the coasts of Australia, Japan, Papua New Guinea, Nicaragua, Panama, and the Philippines, although in sharply declining volume in some cases.[72]FishingFish are an important economic asset in the Pacific. The shallower shoreline waters of the continents and the more temperate islands yield herring, salmon, sardines, snapper, swordfish, and tuna, as well as shellfish.[73] Overfishing has become a serious problem in some areas. For example, catches in the rich fishing grounds of the Okhotsk Sea off the Russian coast have been reduced by at least half since the 1990s as a result of overfishing.[74]Environmental issuesMain article: Marine pollutionSee also: Great Pacific garbage patch and Environmental impact of shippingMarine debris on a Hawaiian coastThe quantity of small plastic fragments floating in the north-east Pacific Ocean increased a hundredfold between 1972 and 2012.[75]Marine pollution is a generic term for the harmful entry into the ocean of chemicals or particles. The main culprits are those using the rivers for disposing of their waste.[76] The rivers then empty into the ocean, often also bringing chemicals used as fertilizers in agriculture. The excess of oxygen-depleting chemicals in the water leads to hypoxia and the creation of a dead zone.[77]Marine debris, also known as marine litter, is human-created waste that has ended up floating in a lake, sea, ocean, or waterway. Oceanic debris tends to accumulate at the center of gyres and coastlines, frequently washing aground where it is known as beach litter.[76]In addition, the Pacific Ocean has served as the crash site of satellites, including Mars 96, Fobos-Grunt, and Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite.Major ports and harborsMain article: List of ports and harbors of the Pacific OceanSee alsoAsia-Pacific Economic CooperationPacific AlliancePacific coastPacific Time ZonePacific WarSeven SeasTrans-Pacific PartnershipWar of the PacificAegopodium podagraria1 ies.jpgEnvironment portalEarth Day Flag.pngEcology portalTerra.pngGeography portalCumulus clouds in fair weather.jpegWeather portalReferences "Pacific Ocean". Britannica Concise. 2008: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. International Hydrographic Organization (1953). "Limits of Oceans and Seas" (PDF). Nature (3rd ed.). 172 (4376): 484. Bibcode:1953Natur.172R.484.. doi:10.1038/172484b0. Retrieved 12 June 2010. Administration, US Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric. "How big is the Pacific Ocean?". oceanexplorer.noaa.gov. Retrieved 18 October 2018. "Japan Atlas: Japan Marine Science and Technology Center". Retrieved 4 July 2007. "Catholic Encyclopedia : Ferdinand Magellan". Newadvent.org. 1 October 1910. Retrieved 31 October 2010. "Library Acquires Copy of 1507 Waldseemüller World Map – News Releases (Library of Congress)". Loc.gov. Retrieved 20 April 2013. Stanley, David (2004). South Pacific. David Stanley. p. 19. ISBN 978-1-56691-411-6. Retrieved 13 June 2013. Hannard (1991), page 7 Milton, Giles (1999). Nathaniel's Nutmeg. London: Sceptre. pp. 5, 7. ISBN 978-0-340-69676-7. Porter, Jonathan. (1996). Macau, the Imaginary City: Culture and Society, 1557 to the Present. Westview Press. ISBN 0-8133-3749-6 Ober, Frederick Albion (2010). Vasco Nuñez de Balboa. Library of Alexandria. p. 129. ISBN 978-1-4655-7034-5. Retrieved 12 June 2013. Camino, Mercedes Maroto. Producing the Pacific: Maps and Narratives of Spanish Exploration (1567–1606), p. 76. 2005. "Life in the sea: Pacific Ocean", Oceanário de Lisboa. Retrieved 9 June 2013. Galvano, Antonio (2004) [1563]. The Discoveries of the World from Their First Original Unto the Year of Our Lord 1555, issued by the Hakluyt Society. Kessinger Publishing. p. 168. ISBN 978-0-7661-9022-1. Retrieved 16 June 2011. Kratoska, Paul H. (2001). South East Asia, Colonial History: Imperialism before 1800, Volume 1 de South East Asia, Colonial History. Taylor & Francis. pp. 52–56.[1] Whiteway, Richard Stephen (1899). The rise of Portuguese power in India, 1497–1550. Westminster: A. Constable. Steven Thomas, "Portuguese in Japan". Steven's Balagan. 25 April 2006. Retrieved 22 May 2015. Henderson, James D.; Delpar, Helen; Brungardt, Maurice Philip; Weldon, Richard N. (2000). A Reference Guide to Latin American History. M.E. Sharpe. p. 28. ISBN 978-1-56324-744-6. Retrieved 12 June 2013. Fernandez-Armesto, Felipe (2006). Pathfinders: A Global History of Exploration. W.W. Norton & Company. pp. 305–307. ISBN 978-0-393-06259-5. J.P. Sigmond and L.H. Zuiderbaan (1979) Dutch Discoveries of Australia.Rigby Ltd, Australia. pp. 19–30 ISBN 0-7270-0800-5 Primary Australian History: Book F [B6] Ages 10–11. R.I.C. Publications. 2008. p. 6. ISBN 978-1-74126-688-7. Retrieved 12 June 2013. Lytle Schurz, William (1922), "The Spanish Lake", The Hispanic American Historical Review, 5 (2): 181–194, JSTOR 2506024 Williams, Glyndwr (2004). Captain Cook: Explorations And Reassessments. Boydell Press. p. 143. ISBN 978-1-84383-100-6. Retrieved 12 June 2013. Marty, Christoph. "Charles Darwin's Travels on the HMS Beagle". Scientific American. Retrieved 23 March 2018. "The Voyage of the HMS Challenger". www.interactiveoceans.washington.edu. Retrieved 23 March 2018. A Synopsis of the Cruise of the U.S.S. "Tuscarora": From the Date of Her Commission to Her Arrival in San Francisco, Cal. Sept. 2d, 1874. Cosmopolitan printing Company. 1874. Johnston, Keith (1881). "A Physical, Historical, Political, & Descriptive Geography". Nature. 22 (553): 95. Bibcode:1880Natur..22Q..95.. doi:10.1038/022095a0. Bernard Eccleston, Michael Dawson. 1998. The Asia-Pacific Profile. Routledge. p. 250. William Sater, Chile and the United States: Empires in Conflict, 1990 by the University of Georgia Press, ISBN 0-8203-1249-5 Tewari, Nita; Alvarez, Alvin N. (2008). Asian American Psychology: Current Perspectives. CRC Press. p. 161. ISBN 978-1-84169-749-9. Retrieved 12 June 2013. "Area of Earth's Land Surface", The Physics Factbook. Retrieved 9 June 2013. Nuttall, Mark (2005). Encyclopedia of the Arctic: A-F. Routledge. p. 1461. ISBN 978-1-57958-436-8. Retrieved 10 June 2013. "Plate Tectonics", Bucknell University. Retrieved 9 June 2013. Young, Greg (2009). Plate Tectonics. Capstone. pp. 9–. ISBN 978-0-7565-4232-0. Retrieved 9 June 2013. International Hydrographic Organization (1953). "Limits of Oceans and Seas". Nature. 172 (4376): 484. Bibcode:1953Natur.172R.484.. doi:10.1038/172484b0. Retrieved 9 June 2013. Agno, Lydia (1998). Basic Geography. Goodwill Trading Co., Inc. pp. 25–. ISBN 978-971-11-0165-7. Retrieved 9 June 2013. "Pacific Ocean: The trade winds", Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 9 June 2013. Shirley Rousseau Murphy (1979). The Ring of Fire. Avon. ISBN 978-0-380-47191-1. Bryant, Edward (2008). Tsunami: The Underrated Hazard. Springer. pp. 26–. ISBN 978-3-540-74274-6. Retrieved 9 June 2013. "The Map That Named America". www.loc.gov. Retrieved 3 December 2014. Ribero, Diego, Carta universal en que se contiene todo lo que del mundo se ha descubierto fasta agora / hizola Diego Ribero cosmographo de su magestad, ano de 1529, e[n] Sevilla, W. Griggs, retrieved 30 September 2017 K, Harsh (19 March 2017). "This ocean has most of the islands in the world". Mysticalroads. Archived from the original on 2 August 2017. Retrieved 6 April 2017. Ishihara, Masahide; Hoshino, Eiichi; Fujita, Yoko (2016). Self-determinable Development of Small Islands. Springer. p. 180. ISBN 978-981-10-0132-1. United States. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council (2009). Toward an Ecosystem Approach for the Western Pacific Region: from Species-based Fishery Management Plans to Place-based Fishery Ecosystem Plans: Environmental Impact Statement. Evanston, IL: Northwestern University. p. 60. Academic American encyclopedia. Grolier Incorporated. 1997. p. 8. ISBN 978-0-7172-2068-7. Retrieved 12 June 2013. Lal, Brij Vilash; Fortune, Kate (2000). The Pacific Islands: An Encyclopedia. University of Hawaii Press. pp. 63–. ISBN 978-0-8248-2265-1. Retrieved 14 June 2013. West, Barbara A. (2009). Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Asia and Oceania. Infobase Publishing. pp. 521–. ISBN 978-1-4381-1913-7. Retrieved 14 June 2013. Dunford, Betty; Ridgell, Reilly (1996). Pacific Neighbors: The Islands of Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia. Bess Press. pp. 125–. ISBN 978-1-57306-022-6. Retrieved 14 June 2013. Gillespie, Rosemary G.; Clague, David A. (2009). Encyclopedia of Islands. University of California Press. p. 706. ISBN 978-0-520-25649-1. Retrieved 12 June 2013. "Coral island", Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 22 June 2013. "Nauru", Charting the Pacific. Retrieved 22 June 2013. "PWLF.org – The Pacific WildLife Foundation – The Pacific Ocean". Archived from the original on 21 April 2012. Retrieved 23 August 2013. Mongillo, John F. (2000). Encyclopedia of Environmental Science. University Rochester Press. pp. 255–. ISBN 978-1-57356-147-1. Retrieved 9 June 2013. "Pacific Ocean: Salinity", Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 9 June 2013. "Wind Driven Surface Currents: Equatorial Currents Background", Ocean Motion. Retrieved 9 June 2013. "Kuroshio", Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 9 June 2013. "Aleutian Current", Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 9 June 2013. "South Equatorial Current", Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 9 June 2013. "Pacific Ocean: Islands", Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 13 June 2013. Climate Prediction Center (30 June 2014). "ENSO: Recent Evolution, Current Status and Predictions" (PDF). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. pp. 5, 19–20. Retrieved 30 June 2014. Glossary of Meteorology (2009). Monsoon. Archived 22 March 2008 at the Wayback Machine American Meteorological Society. Retrieved on 16 January 2009. Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory – Hurricane Research Division. "Frequently Asked Questions: When is hurricane season?". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 25 July 2006. "Pacific Ocean", World Factbook, CIA. Retrieved 13 June 2013. John P. Stimac. Air pressure and wind. Retrieved on 8 May 2008. Walker, Stuart (1998). The sailor's wind. W.W. Norton & Company. p. 91. ISBN 97-80393045550. Turnbull, Alexander (2006). Map New Zealand: 100 Magnificent Maps from the Collection of the Alexander Turnbull Library. Godwit. p. 8. ISBN 978-1-86962-126-1. Retrieved 10 June 2013. Trent, D. D.; Hazlett, Richard; Bierman, Paul (2010). Geology and the Environment. Cengage Learning. p. 133. ISBN 978-0-538-73755-5. Retrieved 10 June 2013. Lal, Brij Vilash; Fortune, Kate (2000). The Pacific Islands: An Encyclopedia. University of Hawaii Press. p. 4. ISBN 978-0-8248-2265-1. Retrieved 10 June 2013. Mueller-Dombois, Dieter (1998). Vegetation of the Tropical Pacific Islands. Springer. p. 13. ISBN 978-0-387-98313-4. Retrieved 10 June 2013. "GEOL 102 The Proterozoic Eon II: Rodinia and Pannotia". Geol.umd.edu. 5 January 2010. Retrieved 31 October 2010. Mussett, Alan E.; Khan, M. Aftab (2000). Looking Into the Earth: An Introduction to Geological Geophysics. Cambridge University Press. p. 332. ISBN 978-0-521-78574-7. Retrieved 10 June 2013. "Pacific Ocean: Fisheries", Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 12 June 2013. "Pacific Ocean: Commerce and Shipping", The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th edition. Retrieved 14 June 2013. "Pacific Ocean Threats & Impacts: Overfishing and Exploitation" Archived 12 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine, Center for Ocean Solutions. Retrieved 14 June 2013. Plastic waste in the North Pacific is an ongoing concern BBC 9 May 2012 "Photos: Giant Ocean-Trash Vortex Documented – A First". News.nationalgeographic.com. 4 September 2009. Retrieved 31 October 2010. Gerlach: Marine Pollution, Springer, Berlin (1975)Further readingBarkley, Richard A. (1968). Oceanographic Atlas of the Pacific Ocean. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.prepared by the Special Publications Division, National Geographic Society. (1985). Blue Horizons: Paradise Isles of the Pacific. Washington, DC: National Geographic Society. ISBN 978-0-87044-544-6.Cameron, Ian (1987). Lost Paradise: The Exploration of the Pacific. Topsfield, MA: Salem House. ISBN 978-0-88162-275-1.Couper, A.D. (ed.) (1989). Development and Social Change in the Pacific Islands. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-00917-1.Gilbert, John (1971). Charting the Vast Pacific. London: Aldus. ISBN 978-0-490-00226-5.Lower, J. Arthur (1978). Ocean of Destiny: A Concise History of the North Pacific, 1500–1978. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press. ISBN 978-0-7748-0101-0.Napier, W.; Gilbert, J.; Holland, J. (1973). Pacific Voyages. Garden City, NY: Doubleday. ISBN 978-0-385-04335-9.Nunn, Patrick D. (1998). Pacific Island Landscapes: Landscape and Geological Development of Southwest Pacific Islands, Especially Fiji, Samoa and Tonga. editorips@usp.ac.fj. ISBN 978-982-02-0129-3.Oliver, Douglas L. (1989). The Pacific Islands (3rd ed.). Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 978-0-8248-1233-1.Paine, Lincoln. The Sea and Civilization: A Maritime History of the World (2015).Ridgell, Reilly (1988). Pacific Nations and Territories: The Islands of Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia (2nd ed.). Honolulu: Bess Press. ISBN 978-0-935848-50-2.Samson, Jane. British imperial strategies in the Pacific, 1750–1900 (Ashgate Publishing, 2003).Soule, Gardner (1970). The Greatest Depths: Probing the Seas to 20,000 feet (6,100 m) and Below. Philadelphia: Macrae Smith. ISBN 978-0-8255-8350-6.Spate, O.H.K. (1988). Paradise Found and Lost. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. ISBN 978-0-8166-1715-9.Terrell, John (1986). Prehistory in the Pacific Islands: A Study of Variation in Language, Customs, and Human Biology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-30604-1.HistoriographyDavidson, James Wightman. "Problems of Pacific history." Journal of Pacific History 1#1 (1966): 5–21.Gulliver, Katrina. "Finding the Pacific world." Journal of World History 22#1 (2011): 83–100. online[dead link]Igler, David (2013). The Great Ocean: Pacific Worlds from Captain Cook to the Gold Rush. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-991495-1.Munro, Doug. The Ivory Tower and Beyond: Participant Historians of the Pacific (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2009).Routledge, David. "Pacific history as seen from the Pacific Islands." Pacific Studies 8#2 (1985): 81+ onlineSamson, Jane. "Pacific/Oceanic History" in Kelly Boyd, ed. (1999). Encyclopedia of Historians and Historical Writing vol 2. Taylor & Francis. pp. 901–02. ISBN 978-1-884964-33-6.External links	Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pacific Ocean.	Look up pacific ocean in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.EPIC Pacific Ocean Data Collection Viewable on-line collection of observational dataNOAA In-situ Ocean Data Viewer plot and download ocean observationsNOAA PMEL Argo profiling floats Realtime Pacific Ocean dataNOAA TAO El Niño data Realtime Pacific Ocean El Niño buoy dataNOAA Ocean Surface Current Analyses – Realtime (OSCAR) Near-realtime Pacific Ocean Surface Currents derived from satellite altimeter and scatterometer dataNorth Pacific", "Pacific", and "Pacific region" redirect here. For the region in Colombia, see Pacific Region, Colombia. For other uses, see North Pacific (disambiguation) and Pacific (disambiguation).Pacific OceanMap of the Pacific OceanCoordinates	0°N 160°WCoordinates: 0°N 160°WSurface area	165,250,000 km2 (63,800,000 sq mi)Average depth	4,280 m (14,040 ft)Max. depth	10,911 m (35,797 ft)Water volume	710,000,000 km3 (170,000,000 cu mi)Islands	List of islandsSettlements	Auckland, Guayaquil, Honolulu, Ilagan, Lima, Los Angeles, Shanghai, Tokyo, Sydney, VancouverView of the Earth where all five oceans visibleEarth's oceansArcticAtlanticIndianPacificSouthernWorld OceanvteThe Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south and is bounded by Asia and Australia in the west and the Americas in the east.At 165,250,000 square kilometers (63,800,000 square miles) in area (as defined with an Antarctic southern border), this largest division of the World Ocean—and, in turn, the hydrosphere—covers about 46% of Earth's water surface and about one-third of its total surface area, making it larger than all of Earth's land area combined.[1] The centers of both the Water Hemisphere and the Western Hemisphere are in the Pacific Ocean. The equator subdivides it into the North Pacific Ocean and South Pacific Ocean, with two exceptions: the Galápagos and Gilbert Islands, while straddling the equator, are deemed wholly within the South Pacific.[2] Its mean depth is 4,000 meters (13,000 feet).[3] The Mariana Trench in the western North Pacific is the deepest point in the world, reaching a depth of 10,911 meters (35,797 feet).[4] The western Pacific has many peripheral seas.Though the peoples of Asia and Oceania have traveled the Pacific Ocean since prehistoric times, the eastern Pacific was first sighted by Europeans in the early 16th century when Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa crossed the Isthmus of Panama in 1513 and discovered the great "southern sea" which he named Mar del Sur (in Spanish). The ocean's current name was coined by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan during the Spanish circumnavigation of the world in 1521, as he encountered favorable winds on reaching the ocean. He called it Mar Pacífico, which in both Portuguese and Spanish means "peaceful sea".[5]Contents1	History1.1	Early migrations1.2	European exploration1.3	New Imperialism2	Geography2.1	Bordering countries and territories2.1.1	Sovereign nations2.1.2	Territories2.2	Landmasses and islands3	Water characteristics4	Climate5	Geology5.1	Geological history5.2	Seamount chains6	Economy6.1	Fishing7	Environmental issues8	Major ports and harbors9	See also10	References11	Further reading11.1	Historiography12	External linksHistoryEarly migrationsUniversalis Cosmographia, the Waldseemüller map dated 1507, from a time when the nature of the Americas was ambiguous, particularly North America, as a possible part of Asia, was the first map to show the Americas separating two distinct oceans. South America was generally considered a "new world" and shows the name "America" for the first time, after Amerigo VespucciMade in 1529, the Diogo Ribeiro map was the first to show the Pacific at about its proper sizeMaris Pacifici by Ortelius (1589). One of the first printed maps to show the Pacific Ocean[6]Important human migrations occurred in the Pacific in prehistoric times. About 3000 BC, the Austronesian peoples on the island of Taiwan mastered the art of long-distance canoe travel and spread themselves and their languages south to the Philippines, Indonesia, and maritime Southeast Asia; west towards Madagascar; southeast towards New Guinea and Melanesia (intermarrying with native Papuans); and east to the islands of Micronesia, Oceania and Polynesia.[7]Long-distance trade developed all along the coast from Mozambique to Japan. Trade, and therefore knowledge, extended to the Indonesian islands but apparently not Australia. By at least 878 when there was a significant Islamic settlement in Canton much of this trade was controlled by Arabs or Muslims. In 219 BC Xu Fu sailed out into the Pacific searching for the elixir of immortality. From 1404 to 1433 Zheng He led expeditions into the Indian Ocean.European explorationMap of the Pacific Ocean during European Exploration, circa 1702–1707.Map of the Pacific Ocean during European Exploration, circa 1754.The first contact of European navigators with the western edge of the Pacific Ocean was made by the Portuguese expeditions of António de Abreu and Francisco Serrão, via the Lesser Sunda Islands, to the Maluku Islands, in 1512,[8][9] and with Jorge Álvares's expedition to southern China in 1513,[10] both ordered by Afonso de Albuquerque from Malacca.The east side of the ocean was discovered by Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa in 1513 after his expedition crossed the Isthmus of Panama and reached a new ocean.[11] He named it Mar del Sur (literally, "Sea of the South" or "South Sea") because the ocean was to the south of the coast of the isthmus where he first observed the Pacific.Spanish explorations and routes across the Pacific Ocean.In 1519, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan sailed the Pacific East to West on a Spanish expedition to the Spice Islands that would eventually result in the first world circumnavigation. Magellan called the ocean Pacífico (or "Pacific" meaning, "peaceful") because, after sailing through the stormy seas off Cape Horn, the expedition found calm waters. The ocean was often called the Sea of Magellan in his honor until the eighteenth century.[12] Although Magellan himself died in the Philippines in 1521, Spanish Basque navigator Juan Sebastián Elcano led the remains of the expedition back to Spain across the Indian Ocean and round the Cape of Good Hope, completing the first world circumnavigation in a single expedition in 1522.[13] Sailing around and east of the Moluccas, between 1525 and 1527, Portuguese expeditions discovered the Caroline Islands,[14] the Aru Islands,[15] and Papua New Guinea.[16] In 1542–43 the Portuguese also reached Japan.[17]In 1564, five Spanish ships carrying 379 explorers crossed the ocean from Mexico led by Miguel López de Legazpi, and sailed to the Philippines and Mariana Islands.[18] For the remainder of the 16th century, Spanish influence was paramount, with ships sailing from Mexico and Peru across the Pacific Ocean to the Philippines via Guam, and establishing the Spanish East Indies. The Manila galleons operated for two and a half centuries, linking Manila and Acapulco, in one of the longest trade routes in history. Spanish expeditions also discovered Tuvalu, the Marquesas, the Cook Islands, the Solomon Islands, and the Admiralty Islands in the South Pacific.[19]Later, in the quest for Terra Australis ("the [great] Southern Land"), Spanish explorations in the 17th century, such as the expedition led by the Portuguese navigator Pedro Fernandes de Queirós, discovered the Pitcairn and Vanuatu archipelagos, and sailed the Torres Strait between Australia and New Guinea, named after navigator Luís Vaz de Torres. Dutch explorers, sailing around southern Africa, also engaged in discovery and trade; Willem Janszoon, made the first completely documented European landing in Australia (1606), in Cape York Peninsula,[20] and Abel Janszoon Tasman circumnavigated and landed on parts of the Australian continental coast and discovered Tasmania and New Zealand in 1642.[21]In the 16th and 17th centuries Spain considered the Pacific Ocean a mare clausum—a sea closed to other naval powers. As the only known entrance from the Atlantic, the Strait of Magellan was at times patrolled by fleets sent to prevent entrance of non-Spanish ships. On the western side of the Pacific Ocean the Dutch threatened the Spanish Philippines.[22]The 18th century marked the beginning of major exploration by the Russians in Alaska and the Aleutian Islands, such as the First Kamchatka expedition and the Great Northern Expedition, led by the Danish Russian navy officer Vitus Bering. Spain also sent expeditions to the Pacific Northwest, reaching Vancouver Island in southern Canada, and Alaska. The French explored and settled Polynesia, and the British made three voyages with James Cook to the South Pacific and Australia, Hawaii, and the North American Pacific Northwest. In 1768, Pierre-Antoine Véron, a young astronomer accompanying Louis Antoine de Bougainville on his voyage of exploration, established the width of the Pacific with precision for the first time in history.[23] One of the earliest voyages of scientific exploration was organized by Spain in the Malaspina Expedition of 1789–1794. It sailed vast areas of the Pacific, from Cape Horn to Alaska, Guam and the Philippines, New Zealand, Australia, and the South Pacific.[19]New ImperialismSee also: New ImperialismThe Bathyscaphe Trieste, before her record dive to the bottom of the Mariana Trench, 23 January 1960Growing imperialism during the 19th century resulted in the occupation of much of Oceania by European powers, and later Japan and the United States. Significant contributions to oceanographic knowledge were made by the voyages of HMS Beagle in the 1830s, with Charles Darwin aboard;[24] HMS Challenger during the 1870s;[25] the USS Tuscarora (1873–76);[26] and the German Gazelle (1874–76).[27]Dupetit Thouars taking over Tahiti on 9 September 1842In Oceania, France obtained a leading position as imperial power after making Tahiti and New Caledonia protectorates in 1842 and 1853 respectively.[28] After navy visits to Easter Island in 1875 and 1887, Chilean navy officer Policarpo Toro negotiated the incorporation of the island into Chile with native Rapanui in 1888. By occupying Easter Island, Chile joined the imperial nations.[29](p53) By 1900 nearly all Pacific islands were in control of Britain, France, United States, Germany, Japan, and Chile.[28]Although the United States gained control of Guam and the Philippines from Spain in 1898,[30] Japan controlled most of the western Pacific by 1914 and occupied many other islands during World War II. However, by the end of that war, Japan was defeated and the U.S. Pacific Fleet was the virtual master of the ocean. Since the end of World War II, many former colonies in the Pacific have become independent states.GeographySunset over the Pacific Ocean as seen from the International Space Station. Anvil tops of thunderclouds are also visible.The Pacific separates Asia and Australia from the Americas. It may be further subdivided by the equator into northern (North Pacific) and southern (South Pacific) portions. It extends from the Antarctic region in the South to the Arctic in the north.[1] The Pacific Ocean encompasses approximately one-third of the Earth's surface, having an area of 165,200,000 km2 (63,800,000 sq mi)—significantly larger than Earth's entire landmass of some 150,000,000 km2 (58,000,000 sq mi).[31]Extending approximately 15,500 km (9,600 mi) from the Bering Sea in the Arctic to the northern extent of the circumpolar Southern Ocean at 60°S (older definitions extend it to Antarctica's Ross Sea), the Pacific reaches its greatest east-west width at about 5°N latitude, where it stretches approximately 19,800 km (12,300 mi) from Indonesia to the coast of Colombia—halfway around the world, and more than five times the diameter of the Moon.[32] The lowest known point on Earth—the Mariana Trench—lies 10,911 m (35,797 ft; 5,966 fathoms) below sea level. Its average depth is 4,280 m (14,040 ft; 2,340 fathoms), putting the total water volume at roughly 710,000,000 km3 (170,000,000 cu mi).[1]Due to the effects of plate tectonics, the Pacific Ocean is currently shrinking by roughly 2.5 cm (1 in) per year on three sides, roughly averaging 0.52 km2 (0.20 sq mi) a year. By contrast, the Atlantic Ocean is increasing in size.[33][34]Along the Pacific Ocean's irregular western margins lie many seas, the largest of which are the Celebes Sea, Coral Sea, East China Sea (East Sea), Philippine Sea, Sea of Japan, South China Sea (South Sea), Sulu Sea, Tasman Sea, and Yellow Sea (West Sea of Korea). The Indonesian Seaway (including the Strait of Malacca and Torres Strait) joins the Pacific and the Indian Ocean to the west, and Drake Passage and the Strait of Magellan link the Pacific with the Atlantic Ocean on the east. To the north, the Bering Strait connects the Pacific with the Arctic Ocean.[35]As the Pacific straddles the 180th meridian, the West Pacific (or western Pacific, near Asia) is in the Eastern Hemisphere, while the East Pacific (or eastern Pacific, near the Americas) is in the Western Hemisphere.[36]The Southern Pacific Ocean harbors the Southeast Indian Ridge crossing from south of Australia turning into the Pacific-Antarctic Ridge (north of the South Pole) and merges with another ridge (south of South America) to form the East Pacific Rise which also connects with another ridge (south of North America) which overlooks the Juan de Fuca Ridge.For most of Magellan's voyage from the Strait of Magellan to the Philippines, the explorer indeed found the ocean peaceful. However, the Pacific is not always peaceful. Many tropical storms batter the islands of the Pacific.[37] The lands around the Pacific Rim are full of volcanoes and often affected by earthquakes.[38] Tsunamis, caused by underwater earthquakes, have devastated many islands and in some cases destroyed entire towns.[39]The Martin Waldseemüller map of 1507 was the first to show the Americas separating two distinct oceans.[40] Later, the Diogo Ribeiro map of 1529 was the first to show the Pacific at about its proper size.[41]Bordering countries and territoriesThe island geography of the Pacific Ocean BasinRegions, island nations and territories of OceaniaSovereign nations Australia Brunei Cambodia Canada Chile China1 Colombia Costa Rica Ecuador El Salvador Federated States of Micronesia Fiji Guatemala Honduras Indonesia Japan Kiribati North Korea South Korea Malaysia Marshall Islands Mexico Nauru Nicaragua New Zealand Palau Panama Papua New Guinea Peru Philippines Russia Samoa Singapore Solomon Islands Taiwan1 Thailand Timor-Leste Tonga Tuvalu United States Vanuatu Vietnam1 The status of Taiwan and China is disputed. For more information, see political status of Taiwan.Territories American Samoa (US)United States Baker Island (US)France Clipperton Island (France) Cook Islands (New Zealand)Australia Coral Sea Islands (Australia) Easter Island (Chile) French Polynesia (France) Guam (US) Hong Kong (China)United States Howland Island (US)United States Jarvis Island (US)United States Johnston Island (US)United States Kingman Reef (US) Macau (China)United States Midway Atoll (US) New Caledonia (France) Niue (New Zealand) Norfolk Island (Australia) Northern Mariana Islands (US)United States Palmyra Atoll (US) Pitcairn Islands (UK) Tokelau (New Zealand) Wallis and Futuna (France)United States Wake Island (US)Landmasses and islandsMain article: Pacific IslandsThis ocean has most of the islands in the world. There are about 25,000 islands in the Pacific Ocean.[42][43][44] The islands entirely within the Pacific Ocean can be divided into three main groups known as Micronesia, Melanesia and Polynesia. Micronesia, which lies north of the equator and west of the International Date Line, includes the Mariana Islands in the northwest, the Caroline Islands in the center, the Marshall Islands to the west and the islands of Kiribati in the southeast.[45][46]Melanesia, to the southwest, includes New Guinea, the world's second largest island after Greenland and by far the largest of the Pacific islands. The other main Melanesian groups from north to south are the Bismarck Archipelago, the Solomon Islands, Santa Cruz, Vanuatu, Fiji and New Caledonia.[47]The largest area, Polynesia, stretching from Hawaii in the north to New Zealand in the south, also encompasses Tuvalu, Tokelau, Samoa, Tonga and the Kermadec Islands to the west, the Cook Islands, Society Islands and Austral Islands in the center, and the Marquesas Islands, Tuamotu, Mangareva Islands, and Easter Island to the east.[48]Islands in the Pacific Ocean are of four basic types: continental islands, high islands, coral reefs and uplifted coral platforms. Continental islands lie outside the andesite line and include New Guinea, the islands of New Zealand, and the Philippines. Some of these islands are structurally associated with nearby continents. High islands are of volcanic origin, and many contain active volcanoes. Among these are Bougainville, Hawaii, and the Solomon Islands.[49]The coral reefs of the South Pacific are low-lying structures that have built up on basaltic lava flows under the ocean's surface. One of the most dramatic is the Great Barrier Reef off northeastern Australia with chains of reef patches. A second island type formed of coral is the uplifted coral platform, which is usually slightly larger than the low coral islands. Examples include Banaba (formerly Ocean Island) and Makatea in the Tuamotu group of French Polynesia.[50][51]Ladrilleros Beach in Colombia on the coast of Chocó natural region Point Reyes headlands, Point Reyes National Seashore, California Tahuna maru islet, French Polynesia Los Molinos on the coast of Southern ChileWater characteristicsSunset in Monterey County, California, U.S.The volume of the Pacific Ocean, representing about 50.1 percent of the world's oceanic water, has been estimated at some 714 million cubic kilometers (171 million cubic miles).[52] Surface water temperatures in the Pacific can vary from −1.4 °C (29.5 °F), the freezing point of sea water, in the poleward areas to about 30 °C (86 °F) near the equator.[53] Salinity also varies latitudinally, reaching a maximum of 37 parts per thousand in the southeastern area. The water near the equator, which can have a salinity as low as 34 parts per thousand, is less salty than that found in the mid-latitudes because of abundant equatorial precipitation throughout the year. The lowest counts of less than 32 parts per thousand are found in the far north as less evaporation of seawater takes place in these frigid areas.[54] The motion of Pacific waters is generally clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere (the North Pacific gyre) and counter-clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere. The North Equatorial Current, driven westward along latitude 15°N by the trade winds, turns north near the Philippines to become the warm Japan or Kuroshio Current.[55]Turning eastward at about 45°N, the Kuroshio forks and some water moves northward as the Aleutian Current, while the rest turns southward to rejoin the North Equatorial Current.[56] The Aleutian Current branches as it approaches North America and forms the base of a counter-clockwise circulation in the Bering Sea. Its southern arm becomes the chilled slow, south-flowing California Current.[57] The South Equatorial Current, flowing west along the equator, swings southward east of New Guinea, turns east at about 50°S, and joins the main westerly circulation of the South Pacific, which includes the Earth-circling Antarctic Circumpolar Current. As it approaches the Chilean coast, the South Equatorial Current divides; one branch flows around Cape Horn and the other turns north to form the Peru or Humboldt Current.[58]ClimateImpact of El Niño and La Niña on North AmericaTyphoon Tip at global peak intensity on 12 October 1979The climate patterns of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres generally mirror each other. The trade winds in the southern and eastern Pacific are remarkably steady while conditions in the North Pacific are far more varied with, for example, cold winter temperatures on the east coast of Russia contrasting with the milder weather off British Columbia during the winter months due to the preferred flow of ocean currents.[59]In the tropical and subtropical Pacific, the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) affects weather conditions. To determine the phase of ENSO, the most recent three-month sea surface temperature average for the area approximately 3,000 km (1,900 mi) to the southeast of Hawaii is computed, and if the region is more than 0.5 °C (0.9 °F) above or below normal for that period, then an El Niño or La Niña is considered in progress.[60]In the tropical western Pacific, the monsoon and the related wet season during the summer months contrast with dry winds in the winter which blow over the ocean from the Asian landmass.[61] Worldwide, tropical cyclone activity peaks in late summer, when the difference between temperatures aloft and sea surface temperatures is the greatest. However, each particular basin has its own seasonal patterns. On a worldwide scale, May is the least active month, while September is the most active month. November is the only month in which all the tropical cyclone basins are active.[62] The Pacific hosts the two most active tropical cyclone basins, which are the northwestern Pacific and the eastern Pacific. Pacific hurricanes form south of Mexico, sometimes striking the western Mexican coast and occasionally the southwestern United States between June and October, while typhoons forming in the northwestern Pacific moving into southeast and east Asia from May to December. Tropical cyclones also form in the South Pacific basin, where they occasionally impact island nations.In the arctic, icing from October to May can present a hazard for shipping while persistent fog occurs from June to December.[63] A climatological low in the Gulf of Alaska keeps the southern coast wet and mild during the winter months. The Westerlies and associated jet stream within the Mid-Latitudes can be particularly strong, especially in the Southern Hemisphere, due to the temperature difference between the tropics and Antarctica,[64] which records the coldest temperature readings on the planet. In the Southern hemisphere, because of the stormy and cloudy conditions associated with extratropical cyclones riding the jet stream, it is usual to refer to the Westerlies as the Roaring Forties, Furious Fifties and Shrieking Sixties according to the varying degrees of latitude.[65]GeologyMain articles: Geology of the Pacific Ocean and Pacific PlateRing of Fire. The Pacific is ringed by many volcanoes and oceanic trenches.Ulawun stratovolcano situated on the island of New Britain, Papua New GuineaThe ocean was first mapped by Abraham Ortelius; he called it Maris Pacifici following Ferdinand Magellan's description of it as "a pacific sea" during his circumnavigation from 1519 to 1522. To Magellan, it seemed much more calm (pacific) than the Atlantic.[66]The andesite line is the most significant regional distinction in the Pacific. A petrologic boundary, it separates the deeper, mafic igneous rock of the Central Pacific Basin from the partially submerged continental areas of felsic igneous rock on its margins.[67] The andesite line follows the western edge of the islands off California and passes south of the Aleutian arc, along the eastern edge of the Kamchatka Peninsula, the Kuril Islands, Japan, the Mariana Islands, the Solomon Islands, and New Zealand's North Island.[68][69]The dissimilarity continues northeastward along the western edge of the Andes Cordillera along South America to Mexico, returning then to the islands off California. Indonesia, the Philippines, Japan, New Guinea, and New Zealand lie outside the andesite line.Within the closed loop of the andesite line are most of the deep troughs, submerged volcanic mountains, and oceanic volcanic islands that characterize the Pacific basin. Here basaltic lavas gently flow out of rifts to build huge dome-shaped volcanic mountains whose eroded summits form island arcs, chains, and clusters. Outside the andesite line, volcanism is of the explosive type, and the Pacific Ring of Fire is the world's foremost belt of explosive volcanism.[45] The Ring of Fire is named after the several hundred active volcanoes that sit above the various subduction zones.The Pacific Ocean is the only ocean which is almost totally bounded by subduction zones. Only the Antarctic and Australian coasts have no nearby subduction zones.Geological historyThe Pacific Ocean was born 750 million years ago at the breakup of Rodinia, although it is generally called the Panthalassic Ocean until the breakup of Pangea, about 200 million years ago.[70] The oldest Pacific Ocean floor is only around 180 Ma old, with older crust subducted by now.[71]Seamount chainsThe Pacific Ocean contains several long seamount chains, formed by hotspot volcanism. These include the Hawaiian–Emperor seamount chain and the Louisville Ridge.EconomyThe exploitation of the Pacific's mineral wealth is hampered by the ocean's great depths. In shallow waters of the continental shelves off the coasts of Australia and New Zealand, petroleum and natural gas are extracted, and pearls are harvested along the coasts of Australia, Japan, Papua New Guinea, Nicaragua, Panama, and the Philippines, although in sharply declining volume in some cases.[72]FishingFish are an important economic asset in the Pacific. The shallower shoreline waters of the continents and the more temperate islands yield herring, salmon, sardines, snapper, swordfish, and tuna, as well as shellfish.[73] Overfishing has become a serious problem in some areas. For example, catches in the rich fishing grounds of the Okhotsk Sea off the Russian coast have been reduced by at least half since the 1990s as a result of overfishing.[74]Environmental issuesMain article: Marine pollutionSee also: Great Pacific garbage patch and Environmental impact of shippingMarine debris on a Hawaiian coastThe quantity of small plastic fragments floating in the north-east Pacific Ocean increased a hundredfold between 1972 and 2012.[75]Marine pollution is a generic term for the harmful entry into the ocean of chemicals or particles. The main culprits are those using the rivers for disposing of their waste.[76] The rivers then empty into the ocean, often also bringing chemicals used as fertilizers in agriculture. The excess of oxygen-depleting chemicals in the water leads to hypoxia and the creation of a dead zone.[77]Marine debris, also known as marine litter, is human-created waste that has ended up floating in a lake, sea, ocean, or waterway. Oceanic debris tends to accumulate at the center of gyres and coastlines, frequently washing aground where it is known as beach litter.[76]In addition, the Pacific Ocean has served as the crash site of satellites, including Mars 96, Fobos-Grunt, and Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite.Major ports and harborsMain article: List of ports and harbors of the Pacific OceanSee alsoAsia-Pacific Economic CooperationPacific AlliancePacific coastPacific Time ZonePacific WarSeven SeasTrans-Pacific PartnershipWar of the PacificAegopodium podagraria1 ies.jpgEnvironment portalEarth Day Flag.pngEcology portalTerra.pngGeography portalCumulus clouds in fair weather.jpegWeather portalReferences "Pacific Ocean". Britannica Concise. 2008: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. International Hydrographic Organization (1953). "Limits of Oceans and Seas" (PDF). Nature (3rd ed.). 172 (4376): 484. Bibcode:1953Natur.172R.484.. doi:10.1038/172484b0. Retrieved 12 June 2010. Administration, US Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric. "How big is the Pacific Ocean?". oceanexplorer.noaa.gov. Retrieved 18 October 2018. "Japan Atlas: Japan Marine Science and Technology Center". Retrieved 4 July 2007. "Catholic Encyclopedia : Ferdinand Magellan". Newadvent.org. 1 October 1910. Retrieved 31 October 2010. "Library Acquires Copy of 1507 Waldseemüller World Map – News Releases (Library of Congress)". Loc.gov. Retrieved 20 April 2013. Stanley, David (2004). South Pacific. David Stanley. p. 19. ISBN 978-1-56691-411-6. Retrieved 13 June 2013. Hannard (1991), page 7 Milton, Giles (1999). Nathaniel's Nutmeg. London: Sceptre. pp. 5, 7. ISBN 978-0-340-69676-7. Porter, Jonathan. (1996). Macau, the Imaginary City: Culture and Society, 1557 to the Present. Westview Press. ISBN 0-8133-3749-6 Ober, Frederick Albion (2010). Vasco Nuñez de Balboa. Library of Alexandria. p. 129. ISBN 978-1-4655-7034-5. Retrieved 12 June 2013. Camino, Mercedes Maroto. Producing the Pacific: Maps and Narratives of Spanish Exploration (1567–1606), p. 76. 2005. "Life in the sea: Pacific Ocean", Oceanário de Lisboa. Retrieved 9 June 2013. Galvano, Antonio (2004) [1563]. The Discoveries of the World from Their First Original Unto the Year of Our Lord 1555, issued by the Hakluyt Society. Kessinger Publishing. p. 168. ISBN 978-0-7661-9022-1. Retrieved 16 June 2011. Kratoska, Paul H. (2001). South East Asia, Colonial History: Imperialism before 1800, Volume 1 de South East Asia, Colonial History. Taylor & Francis. pp. 52–56.[1] Whiteway, Richard Stephen (1899). The rise of Portuguese power in India, 1497–1550. Westminster: A. Constable. Steven Thomas, "Portuguese in Japan". Steven's Balagan. 25 April 2006. Retrieved 22 May 2015. Henderson, James D.; Delpar, Helen; Brungardt, Maurice Philip; Weldon, Richard N. (2000). A Reference Guide to Latin American History. M.E. Sharpe. p. 28. ISBN 978-1-56324-744-6. Retrieved 12 June 2013. Fernandez-Armesto, Felipe (2006). Pathfinders: A Global History of Exploration. W.W. Norton & Company. pp. 305–307. ISBN 978-0-393-06259-5. J.P. Sigmond and L.H. Zuiderbaan (1979) Dutch Discoveries of Australia.Rigby Ltd, Australia. pp. 19–30 ISBN 0-7270-0800-5 Primary Australian History: Book F [B6] Ages 10–11. R.I.C. Publications. 2008. p. 6. ISBN 978-1-74126-688-7. Retrieved 12 June 2013. Lytle Schurz, William (1922), "The Spanish Lake", The Hispanic American Historical Review, 5 (2): 181–194, JSTOR 2506024 Williams, Glyndwr (2004). Captain Cook: Explorations And Reassessments. Boydell Press. p. 143. ISBN 978-1-84383-100-6. Retrieved 12 June 2013. Marty, Christoph. "Charles Darwin's Travels on the HMS Beagle". Scientific American. Retrieved 23 March 2018. "The Voyage of the HMS Challenger". www.interactiveoceans.washington.edu. Retrieved 23 March 2018. A Synopsis of the Cruise of the U.S.S. "Tuscarora": From the Date of Her Commission to Her Arrival in San Francisco, Cal. Sept. 2d, 1874. Cosmopolitan printing Company. 1874. Johnston, Keith (1881). "A Physical, Historical, Political, & Descriptive Geography". Nature. 22 (553): 95. Bibcode:1880Natur..22Q..95.. doi:10.1038/022095a0. Bernard Eccleston, Michael Dawson. 1998. The Asia-Pacific Profile. Routledge. p. 250. William Sater, Chile and the United States: Empires in Conflict, 1990 by the University of Georgia Press, ISBN 0-8203-1249-5 Tewari, Nita; Alvarez, Alvin N. (2008). Asian American Psychology: Current Perspectives. CRC Press. p. 161. ISBN 978-1-84169-749-9. Retrieved 12 June 2013. "Area of Earth's Land Surface", The Physics Factbook. Retrieved 9 June 2013. Nuttall, Mark (2005). Encyclopedia of the Arctic: A-F. Routledge. p. 1461. ISBN 978-1-57958-436-8. Retrieved 10 June 2013. "Plate Tectonics", Bucknell University. Retrieved 9 June 2013. Young, Greg (2009). Plate Tectonics. Capstone. pp. 9–. ISBN 978-0-7565-4232-0. Retrieved 9 June 2013. International Hydrographic Organization (1953). "Limits of Oceans and Seas". Nature. 172 (4376): 484. Bibcode:1953Natur.172R.484.. doi:10.1038/172484b0. Retrieved 9 June 2013. Agno, Lydia (1998). Basic Geography. Goodwill Trading Co., Inc. pp. 25–. ISBN 978-971-11-0165-7. Retrieved 9 June 2013. "Pacific Ocean: The trade winds", Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 9 June 2013. Shirley Rousseau Murphy (1979). The Ring of Fire. Avon. ISBN 978-0-380-47191-1. Bryant, Edward (2008). Tsunami: The Underrated Hazard. Springer. pp. 26–. ISBN 978-3-540-74274-6. Retrieved 9 June 2013. "The Map That Named America". www.loc.gov. Retrieved 3 December 2014. Ribero, Diego, Carta universal en que se contiene todo lo que del mundo se ha descubierto fasta agora / hizola Diego Ribero cosmographo de su magestad, ano de 1529, e[n] Sevilla, W. Griggs, retrieved 30 September 2017 K, Harsh (19 March 2017). "This ocean has most of the islands in the world". Mysticalroads. Archived from the original on 2 August 2017. Retrieved 6 April 2017. Ishihara, Masahide; Hoshino, Eiichi; Fujita, Yoko (2016). Self-determinable Development of Small Islands. Springer. p. 180. ISBN 978-981-10-0132-1. United States. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council (2009). Toward an Ecosystem Approach for the Western Pacific Region: from Species-based Fishery Management Plans to Place-based Fishery Ecosystem Plans: Environmental Impact Statement. Evanston, IL: Northwestern University. p. 60. Academic American encyclopedia. Grolier Incorporated. 1997. p. 8. ISBN 978-0-7172-2068-7. Retrieved 12 June 2013. Lal, Brij Vilash; Fortune, Kate (2000). The Pacific Islands: An Encyclopedia. University of Hawaii Press. pp. 63–. ISBN 978-0-8248-2265-1. Retrieved 14 June 2013. West, Barbara A. (2009). Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Asia and Oceania. Infobase Publishing. pp. 521–. ISBN 978-1-4381-1913-7. Retrieved 14 June 2013. Dunford, Betty; Ridgell, Reilly (1996). Pacific Neighbors: The Islands of Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia. Bess Press. pp. 125–. ISBN 978-1-57306-022-6. Retrieved 14 June 2013. Gillespie, Rosemary G.; Clague, David A. (2009). Encyclopedia of Islands. University of California Press. p. 706. ISBN 978-0-520-25649-1. Retrieved 12 June 2013. "Coral island", Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 22 June 2013. "Nauru", Charting the Pacific. Retrieved 22 June 2013. "PWLF.org – The Pacific WildLife Foundation – The Pacific Ocean". Archived from the original on 21 April 2012. Retrieved 23 August 2013. Mongillo, John F. (2000). Encyclopedia of Environmental Science. University Rochester Press. pp. 255–. ISBN 978-1-57356-147-1. Retrieved 9 June 2013. "Pacific Ocean: Salinity", Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 9 June 2013. "Wind Driven Surface Currents: Equatorial Currents Background", Ocean Motion. Retrieved 9 June 2013. "Kuroshio", Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 9 June 2013. "Aleutian Current", Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 9 June 2013. "South Equatorial Current", Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 9 June 2013. "Pacific Ocean: Islands", Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 13 June 2013. Climate Prediction Center (30 June 2014). "ENSO: Recent Evolution, Current Status and Predictions" (PDF). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. pp. 5, 19–20. Retrieved 30 June 2014. Glossary of Meteorology (2009). Monsoon. Archived 22 March 2008 at the Wayback Machine American Meteorological Society. Retrieved on 16 January 2009. Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory – Hurricane Research Division. "Frequently Asked Questions: When is hurricane season?". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 25 July 2006. "Pacific Ocean", World Factbook, CIA. Retrieved 13 June 2013. John P. Stimac. Air pressure and wind. Retrieved on 8 May 2008. Walker, Stuart (1998). The sailor's wind. W.W. Norton & Company. p. 91. ISBN 97-80393045550. Turnbull, Alexander (2006). Map New Zealand: 100 Magnificent Maps from the Collection of the Alexander Turnbull Library. Godwit. p. 8. ISBN 978-1-86962-126-1. Retrieved 10 June 2013. Trent, D. D.; Hazlett, Richard; Bierman, Paul (2010). Geology and the Environment. Cengage Learning. p. 133. ISBN 978-0-538-73755-5. Retrieved 10 June 2013. Lal, Brij Vilash; Fortune, Kate (2000). The Pacific Islands: An Encyclopedia. University of Hawaii Press. p. 4. ISBN 978-0-8248-2265-1. Retrieved 10 June 2013. Mueller-Dombois, Dieter (1998). Vegetation of the Tropical Pacific Islands. Springer. p. 13. ISBN 978-0-387-98313-4. Retrieved 10 June 2013. "GEOL 102 The Proterozoic Eon II: Rodinia and Pannotia". Geol.umd.edu. 5 January 2010. Retrieved 31 October 2010. Mussett, Alan E.; Khan, M. Aftab (2000). Looking Into the Earth: An Introduction to Geological Geophysics. Cambridge University Press. p. 332. ISBN 978-0-521-78574-7. Retrieved 10 June 2013. "Pacific Ocean: Fisheries", Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 12 June 2013. "Pacific Ocean: Commerce and Shipping", The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th edition. Retrieved 14 June 2013. "Pacific Ocean Threats & Impacts: Overfishing and Exploitation" Archived 12 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine, Center for Ocean Solutions. Retrieved 14 June 2013. Plastic waste in the North Pacific is an ongoing concern BBC 9 May 2012 "Photos: Giant Ocean-Trash Vortex Documented – A First". News.nationalgeographic.com. 4 September 2009. Retrieved 31 October 2010. Gerlach: Marine Pollution, Springer, Berlin (1975)Further readingBarkley, Richard A. (1968). Oceanographic Atlas of the Pacific Ocean. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.prepared by the Special Publications Division, National Geographic Society. (1985). Blue Horizons: Paradise Isles of the Pacific. Washington, DC: National Geographic Society. ISBN 978-0-87044-544-6.Cameron, Ian (1987). Lost Paradise: The Exploration of the Pacific. Topsfield, MA: Salem House. ISBN 978-0-88162-275-1.Couper, A.D. (ed.) (1989). Development and Social Change in the Pacific Islands. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-00917-1.Gilbert, John (1971). Charting the Vast Pacific. London: Aldus. ISBN 978-0-490-00226-5.Lower, J. Arthur (1978). Ocean of Destiny: A Concise History of the North Pacific, 1500–1978. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press. ISBN 978-0-7748-0101-0.Napier, W.; Gilbert, J.; Holland, J. (1973). Pacific Voyages. Garden City, NY: Doubleday. ISBN 978-0-385-04335-9.Nunn, Patrick D. (1998). Pacific Island Landscapes: Landscape and Geological Development of Southwest Pacific Islands, Especially Fiji, Samoa and Tonga. editorips@usp.ac.fj. ISBN 978-982-02-0129-3.Oliver, Douglas L. (1989). The Pacific Islands (3rd ed.). Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 978-0-8248-1233-1.Paine, Lincoln. The Sea and Civilization: A Maritime History of the World (2015).Ridgell, Reilly (1988). Pacific Nations and Territories: The Islands of Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia (2nd ed.). Honolulu: Bess Press. ISBN 978-0-935848-50-2.Samson, Jane. British imperial strategies in the Pacific, 1750–1900 (Ashgate Publishing, 2003).Soule, Gardner (1970). The Greatest Depths: Probing the Seas to 20,000 feet (6,100 m) and Below. Philadelphia: Macrae Smith. ISBN 978-0-8255-8350-6.Spate, O.H.K. (1988). Paradise Found and Lost. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. ISBN 978-0-8166-1715-9.Terrell, John (1986). Prehistory in the Pacific Islands: A Study of Variation in Language, Customs, and Human Biology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-30604-1.HistoriographyDavidson, James Wightman. "Problems of Pacific history." Journal of Pacific History 1#1 (1966): 5–21.Gulliver, Katrina. "Finding the Pacific world." Journal of World History 22#1 (2011): 83–100. online[dead link]Igler, David (2013). The Great Ocean: Pacific Worlds from Captain Cook to the Gold Rush. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-991495-1.Munro, Doug. The Ivory Tower and Beyond: Participant Historians of the Pacific (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2009).Routledge, David. "Pacific history as seen from the Pacific Islands." Pacific Studies 8#2 (1985): 81+ onlineSamson, Jane. "Pacific/Oceanic History" in Kelly Boyd, ed. (1999). Encyclopedia of Historians and Historical Writing vol 2. Taylor & Francis. pp. 901–02. ISBN 978-1-884964-33-6.External links	Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pacific Ocean.	Look up pacific ocean in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.EPIC Pacific Ocean Data Collection Viewable on-line collection of observational dataNOAA In-situ Ocean Data Viewer plot and download ocean observationsNOAA PMEL Argo profiling floats Realtime Pacific Ocean dataNOAA TAO El Niño data Realtime Pacific Ocean El Niño buoy dataNOAA Ocean Surface Current Analyses – Realtime (OSCAR) Near-realtime Pacific Ocean Surface Currents derived from satellite altimeter and scatterometer data

# data[].attributes.body
American Samoa
Australia
Cook Islands
Fiji
French Polynesia
Guam
Kiribati
Marshall Islands
Micronesia- Federated States of
Nauru
New Caledonia
New Zealand
Niue
Northern Mariana Islands
NRO_training
Palau
Papua New Guinea
Samoa
Solomon Islands
Tokelau
Tonga
Tuvalu
Vanuatu
Wallis and Futuna Islands

# data[].attributes.headline
"North Pacific", "Pacific", and "Pacific region" redirect here. For the region in Colombia, see Pacific Region, Colombia. For other uses, see North Pacific (disambiguation) and Pacific (disambiguation).Pacific OceanMap of the Pacific OceanCoordinates	0°N 160°WCoordinates: 0°N 160°WSurface area	165,250,000 km2 (63,800,000 sq mi)Average depth	4,280 m (14,040 ft)Max. depth	10,911 m (35,797 ft)Water volume	710,000,000 km3 (170,000,000 cu mi)Islands	List of islandsSettlements	Auckland, Guayaquil, Honolulu, Ilagan, Lima, Los Angeles, Shanghai, Tokyo, Sydney, VancouverView of the Earth where all five oceans visibleEarth's oceansArcticAtlanticIndianPacificSouthernWorld OceanvteThe Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south and is bounded by Asia and Australia in the west and the Americas in the east.At 165,250,000 square kilometers (63,800,000 square miles) in area (as defined with an Antarctic southern border), this largest division of the World Ocean—and, in turn, the hydrosphere—covers about 46% of Earth's water surface and about one-third of its total surface area, making it larger than all of Earth's land area combined.[1] The centers of both the Water Hemisphere and the Western Hemisphere are in the Pacific Ocean. The equator subdivides it into the North Pacific Ocean and South Pacific Ocean, with two exceptions: the Galápagos and Gilbert Islands, while straddling the equator, are deemed wholly within the South Pacific.[2] Its mean depth is 4,000 meters (13,000 feet).[3] The Mariana Trench in the western North Pacific is the deepest point in the world, reaching a depth of 10,911 meters (35,797 feet).[4] The western Pacific has many peripheral seas.Though the peoples of Asia and Oceania have traveled the Pacific Ocean since prehistoric times, the eastern Pacific was first sighted by Europeans in the early 16th century when Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa crossed the Isthmus of Panama in 1513 and discovered the great "southern sea" which he named Mar del Sur (in Spanish). The ocean's current name was coined by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan during the Spanish circumnavigation of the world in 1521, as he encountered favorable winds on reaching the ocean. He called it Mar Pacífico, which in both Portuguese and Spanish means "peaceful sea".[5]Contents1	History1.1	Early migrations1.2	European exploration1.3	New Imperialism2	Geography2.1	Bordering countries and territories2.1.1	Sovereign nations2.1.2	Territories2.2	Landmasses and islands3	Water characteristics4	Climate5	Geology5.1	Geological history5.2	Seamount chains6	Economy6.1	Fishing7	Environmental issues8	Major ports and harbors9	See also10	References11	Further reading11.1	Historiography12	External linksHistoryEarly migrationsUniversalis Cosmographia, the Waldseemüller map dated 1507, from a time when the nature of the Americas was ambiguous, particularly North America, as a possible part of Asia, was the first map to show the Americas separating two distinct oceans. South America was generally considered a "new world" and shows the name "America" for the first time, after Amerigo VespucciMade in 1529, the Diogo Ribeiro map was the first to show the Pacific at about its proper sizeMaris Pacifici by Ortelius (1589). One of the first printed maps to show the Pacific Ocean[6]Important human migrations occurred in the Pacific in prehistoric times. About 3000 BC, the Austronesian peoples on the island of Taiwan mastered the art of long-distance canoe travel and spread themselves and their languages south to the Philippines, Indonesia, and maritime Southeast Asia; west towards Madagascar; southeast towards New Guinea and Melanesia (intermarrying with native Papuans); and east to the islands of Micronesia, Oceania and Polynesia.[7]Long-distance trade developed all along the coast from Mozambique to Japan. Trade, and therefore knowledge, extended to the Indonesian islands but apparently not Australia. By at least 878 when there was a significant Islamic settlement in Canton much of this trade was controlled by Arabs or Muslims. In 219 BC Xu Fu sailed out into the Pacific searching for the elixir of immortality. From 1404 to 1433 Zheng He led expeditions into the Indian Ocean.European explorationMap of the Pacific Ocean during European Exploration, circa 1702–1707.Map of the Pacific Ocean during European Exploration, circa 1754.The first contact of European navigators with the western edge of the Pacific Ocean was made by the Portuguese expeditions of António de Abreu and Francisco Serrão, via the Lesser Sunda Islands, to the Maluku Islands, in 1512,[8][9] and with Jorge Álvares's expedition to southern China in 1513,[10] both ordered by Afonso de Albuquerque from Malacca.The east side of the ocean was discovered by Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa in 1513 after his expedition crossed the Isthmus of Panama and reached a new ocean.[11] He named it Mar del Sur (literally, "Sea of the South" or "South Sea") because the ocean was to the south of the coast of the isthmus where he first observed the Pacific.Spanish explorations and routes across the Pacific Ocean.In 1519, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan sailed the Pacific East to West on a Spanish expedition to the Spice Islands that would eventually result in the first world circumnavigation. Magellan called the ocean Pacífico (or "Pacific" meaning, "peaceful") because, after sailing through the stormy seas off Cape Horn, the expedition found calm waters. The ocean was often called the Sea of Magellan in his honor until the eighteenth century.[12] Although Magellan himself died in the Philippines in 1521, Spanish Basque navigator Juan Sebastián Elcano led the remains of the expedition back to Spain across the Indian Ocean and round the Cape of Good Hope, completing the first world circumnavigation in a single expedition in 1522.[13] Sailing around and east of the Moluccas, between 1525 and 1527, Portuguese expeditions discovered the Caroline Islands,[14] the Aru Islands,[15] and Papua New Guinea.[16] In 1542–43 the Portuguese also reached Japan.[17]In 1564, five Spanish ships carrying 379 explorers crossed the ocean from Mexico led by Miguel López de Legazpi, and sailed to the Philippines and Mariana Islands.[18] For the remainder of the 16th century, Spanish influence was paramount, with ships sailing from Mexico and Peru across the Pacific Ocean to the Philippines via Guam, and establishing the Spanish East Indies. The Manila galleons operated for two and a half centuries, linking Manila and Acapulco, in one of the longest trade routes in history. Spanish expeditions also discovered Tuvalu, the Marquesas, the Cook Islands, the Solomon Islands, and the Admiralty Islands in the South Pacific.[19]Later, in the quest for Terra Australis ("the [great] Southern Land"), Spanish explorations in the 17th century, such as the expedition led by the Portuguese navigator Pedro Fernandes de Queirós, discovered the Pitcairn and Vanuatu archipelagos, and sailed the Torres Strait between Australia and New Guinea, named after navigator Luís Vaz de Torres. Dutch explorers, sailing around southern Africa, also engaged in discovery and trade; Willem Janszoon, made the first completely documented European landing in Australia (1606), in Cape York Peninsula,[20] and Abel Janszoon Tasman circumnavigated and landed on parts of the Australian continental coast and discovered Tasmania and New Zealand in 1642.[21]In the 16th and 17th centuries Spain considered the Pacific Ocean a mare clausum—a sea closed to other naval powers. As the only known entrance from the Atlantic, the Strait of Magellan was at times patrolled by fleets sent to prevent entrance of non-Spanish ships. On the western side of the Pacific Ocean the Dutch threatened the Spanish Philippines.[22]The 18th century marked the beginning of major exploration by the Russians in Alaska and the Aleutian Islands, such as the First Kamchatka expedition and the Great Northern Expedition, led by the Danish Russian navy officer Vitus Bering. Spain also sent expeditions to the Pacific Northwest, reaching Vancouver Island in southern Canada, and Alaska. The French explored and settled Polynesia, and the British made three voyages with James Cook to the South Pacific and Australia, Hawaii, and the North American Pacific Northwest. In 1768, Pierre-Antoine Véron, a young astronomer accompanying Louis Antoine de Bougainville on his voyage of exploration, established the width of the Pacific with precision for the first time in history.[23] One of the earliest voyages of scientific exploration was organized by Spain in the Malaspina Expedition of 1789–1794. It sailed vast areas of the Pacific, from Cape Horn to Alaska, Guam and the Philippines, New Zealand, Australia, and the South Pacific.[19]New ImperialismSee also: New ImperialismThe Bathyscaphe Trieste, before her record dive to the bottom of the Mariana Trench, 23 January 1960Growing imperialism during the 19th century resulted in the occupation of much of Oceania by European powers, and later Japan and the United States. Significant contributions to oceanographic knowledge were made by the voyages of HMS Beagle in the 1830s, with Charles Darwin aboard;[24] HMS Challenger during the 1870s;[25] the USS Tuscarora (1873–76);[26] and the German Gazelle (1874–76).[27]Dupetit Thouars taking over Tahiti on 9 September 1842In Oceania, France obtained a leading position as imperial power after making Tahiti and New Caledonia protectorates in 1842 and 1853 respectively.[28] After navy visits to Easter Island in 1875 and 1887, Chilean navy officer Policarpo Toro negotiated the incorporation of the island into Chile with native Rapanui in 1888. By occupying Easter Island, Chile joined the imperial nations.[29](p53) By 1900 nearly all Pacific islands were in control of Britain, France, United States, Germany, Japan, and Chile.[28]Although the United States gained control of Guam and the Philippines from Spain in 1898,[30] Japan controlled most of the western Pacific by 1914 and occupied many other islands during World War II. However, by the end of that war, Japan was defeated and the U.S. Pacific Fleet was the virtual master of the ocean. Since the end of World War II, many former colonies in the Pacific have become independent states.GeographySunset over the Pacific Ocean as seen from the International Space Station. Anvil tops of thunderclouds are also visible.The Pacific separates Asia and Australia from the Americas. It may be further subdivided by the equator into northern (North Pacific) and southern (South Pacific) portions. It extends from the Antarctic region in the South to the Arctic in the north.[1] The Pacific Ocean encompasses approximately one-third of the Earth's surface, having an area of 165,200,000 km2 (63,800,000 sq mi)—significantly larger than Earth's entire landmass of some 150,000,000 km2 (58,000,000 sq mi).[31]Extending approximately 15,500 km (9,600 mi) from the Bering Sea in the Arctic to the northern extent of the circumpolar Southern Ocean at 60°S (older definitions extend it to Antarctica's Ross Sea), the Pacific reaches its greatest east-west width at about 5°N latitude, where it stretches approximately 19,800 km (12,300 mi) from Indonesia to the coast of Colombia—halfway around the world, and more than five times the diameter of the Moon.[32] The lowest known point on Earth—the Mariana Trench—lies 10,911 m (35,797 ft; 5,966 fathoms) below sea level. Its average depth is 4,280 m (14,040 ft; 2,340 fathoms), putting the total water volume at roughly 710,000,000 km3 (170,000,000 cu mi).[1]Due to the effects of plate tectonics, the Pacific Ocean is currently shrinking by roughly 2.5 cm (1 in) per year on three sides, roughly averaging 0.52 km2 (0.20 sq mi) a year. By contrast, the Atlantic Ocean is increasing in size.[33][34]Along the Pacific Ocean's irregular western margins lie many seas, the largest of which are the Celebes Sea, Coral Sea, East China Sea (East Sea), Philippine Sea, Sea of Japan, South China Sea (South Sea), Sulu Sea, Tasman Sea, and Yellow Sea (West Sea of Korea). The Indonesian Seaway (including the Strait of Malacca and Torres Strait) joins the Pacific and the Indian Ocean to the west, and Drake Passage and the Strait of Magellan link the Pacific with the Atlantic Ocean on the east. To the north, the Bering Strait connects the Pacific with the Arctic Ocean.[35]As the Pacific straddles the 180th meridian, the West Pacific (or western Pacific, near Asia) is in the Eastern Hemisphere, while the East Pacific (or eastern Pacific, near the Americas) is in the Western Hemisphere.[36]The Southern Pacific Ocean harbors the Southeast Indian Ridge crossing from south of Australia turning into the Pacific-Antarctic Ridge (north of the South Pole) and merges with another ridge (south of South America) to form the East Pacific Rise which also connects with another ridge (south of North America) which overlooks the Juan de Fuca Ridge.For most of Magellan's voyage from the Strait of Magellan to the Philippines, the explorer indeed found the ocean peaceful. However, the Pacific is not always peaceful. Many tropical storms batter the islands of the Pacific.[37] The lands around the Pacific Rim are full of volcanoes and often affected by earthquakes.[38] Tsunamis, caused by underwater earthquakes, have devastated many islands and in some cases destroyed entire towns.[39]The Martin Waldseemüller map of 1507 was the first to show the Americas separating two distinct oceans.[40] Later, the Diogo Ribeiro map of 1529 was the first to show the Pacific at about its proper size.[41]

# data[].attributes.subject
"North Pacific", "Pacific", and "Pacific region" redirect here. For the region in Colombia, see Pacific Region, Colombia. For other uses, see North Pacific (disambiguation) and Pacific (disambiguation).Pacific OceanMap of the Pacific OceanCoordinates	0°N 160°WCoordinates: 0°N 160°WSurface area	165,250,000 km2 (63,800,000 sq mi)Average depth	4,280 m (14,040 ft)Max. depth	10,911 m (35,797 ft)Water volume	710,000,000 km3 (170,000,000 cu mi)Islands	List of islandsSettlements	Auckland, Guayaquil, Honolulu, Ilagan, Lima, Los Angeles, Shanghai, Tokyo, Sydney, VancouverView of the Earth where all five oceans visibleEarth's oceansArcticAtlanticIndianPacificSouthernWorld OceanvteThe Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south and is bounded by Asia and Australia in the west and the Americas in the east.At 165,250,000 square kilometers (63,800,000 square miles) in area (as defined with an Antarctic southern border), this largest division of the World Ocean—and, in turn, the hydrosphere—covers about 46% of Earth's water surface and about one-third of its total surface area, making it larger than all of Earth's land area combined.[1] The centers of both the Water Hemisphere and the Western Hemisphere are in the Pacific Ocean. The equator subdivides it into the North Pacific Ocean and South Pacific Ocean, with two exceptions: the Galápagos and Gilbert Islands, while straddling the equator, are deemed wholly within the South Pacific.[2] Its mean depth is 4,000 meters (13,000 feet).[3] The Mariana Trench in the western North Pacific is the deepest point in the world, reaching a depth of 10,911 meters (35,797 feet).[4] The western Pacific has many peripheral seas.Though the peoples of Asia and Oceania have traveled the Pacific Ocean since prehistoric times, the eastern Pacific was first sighted by Europeans in the early 16th century when Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa crossed the Isthmus of Panama in 1513 and discovered the great "southern sea" which he named Mar del Sur (in Spanish). The ocean's current name was coined by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan during the Spanish circumnavigation of the world in 1521, as he encountered favorable winds on reaching the ocean. He called it Mar Pacífico, which in both Portuguese and Spanish means "peaceful sea".[5]Contents1	History1.1	Early migrations1.2	European exploration1.3	New Imperialism2	Geography2.1	Bordering countries and territories2.1.1	Sovereign nations2.1.2	Territories2.2	Landmasses and islands3	Water characteristics4	Climate5	Geology5.1	Geological history5.2	Seamount chains6	Economy6.1	Fishing7	Environmental issues8	Major ports and harbors9	See also10	References11	Further reading11.1	Historiography12	External linksHistoryEarly migrationsUniversalis Cosmographia, the Waldseemüller map dated 1507, from a time when the nature of the Americas was ambiguous, particularly North America, as a possible part of Asia, was the first map to show the Americas separating two distinct oceans. South America was generally considered a "new world" and shows the name "America" for the first time, after Amerigo VespucciMade in 1529, the Diogo Ribeiro map was the first to show the Pacific at about its proper sizeMaris Pacifici by Ortelius (1589). One of the first printed maps to show the Pacific Ocean[6]Important human migrations occurred in the Pacific in prehistoric times. About 3000 BC, the Austronesian peoples on the island of Taiwan mastered the art of long-distance canoe travel and spread themselves and their languages south to the Philippines, Indonesia, and maritime Southeast Asia; west towards Madagascar; southeast towards New Guinea and Melanesia (intermarrying with native Papuans); and east to the islands of Micronesia, Oceania and Polynesia.[7]Long-distance trade developed all along the coast from Mozambique to Japan. Trade, and therefore knowledge, extended to the Indonesian islands but apparently not Australia. By at least 878 when there was a significant Islamic settlement in Canton much of this trade was controlled by Arabs or Muslims. In 219 BC Xu Fu sailed out into the Pacific searching for the elixir of immortality. From 1404 to 1433 Zheng He led expeditions into the Indian Ocean.European explorationMap of the Pacific Ocean during European Exploration, circa 1702–1707.Map of the Pacific Ocean during European Exploration, circa 1754.The first contact of European navigators with the western edge of the Pacific Ocean was made by the Portuguese expeditions of António de Abreu and Francisco Serrão, via the Lesser Sunda Islands, to the Maluku Islands, in 1512,[8][9] and with Jorge Álvares's expedition to southern China in 1513,[10] both ordered by Afonso de Albuquerque from Malacca.The east side of the ocean was discovered by Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa in 1513 after his expedition crossed the Isthmus of Panama and reached a new ocean.[11] He named it Mar del Sur (literally, "Sea of the South" or "South Sea") because the ocean was to the south of the coast of the isthmus where he first observed the Pacific.Spanish explorations and routes across the Pacific Ocean.In 1519, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan sailed the Pacific East to West on a Spanish expedition to the Spice Islands that would eventually result in the first world circumnavigation. Magellan called the ocean Pacífico (or "Pacific" meaning, "peaceful") because, after sailing through the stormy seas off Cape Horn, the expedition found calm waters. The ocean was often called the Sea of Magellan in his honor until the eighteenth century.[12] Although Magellan himself died in the Philippines in 1521, Spanish Basque navigator Juan Sebastián Elcano led the remains of the expedition back to Spain across the Indian Ocean and round the Cape of Good Hope, completing the first world circumnavigation in a single expedition in 1522.[13] Sailing around and east of the Moluccas, between 1525 and 1527, Portuguese expeditions discovered the Caroline Islands,[14] the Aru Islands,[15] and Papua New Guinea.[16] In 1542–43 the Portuguese also reached Japan.[17]In 1564, five Spanish ships carrying 379 explorers crossed the ocean from Mexico led by Miguel López de Legazpi, and sailed to the Philippines and Mariana Islands.[18] For the remainder of the 16th century, Spanish influence was paramount, with ships sailing from Mexico and Peru across the Pacific Ocean to the Philippines via Guam, and establishing the Spanish East Indies. The Manila galleons operated for two and a half centuries, linking Manila and Acapulco, in one of the longest trade routes in history. Spanish expeditions also discovered Tuvalu, the Marquesas, the Cook Islands, the Solomon Islands, and the Admiralty Islands in the South Pacific.[19]Later, in the quest for Terra Australis ("the [great] Southern Land"), Spanish explorations in the 17th century, such as the expedition led by the Portuguese navigator Pedro Fernandes de Queirós, discovered the Pitcairn and Vanuatu archipelagos, and sailed the Torres Strait between Australia and New Guinea, named after navigator Luís Vaz de Torres. Dutch explorers, sailing around southern Africa, also engaged in discovery and trade; Willem Janszoon, made the first completely documented European landing in Australia (1606), in Cape York Peninsula,[20] and Abel Janszoon Tasman circumnavigated and landed on parts of the Australian continental coast and discovered Tasmania and New Zealand in 1642.[21]In the 16th and 17th centuries Spain considered the Pacific Ocean a mare clausum—a sea closed to other naval powers. As the only known entrance from the Atlantic, the Strait of Magellan was at times patrolled by fleets sent to prevent entrance of non-Spanish ships. On the western side of the Pacific Ocean the Dutch threatened the Spanish Philippines.[22]The 18th century marked the beginning of major exploration by the Russians in Alaska and the Aleutian Islands, such as the First Kamchatka expedition and the Great Northern Expedition, led by the Danish Russian navy officer Vitus Bering. Spain also sent expeditions to the Pacific Northwest, reaching Vancouver Island in southern Canada, and Alaska. The French explored and settled Polynesia, and the British made three voyages with James Cook to the South Pacific and Australia, Hawaii, and the North American Pacific Northwest. In 1768, Pierre-Antoine Véron, a young astronomer accompanying Louis Antoine de Bougainville on his voyage of exploration, established the width of the Pacific with precision for the first time in history.[23] One of the earliest voyages of scientific exploration was organized by Spain in the Malaspina Expedition of 1789–1794. It sailed vast areas of the Pacific, from Cape Horn to Alaska, Guam and the Philippines, New Zealand, Australia, and the South Pacific.[19]New ImperialismSee also: New ImperialismThe Bathyscaphe Trieste, before her record dive to the bottom of the Mariana Trench, 23 January 1960Growing imperialism during the 19th century resulted in the occupation of much of Oceania by European powers, and later Japan and the United States. Significant contributions to oceanographic knowledge were made by the voyages of HMS Beagle in the 1830s, with Charles Darwin aboard;[24] HMS Challenger during the 1870s;[25] the USS Tuscarora (1873–76);[26] and the German Gazelle (1874–76).[27]Dupetit Thouars taking over Tahiti on 9 September 1842In Oceania, France obtained a leading position as imperial power after making Tahiti and New Caledonia protectorates in 1842 and 1853 respectively.[28] After navy visits to Easter Island in 1875 and 1887, Chilean navy officer Policarpo Toro negotiated the incorporation of the island into Chile with native Rapanui in 1888. By occupying Easter Island, Chile joined the imperial nations.[29](p53) By 1900 nearly all Pacific islands were in control of Britain, France, United States, Germany, Japan, and Chile.[28]Although the United States gained control of Guam and the Philippines from Spain in 1898,[30] Japan controlled most of the western Pacific by 1914 and occupied many other islands during World War II. However, by the end of that war, Japan was defeated and the U.S. Pacific Fleet was the virtual master of the ocean. Since the end of World War II, many former colonies in the Pacific have become independent states.GeographySunset over the Pacific Ocean as seen from the International Space Station. Anvil tops of thunderclouds are also visible.The Pacific separates Asia and Australia from the Americas. It may be further subdivided by the equator into northern (North Pacific) and southern (South Pacific) portions. It extends from the Antarctic region in the South to the Arctic in the north.[1] The Pacific Ocean encompasses approximately one-third of the Earth's surface, having an area of 165,200,000 km2 (63,800,000 sq mi)—significantly larger than Earth's entire landmass of some 150,000,000 km2 (58,000,000 sq mi).[31]Extending approximately 15,500 km (9,600 mi) from the Bering Sea in the Arctic to the northern extent of the circumpolar Southern Ocean at 60°S (older definitions extend it to Antarctica's Ross Sea), the Pacific reaches its greatest east-west width at about 5°N latitude, where it stretches approximately 19,800 km (12,300 mi) from Indonesia to the coast of Colombia—halfway around the world, and more than five times the diameter of the Moon.[32] The lowest known point on Earth—the Mariana Trench—lies 10,911 m (35,797 ft; 5,966 fathoms) below sea level. Its average depth is 4,280 m (14,040 ft; 2,340 fathoms), putting the total water volume at roughly 710,000,000 km3 (170,000,000 cu mi).[1]Due to the effects of plate tectonics, the Pacific Ocean is currently shrinking by roughly 2.5 cm (1 in) per year on three sides, roughly averaging 0.52 km2 (0.20 sq mi) a year. By contrast, the Atlantic Ocean is increasing in size.[33][34]Along the Pacific Ocean's irregular western margins lie many seas, the largest of which are the Celebes Sea, Coral Sea, East China Sea (East Sea), Philippine Sea, Sea of Japan, South China Sea (South Sea), Sulu Sea, Tasman Sea, and Yellow Sea (West Sea of Korea). The Indonesian Seaway (including the Strait of Malacca and Torres Strait) joins the Pacific and the Indian Ocean to the west, and Drake Passage and the Strait of Magellan link the Pacific with the Atlantic Ocean on the east. To the north, the Bering Strait connects the Pacific with the Arctic Ocean.[35]As the Pacific straddles the 180th meridian, the West Pacific (or western Pacific, near Asia) is in the Eastern Hemisphere, while the East Pacific (or eastern Pacific, near the Americas) is in the Western Hemisphere.[36]The Southern Pacific Ocean harbors the Southeast Indian Ridge crossing from south of Australia turning into the Pacific-Antarctic Ridge (north of the South Pole) and merges with another ridge (south of South America) to form the East Pacific Rise which also connects with another ridge (south of North America) which overlooks the Juan de Fuca Ridge.For most of Magellan's voyage from the Strait of Magellan to the Philippines, the explorer indeed found the ocean peaceful. However, the Pacific is not always peaceful. Many tropical storms batter the islands of the Pacific.[37] The lands around the Pacific Rim are full of volcanoes and often affected by earthquakes.[38] Tsunamis, caused by underwater earthquakes, have devastated many islands and in some cases destroyed entire towns.[39]The Martin Waldseemüller map of 1507 was the first to show the Americas separating two distinct oceans.[40] Later, the Diogo Ribeiro map of 1529 was the first to show the Pacific at about its proper size.[41]

# data[].attributes.body
This article is about an Allied command during World War II. For the theatre of operations, see South West Pacific theatre of World War II.

South West Pacific Area
South West Pacific Area shoulder sleeve insignia
Active | 1942–45
Disbanded | 2 September 1945
Country |  United States
Australia
Netherlands
United Kingdom
New Zealand
Anniversaries | 30 March 1942
Engagements | World War IIPhilippines Campaign (1941–42)New Guinea campaign Philippines Campaign (1944–45)Borneo campaign (1945)
Commanders
Notable
commanders | Douglas MacArthur

South West Pacific Area[note 1] (SWPA) was the name given to the Allied supreme military command in the South West Pacific Theatre of World War II. It was one of four major Allied commands in the Pacific War. SWPA included the Philippines, Borneo, the Dutch East Indies (excluding Sumatra), East Timor, Australia, the Territories of Papua and New Guinea, and the western part of the Solomon Islands. It primarily consisted of United States and Australian forces, although Dutch, Filipino, British and other Allied forces also served in the SWPA.

General Douglas MacArthur was appointed as the Supreme Commander, Southwest Pacific Area, on its creation on 18 April 1942. He created five subordinate commands: Allied Land Forces, Allied Air Forces, Allied Naval Forces, United States Army Forces in Australia (USAFIA), and the United States Army Forces in the Philippines. The last command disappeared when Corregidor surrendered on 6 May 1942, while USAFIA became the United States Army Services of Supply, Southwest Pacific Area (USASOS SWPA). In 1943 United States Army Forces in the Far East was reformed and assumed responsibility for administration, leaving USASOS as a purely logistical agency. Both were swept away in a reorganisation in 1945. The other three commands, Allied Land Forces, Allied Air Forces and Allied Naval Forces, remained until SWPA was abolished on 2 September 1945.

Contents

1Origins

2Formation

3General Headquarters

4Allied Land Forces

5Allied Air Forces

6Allied Naval Forces

7U.S. Army Services of Supply

8Intelligence

9Legacy

10Footnotes

11Notes

12References

13Further reading

Origins[edit]

Map of the South West Pacific Theater

The forerunner of the South West Pacific Area was the short-lived American-British-Dutch-Australian Command (ABDA). In December 1941 and January 1942 ABDA was referred to as the South West Pacific Area.[1] The rapid Japanese advance through the Dutch East Indies effectively divided the ABDA area in two and, in late February 1942, ABDA was dissolved at the recommendation of its commander, General Sir Archibald Wavell, who—as Commander-in-Chief in India—retained responsibility for Allied operations in Burma and Sumatra.[2]

Another command, established under emergency conditions when a convoy intended for supply of the Philippines, known as the Pensacola Convoy, was rerouted to Brisbane due to the attack on Pearl Harbor. Brigadier General Julian F. Barnes was ordered to assume command of all troops in the convoy on 12 December 1941 concurrent with their designation as Task Force—South Pacific, and place himself under the command of MacArthur.[3][4] The next day, by radiogram, the Chief of Staff of the United States Army, General George C. Marshall, ordered Barnes to assume command as Commander, US Troops in Australia and take charge of all troops and supplies.[4] On 22 December 1941, with the convoy's arrival in Brisbane, the command was designated as United States Forces in Australia (USFIA). It was renamed U.S. Army Forces in Australia (USAFIA) on 5 January 1942.[4] Its mission was to create a base in Australia for the support of the forces still in the Philippines.[5][4][6]

The staff, known as the "Remember Pearl Harbor" (RPH) group, selected by the War Department for USAFIA arrived Melbourne 1 February 1942 aboard SS President Coolidge and SS Mariposa in the first large convoy bearing personnel, supplies and munitions intended for transhipment to Java and Philippines as well as Australia.[7] For a brief time, due to the increased isolation of the Philippines and before the fall of Java, UASFIA was withdrawn from MacArthur's command and placed under the ABDA with continued direction to support both Java and the Philippines.[8][9]

What would replace ADBA was the subject of discussions between the Australian and New Zealand chiefs of staff that were held in Melbourne between 26 February and 1 March 1942. They proposed creating a new theatre of war encompassing Australia and New Zealand, under the command of Wavell's former deputy, Lieutenant General George Brett, who had assumed command of the US Army Forces in Australia (USAFIA) on 25 February.[10]

The President of the United States, Franklin Roosevelt, and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Winston Churchill, discussed the matter of command arrangements in the Pacific in Washington, D.C., on 9 March. Roosevelt proposed that the world would be divided into British and American areas of responsibility, with the United States having responsibility for the Pacific, where there would be an American supreme commander responsible to the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Churchill responded favourably to the proposal, and the governments of Australia and New Zealand were then consulted. They endorsed the idea of an American supreme commander, but wanted to have some input into matters of strategy.[10]

This resulted in the creation of the Pacific War Council, which met for the first time in London on 10 February 1942. Churchill, Clement Attlee (Deputy Prime Minister) and Anthony Eden (Foreign Secretary) represented the United Kingdom, and Earle Page represented Australia, along with representatives from the Netherlands, New Zealand, India and China. Page was replaced as the Australian representative by Stanley Bruce in June 1942. A parallel Pacific War Council was created in Washington, D.C., that first met on 1 April 1942. It was chaired by Roosevelt, with Richard Casey and later Owen Dixon representing Australia, and Prime Minister Mackenzie King representing Canada. The Pacific War Council never became an effective body, and had no influence on strategy, but did allow the Dominions to put their concerns before the President.[11][12]

Formation[edit]

The obvious choice for a supreme commander in the Pacific was General Douglas MacArthur. He had been ordered to leave the Philippines for Australia to take command of a reconstituted ABDA area on 22 February 1942, and had therefore been promised the command even before there were discussions on what it should be. MacArthur had solid support from the President, the Army and the American people, but not the Navy. The Commander in Chief, United States Fleet, Admiral Ernest King, saw the Pacific lines of communication primarily as a naval responsibility and would not yield command to an Army officer and proposed a division placing all of the Solomons within the Australian area, but excluding the New Hebrides, New Caledonia, and New Zealand.[13] While the Army planners, led by Brigadier General Dwight Eisenhower, were willing to compromise on a divided command, they objected to placing Australia and New Zealand in separate theatres. The Joint Chiefs of Staff discussed the matter between 9 and 16 March, the result of which was a decision to adopt the Navy's plan, with only minor amendments.[14]

While this was still going on General Marshall, had contacted Brett and asked him to get the Australian government to nominate MacArthur, whose arrival in Australia was now imminent, as its choice for supreme commander. This was done on 17 March when MacArthur arrived at Batchelor, Northern Territory. On 24 March 1942, the Combined Chiefs of Staff issued a directive formally designating the Pacific theatre an area of American strategic responsibility. On 30 March, the Joint Chiefs of Staff divided the Pacific theatre into three areas: the Pacific Ocean Areas (POA), under Admiral Chester Nimitz; the Southwest Pacific Area (SWPA), under MacArthur; and the Southeast Pacific Area, which never became an active theatre. The former Anzac Area was divided between SWPA and the POA.[15]

An annex defined SWPA's boundaries:

From Cape Kami in the Luichow Peninsula around the coast of the Tonkin Gulf, Indo-China, Thailand, and Malaya to Singapore: from Singapore south to the north coast of Sumatra, thence round the east coast of Sumatra (leaving the Sunda Strait to the eastward of the line) to a point on the coast of Sumatra at Longitude 104° East, thence south to Latitude 08° South, thence southeasterly towards Onslow, Australia, and on reaching Longitude 110° East, due south along that meridian. ... The north and east boundaries... : From Cape Kami...south to Latitude 20° North; thence east to Longitude 130° East; thence south to the Equator; thence east to Longitude 165° East; south to Latitude 10° South; southwesterly to Latitude 17° South, Longitude 160° East; thence south.[16]

On 17 April 1942 the Prime Minister of Australia, John Curtin, directed all Australian defence forces personnel to treat orders from MacArthur "as emanating from the Commonwealth Government".[17][18] The Army's workshops and fixed fortifications, and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF)'s logistical and training infrastructure, were not placed under SWPA.[18] Having placed its troops at MacArthur's disposal, the Australian government was adamant that it should be consulted on any alteration to the boundaries or command arrangements in SWPA.[19] The government was particularly concerned that the Supreme Commander should not move troops outside Australia or Australian territory without its consent,[20] as there were legal restrictions on where the Australian Militia could serve.[21] The matter of changes in command first came up when Brett was replaced as Commander of Allied Air Forces by the Joint Chiefs of Staff. MacArthur and Curtin agreed that there would be no change to Blamey's status, and that the government would be consulted about any other proposed changes. When Vice Admiral Herbert F. Leary was replaced a few months later, Curtin was consulted, and concurred with the change.[22]

General Headquarters[edit]

MacArthur became the Supreme Commander Southwest Pacific Area (SWPA) on 18 April 1942, although he preferred to use the more conventional title of Commander in Chief.[17] MacArthur's first General Order created five subordinate commands: Allied Land Forces, Allied Air Forces, Allied Naval Forces, United States Army Forces in Australia (USAFIA), and the United States Army Forces in the Philippines.[17] The last command had a short life. Lieutenant General Jonathan Wainwright's United States Army Forces in the Philippines disintegrated over the following three weeks, and disappeared entirely when Wainwright surrendered on Corregidor on 6 May.[23]

General Douglas MacArthur and Australian Prime Minister John Curtin.

MacArthur announced the composition of his staff, known as General Headquarters (GHQ) on 19 April. Major General Richard K. Sutherland became Chief of Staff; Brigadier General Richard J. Marshall, Deputy Chief of Staff; Colonel Charles P. Stivers, Assistant Chief of Staff, G-1; Colonel Charles A. Willoughby, Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2; Brigadier General Stephen J. Chamberlin, Assistant Chief of Staff, G-3; Colonel Lester J. Whitlock, Assistant Chief of Staff, G-4; Brigadier General Spencer B. Akin, Signal Officer; Brigadier General Hugh J. Casey, Engineer Officer; Brigadier General William F. Marquat, Antiaircraft Officer; Colonel Burdette M. Fitch, Adjutant General; and Colonel LeGrande A. Diller, Public Relations Officer.[17]

Although Marshall had recommended that MacArthur appoint as many Australian and Dutch officers to senior positions as possible, most of his staff was made up of US Army officers who had served under him in the Philippines. The rest, including Whitlock, Fitch and Chamberlain, had been on the staff of USAFIA. MacArthur reported to Marshall that there were no qualified Dutch officers in Australia, and that the Australian Army had a critical shortage of staff officers, which he did not wish to exacerbate. Nevertheless, several Dutch and Australian army officers, as well as some American naval officers, served in junior positions on the staff.[17][24]

In July, MacArthur moved his GHQ north, from Melbourne to Brisbane, where it was located in the AMP Building. The original intention had been to move to Townsville, but this was found to be impractical, as Townsville lacked the communications facilities that GHQ required.[25] The Allied Air Forces and Allied Naval Forces headquarters were co-located with GHQ in the AMP building. The Advanced Headquarters of Allied Land Forces opened at St Lucia, about 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) away.[24] The Advanced GHQ subsequently moved to Hollandia in September 1944,[26] Leyte in October 1944,[27] and Manila in May 1945.[28]

Command Organization, Southwest Pacific Area, July 1943

There was a major reorganisation in April 1945 for the planned invasion of Japan. All Army forces in the Pacific were placed under MacArthur's command, including those in Nimitz's Pacific Ocean Areas. A new command was formed, Army Forces Pacific (AFPAC), with GHQ operating as the headquarters of both AFPAC and SWPA. Units in POA remained under Nimitz's operational control, and the first major formation, the Tenth United States Army, did not pass to AFPAC control until 31 July 1945.[29] SWPA, together with the Allied Air Forces, Allied Naval Forces and Allied Land Forces, was abolished on 2 September 1945, but GHQ remained as GHQ AFPAC.[30]

Allied Land Forces[edit]

The Australian Army's Commander in Chief, General Sir Thomas Blamey, was appointed Commander, Allied Land Forces, SWPA. His headquarters was the existing General Headquarters (Australia), and became known as LHQ. An Australian commander was chosen as most of the land forces were Australian. In April 1942, there were 38,000 American ground troops in SWPA and 369,000 Australian. LHQ controlled five major commands: Lieutenant General Sir John Lavarack's First Army, based in Queensland; Lieutenant General Sir Iven Mackay's Second Army in Victoria; Lieutenant General Gordon Bennett's III Corps in Western Australia; the Northern Territory Force under Major General Edmund Herring; and New Guinea Force under Major General Basil Morris. Between them they controlled ten Australian and two American divisions.[31] In August 1944, the Australian Army had a strength of 463,000 men and women, and there were 173,000 US Army ground personnel in SWPA.[32] By late 1944, there were eighteen American divisions in SWPA,[33] while the Australian Army had just seven.[34]

When GHQ moved up to Brisbane, LHQ remained behind in Melbourne, but Blamey formed an Advanced LHQ under his Deputy Chief of the General Staff (DCGS), Major General George Alan Vasey, which moved to nearby St Lucia.[35][36] Major General Frank Berryman replaced Vasey as DCGS in September 1942, and remained in the post until January 1944. He resumed the post in July 1944 and remained until December 1945. When the main body of GHQ moved to Hollandia, Advanced LHQ followed, opening there on 15 December, but when the main GHQ moved to Leyte in February 1945, Advanced LHQ remained behind. A Forward Echelon LHQ was formed under Berryman that remained co-located with the main body of GHQ, while the main body of LHQ remained at Hollandia until it moved to Morotai for the operations in Borneo in April 1945.[37]

In practice, MacArthur controlled land operations through "task forces".[38] These reported directly to GHQ, and their commanders could control all Allied land, air, naval and service forces in their area if a Japanese land attack was imminent.[39] The most important of these was New Guinea Force, which was formed in 1942 and was commanded personally by Blamey in September 1942,[40] and again in September 1943.[41] In February 1943, Lieutenant General Walter Krueger's Sixth Army arrived in SWPA, and its headquarters became that of Alamo Force. Alamo Force reported directly to MacArthur, and as a result Blamey did not command of the majority of American land forces in the theatre after that time, although his post was not abolished.[42][41]

In March 1944, MacArthur met with Curtin and detailed his plans for the Western New Guinea campaign, explaining that he would assume direct command of land forces when he reached the Philippines, and suggesting that Blamey could either go with him as an army commander, or remain in Australia as Commander in Chief.[43] The new organisation went into effect in September 1944, with Lieutenant General Walter Krueger's Sixth US Army, Lieutenant General Robert Eichelberger's Eighth United States Army, Lieutenant General Vernon Sturdee's First Australian Army, Lieutenant General Leslie Morshead's I Australian Corps and Major General Oscar Griswold's XIV Corps reporting directly to GHQ.[44] Allied Land Forces remained as an important administrative and logistical command,[37] until it was abolished, along with SWPA, on 2 September 1945.[30]

Allied Air Forces[edit]

The April 1942 reorganisation that created the Allied Land Forces and Allied Naval Forces also created the Allied Air Forces under Brett.[17] Unlike MacArthur, Brett created a completely integrated headquarters,[45] with a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) officer, Air Vice Marshal William Bostock, as his chief of staff. Each United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) staff officer was paired with a RAAF officer, with the senior staff posts divided evenly between them. A majority of command positions were held by Australians.[46] To make up shortages of USAAF aircrew, RAAF aircrew were assigned to USAAF air groups, serving in every role except aircraft commander.[47]

Royal Australian Air Force chief, Air Vice Marshal George Jones (left) meeting the Allied air forces commander in the SWPA, Lieutenant General George Kenney (right) in mid-1945, in Manila.

In May 1942, the Australian government appointed Air Vice Marshal George Jones as Chief of the Air Staff. He became responsible for matters other than operations, such as administration and training.[46] It soon became clear that Jones and Bostock could not get along together, but Kenney preferred to have Bostock in operational command, and although he regarded the antipathy between Jones and Bostock as a nuisance, was happy to leave arrangements the way they were.[48]

One of MacArthur's first orders to Brett was for a bombing mission to the Philippines, an order delivered personally by Sutherland. When Brett protested, Sutherland informed him that MacArthur wanted the mission carried out. The mission was flown by Brigadier General Ralph Royce, but MacArthur personally wrote a reprimand to Brett. Henceforth, communications with Sutherland were handled by Bostock. Further disagreements between MacArthur and Brett followed.[49] Meanwhile, in Washington, General George Marshall and the Chief of Army Air Forces, Lieutenant General Henry Arnold, had become alarmed at Brett's integration of the USAAF and RAAF, and disturbed by his inability to work with MacArthur.[50] On 6 July 1942 Marshall radioed MacArthur to offer him Major General George Kenney or Brigadier General Jimmy Doolittle as a replacement for Brett; MacArthur selected Kenney.[51]

Kenney sent home Major General Royce, Brigadier Generals Edwin S. Perrin, Albert Sneed and Martin Scanlon,[52] and about forty colonels.[53] In Australia he found two talented, recently arrived brigadier generals, Ennis Whitehead and Kenneth Walker.[54] Kenney reorganised his command in August, appointing Whitehead as commander of the V Fighter Command and Walker as commander of the V Bomber Command.[55] Allied Air Forces was composed of both USAAF and RAAF personnel, and Kenney moved to separate them. Brigadier General Donald Wilson arrived in September and replaced Air Vice Marshal Bostock as Kenney's chief of staff, while Bostock took over the newly created RAAF Command.[56] Walker was shot down over Rabaul in January 1943.[57] His successor, Brigadier General Howard Ramey, disappeared in March 1943.[58]

Kenney deviated from the normal structure of an air force by creating the Advanced Echelon (ADVON) under Whitehead. The new headquarters had the authority to alter the assignments of aircraft in the forward area, where fast-changing weather and enemy action could invalidate orders drawn up in Australia.[59] He created the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Air Task Forces to control air operations in a forward area for a specific mission, another departure from doctrine. While Kenney was enthusiastic about this innovation, Washington did not like it and, over Kenney's objections, converted the three air task forces into the 308th, 309th and 310th Bombardment Wings. In June 1944, Major General St. Clair Streett's Thirteenth Air Force was added to the Allied Air Forces. Kenney created the Far East Air Forces (FEAF) from his Fifth Air Force headquarters, while ADVON became the Fifth Air Force under Whitehead.[60] The RAAF formed the Australian First Tactical Air Force under Air Commodore Harry Cobby in October 1944,[61] and when MacArthur became commander of all Army forces in the Pacific, the Seventh Air Force was added as well.[62] Major General Paul Wurtsmith replaced Streett in March 1945,[63] and Air Commodore Frederick Scherger replaced Cobby in May.[61] Allied Air Forces was abolished on 2 September 1945.[30]

Allied Naval Forces[edit]

Allied Naval Forces SWPA, commander Vice Admiral Thomas C. Kinkaid (centre left) with MacArthur (centre) on 28 February 1944 on USS Phoenix during the bombardment of Los Negros Island, at the commencement of the Admiralty Islands campaign.

Vice Admiral Leary was appointed Commander, Allied Naval Forces, in April 1942.[17] On 7 February 1942, he had become commander of the Anzac Area to the east of Australia extending to include Fiji with headquarters in Melbourne.[64] That command included a naval element, some air forces but without responsibility for land defense.[65] He was answerable directly to Admiral King. The most important force under his command was Rear Admiral John Gregory Crace's Anzac Squadron.[66][67] When SWPA and the Allied Naval Forces were formed in April 1942, Leary also became Commander, Southwest Pacific Force (COMSOUWESPAC), while Crace's Anzac Squadron became Task Force 44.[68] In June, Crace was succeeded by another Royal Navy officer, Rear Admiral Victor Crutchley.[69] The former Anzac Area was divided so that the Australian coastal waters were with SWPA and the sea and air lines of communication from Hawaii and North America fell in the Pacific Ocean Areas (POA) with a special provision for the South Pacific Area having a designated sub commander under Admiral Chester Nimitz.[70]

With the agreement of the Australian government,[22] Leary was succeeded as Commander, Southwest Pacific Force, and Commander, Allied Naval Forces, by Vice Admiral Arthur S. Carpender on 11 September 1942.[71] Like his predecessor, he reported to King in the former role, and MacArthur in the latter. Also like Leary, Carpender was not the most senior naval officer in the theatre, as the Royal Australian Navy Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS), Admiral Sir Guy Royle, and the Royal Netherlands Navy′s Vice Admiral Conrad Helfrich were both senior to him.[72] However, Royle agreed to serve under Carpenter as Commander, South West Pacific Sea Frontier, which was formed on 16 March 1943.[73]

The Southwest Pacific Force was renamed the Seventh Fleet on 15 March 1943, and its task forces were renumbered to match, so Task Force 44 became Task Force 74.[73]Another important component was Task Force 76, the Amphibious Force, Southwest Pacific, which had been formed under Rear Admiral Daniel Barbey on 8 January 1943. It became the VII Amphibious Force later in the year. A training centre, HMAS Assault was established at Port Stephens, New South Wales, and another at Toorbul Point, Queensland. The VII Amphibious Forces initially consisted of the Australian Landing Ships, Infantry HMAS Manoora, Westralia and Kanimbla and the American attack transport USS Henry T. Allen, but gradually grew in size as more landing craft and landing ships arrived.[74][73]

MacArthur was annoyed at the way that Royle, a Royal Navy officer, communicated directly with the Admiralty; he was also aware that Royle had been critical of SWPA's command arrangements, and of some of his decisions. MacArthur proposed that an Australian officer, Captain John Collins, replace Royle as CNS, an appointment that Carpender also supported.[75] Over the Admiralty's objections, Curtin appointed Collins to replace Crutchley as Commander, Task Force 44, in June 1944, at the rank of commodore, with the intention that Collins would replace Royle when his term expired.[76] This did not occur, because Collins was seriously wounded in Leyte Gulf on 21 October 1944.[77]

MacArthur did not get along with Carpender, and twice asked for him to be replaced, only to be embarrassed in November 1943 when King replaced Carpender with Vice Admiral Thomas C. Kinkaid without informing MacArthur or seeking the approval of the Australian government. However, a face-saving formula was agreed upon.[78] For the invasion of Leyte, the Seventh Fleet was massively reinforced by ships from the Pacific Fleet. Cover was provided by Admiral William F. Halsey's Third Fleet, which remained under Nimitz.[79] At the Battle of Leyte Gulf, the divided command brought the Allies to the brink of disaster when misunderstandings arose between Kinkaid and Halsey.[80] Allied Naval Forces was abolished, along with SWPA, on 2 September 1945.[30]

U.S. Army Services of Supply[edit]

Under U.S. Army Forces in Australia (USAFIA) a series of bases had gradually been built in Australia, initially to support the US forces in the Philippines. Seven base sections were established in Australia to operate under USAFIA: Base Section 1 at Birdum, Northern Territory; Base Section 2 in Townsville; Base Section 3 in Brisbane; Base Section 4 in Melbourne; Base Section 5 in Adelaide; Base Section 6 in Perth; and Base Section 7 in Sydney.[81] On 20 July USAFIA became the United States Army Services of Supply, Southwest Pacific Area (USASOS SWPA), under the command of Brigadier General Richard J. Marshall, and Barnes returned to the United States.[82][25]

Organization for Administration and Supply, U.S. Army Forces, Southwest Pacific Area, July 1943

When Lieutenant General Krueger's Sixth United States Army headquarters arrived in Australia in February 1943, the administrative functions were taken from USASOS and given to a new headquarters, United States Army Forces in the Far East (USAFFE), under MacArthur's command. This had the same name as MacArthur's old headquarters in the Philippines, but its function was different. This left USASOS with logistical responsibilities only.[82] The new arrangement was awkward, and required considerable adjustment before it functioned properly. In September 1943, Marshall was replaced by Brigadier General James L. Frink.[83]

The New Guinea Advanced Base was formed in Port Moresby in August 1942, and sub bases were created at Milne Bay and Oro Bay. These became Advanced Sub Base A and Advanced Sub Base B respectively in April 1943. Advanced Sub Base C was created on Goodenough Island in April 1943, but was discontinued when the island was handed over to Sixth Army control in July. Meanwhile, Advanced Sub Base D was formed at Port Moresby in May. The sub bases became bases in August 1943. Advanced Base E was formed at Lae and Advanced Base F at Finschhafen in November 1943,[84] followed by Bases G and H at Hollandia and Biak respectively.[85]

With a worldwide shipping crisis[86] and SWPA being at the end of a very long supply line, as well as being a region without well developed transportation nets, regional logistics were almost entirely dependent on water transport.[87][88] No one fleet composed the assets available to the Commander in Chief, SWPA as the U. S. Navy, Royal Navy, Royal Australian Navy, Australian Army, Netherlands East Indies Navy were under his operational command while being maintained under their respective organizations.[89] Those assets were inadequate resulting in the creation of a large Army fleet unique to SWPA, the Permanent Local Fleet, under first USFIA, later USASOS and finally Army Forces, Western Pacific (AFWESPAC), starting with the retention of the USAT Meigs, Admiral Halstead and Coast Farmer from the convoy diverted to Brisbane in December 1941.[90]

That core was augmented by vessels fleeing the Japanese advance, particularly twenty-one Dutch vessels later known as the "KPM vessels" after the Dutch shipping line's name, Koninklijke Paketvaart-Maatschappij.[91]As of 28 April 1942 the Army fleet had grown to twenty-eight ships and by 24 January 1945 that fleet of large ships exceeded ninety with a peak of ninety-eight by 1 August 1945.[92] That number did not count a much larger fleet of small vessels, ranging from landing craft, barges and other floating equipment to seagoing vessels under 1,000 tons, including the Small Ships Section of requisitioned and locally constructed (2,712 craft) vessels manned largely by Australian civilian employees, 1,719 as of June 1945,[93] of the U.S. Army, and many such vessels and floating equipment delivered from the United States.[94] The permanent fleet of SWPA almost had as many vessels as the Army’s general fleet during some periods, though those vessels were often small, obsolete, in poor condition and under unorthodox management in comparison.[95]

As the Allied forces advanced, new bases were formed, and the old ones in Australia were closed. Base Sections 5 and 6 were closed in January 1943, and Base Section 4 in June 1944. The remaining four became bases, and a Base Section was formed in Brisbane to control them. Bases 1 and 3 were closed in December 1944, leaving only Bases 2 and 7.[85] These were deactivated in June 1945 and their functions absorbed by the Australia Base Section, as the Base Section had been renamed in February 1945. In New Guinea, Base D was closed in July 1945, and Bases A, B and E in September, leaving Bases F, G and H.[96] Meanwhile, a series of bases were opened in the Philippines: Base K on Leyte, Base M on Luzon, Base R at Batangas, Base S on Cebu and base X at Manila. These came under the Luzon Base Section, which was redesignated the Philippine on 1 April 1945. [97] On 7 June 1945, USASOS became AFWESPAC, under the command of Lieutenant General Wilhelm D. Styer, and it absorbed USAFFE.[29]

Intelligence[edit]

In April 1942, Brigadier General Spencer Akin and his Australian counterpart at LHQ, Major General Colin Simpson, agreed to pool their resources and establish a combined intelligence organisation, known as the Central Bureau. The Australian, British, and US Armies, as well as the RAAF and the RAN all supplied personnel for this formation, which worked on codebreaking and decrypting Japanese message traffic. This Magicand Ultra intelligence was vitally important to operations in SWPA.[98]

To handle other forms of intelligence, Blamey and MacArthur created the Allied Intelligence Bureau (AIB). This included the Services Reconnaissance Department with its Z Special Unit that carried out special operations like Operation Jaywick; Secret Intelligence Australia; the Coastwatchers, who watched for Japanese aircraft and ships from observation posts behind Japanese lines; and the propaganda specialists of the Far Eastern Liaison Office (FELO). Two other important combined organisations, not part of AIB, were the Allied Translator and Interpreter Section (ATIS), which translated Japanese documents, and the Allied Geographical Section, which prepared maps and charts, and drafted appreciations of the terrain.[99]

Since quality tended to be more important than quantity in intelligence, this proved to be a fruitful field in which the minor Allies, Australia and the Netherlands, could play a key part. Good intelligence enabled the Allied forces to minimise the risk of failures and maximise the chances of success. Moreover, the organisation built up in Australia proved to be useful after the war as well. David Horner later wrote that "it may prove that present day intelligence cooperation has proved to be the most lasting and important legacy of Australia's experience of coalition warfare in the Second World War."[100]

Legacy[edit]

The Allied command structure in the South West Pacific Area faced the challenges of coalition warfare in several ways, with varying degrees of success. The benefits of the wartime alliances proved to be substantial, but required constant effort to maintain. For Australia and New Zealand, coalition warfare became the norm, and the experience in SWPA proved to be a formative and informative one, with many political and military lessons. Over the following decades, Australian, New Zealand and American forces would fight together again, in the Korean War, Vietnam War and the War on Terror.[101]

Footnotes[edit]

1. ^ "Southwest Pacific Area in American English became "South West Pacific Area" in Australian English. Due to the activities of Australian typists, the latter became more widely used.

Notes[edit]

1. ^ Hasluck 1970, p. 49.

2. ^ Morton 1962, pp. 240–242.

3. ^ Morton 1993, pp. 145–148.

4. ^ Jump up to:a b c d Masterson 1949, pp. 4–5.

5. ^ Morton 1962, pp. 151–152.

6. ^ Casey 1953, pp. 19–20.

7. ^ Mayo 1991, pp. 40.

8. ^ Leighton & Coakley 1995, p. 170.

9. ^ Mayo 1991, pp. 40–41.

10. ^ Jump up to:a b Morton 1962, pp. 242–245.

11. ^ Gwyer & Butler 1964, p. 437.

12. ^ Hasluck 1970, pp. 227–228.

13. ^ Morton 1962, p. 246.

14. ^ Morton 1962, pp. 244–246.

15. ^ Morton 1962, pp. 244–249.

16. ^ Hayes 1982, p. 765.

17. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e f g Milner 1957, p. 22.

18. ^ Jump up to:a b Hasluck 1970, p. 113.

19. ^ Horner 1982, p. 309.

20. ^ Hasluck 1970, p. 112.

21. ^ Hasluck 1970, p. 60.

22. ^ Jump up to:a b Hasluck 1970, p. 115.

23. ^ Morton 1962, pp. 264–268.

24. ^ Jump up to:a b Horner 1982, pp. 206–207.

25. ^ Jump up to:a b Milner 1957, p. 48.

26. ^ Horner 1982, p. 342.

27. ^ Horner 1982, p. 348.

28. ^ James 1975, p. 667.

29. ^ Jump up to:a b Casey 1953, p. 174.

30. ^ Jump up to:a b c d Casey 1953, p. 311.

31. ^ McCarthy 1959, pp. 24–26.

32. ^ Dexter 1961, p. 227.

33. ^ Long 1963, p. 19.

34. ^ Long 1963, p. 31.

35. ^ McCarthy 1959, p. 174.

36. ^ Long 1963, p. 593.

37. ^ Jump up to:a b Long 1963, pp. 24, 47.

38. ^ Long 1963, pp. 46–47.

39. ^ McCarthy 1959, pp. 74, 159.

40. ^ McCarthy 1959, p. 236.

41. ^ Jump up to:a b Dexter 1961, p. 221.

42. ^ Long 1963, pp. 594–595.

43. ^ Horner 1982, pp. 309–310.

44. ^ GHQ Operations Instructions No. 67, 9 September 1944, Australian War Memorial: Blamey Papers, 3DRL 6643 3/102

45. ^ Horner 1982, p. 207.

46. ^ Jump up to:a b Horner 1982, pp. 350–353.

47. ^ McAulay 1991, pp. 26–27.

48. ^ Griffith 1998, p. 63.

49. ^ Rogers 1990, pp. 276–277.

50. ^ Horner 1982, pp. 207, 353.

51. ^ Wolk 1987, p. 165.

52. ^ Wolk 1988, p. 92.

53. ^ Wolk 1987, pp. 168–169.

54. ^ Kenney 1949, p. 11.

55. ^ Barr 1997, p. 20.

56. ^ Kenney 1949, p. 100.

57. ^ Kenney 1949, p. 176.

58. ^ Kenney 1949, pp. 216–217.

59. ^ Rodman 2005, p. 77.

60. ^ Griffith 1998, pp. 174–175.

61. ^ Jump up to:a b Stephens 2001, pp. 168–170.

62. ^ Kenney 1949, pp. 537–538.

63. ^ Kenney 1949, p. 519.

64. ^ Gill 1957, p. 520.

65. ^ Morton 1962, p. 201.

66. ^ Gill 1957, pp. 520–521.

67. ^ Gill 1968, p. 4.

68. ^ Gill 1968, p. 34.

69. ^ Gill 1968, p. 113.

70. ^ Morton 1962, pp. 245—246.

71. ^ Gill 1968, p. 236.

72. ^ Wheeler 1994, pp. 346–349.

73. ^ Jump up to:a b c Gill 1968, p. 277.

74. ^ Morison 1950, p. 131.

75. ^ Horner 1982, pp. 364–366.

76. ^ Gill 1968, pp. 380, 441.

77. ^ Gill 1968, p. 512.

78. ^ Wheeler 1994, pp. 343–344.

79. ^ Gill 1968, pp. 494–496.

80. ^ Wheeler 1994, pp. 404–406.

81. ^ Casey 1953, pp. 250–251.

82. ^ Jump up to:a b Casey 1953, p. 37.

83. ^ Bykovsky & Larson 1957, p. 428.

84. ^ Casey 1953, pp. 66–67.

85. ^ Jump up to:a b Casey 1953, p. 120.

86. ^ Leighton & Coakley 1995, pp. 195–196.

87. ^ Masterson 1949, pp. vi–ix, 242.

88. ^ Leighton & Coakley 1995, pp. 390–392.

89. ^ Masterson 1949, pp. 317–318.

90. ^ Masterson 1949, pp. 319–318.

91. ^ Masterson 1949, pp. 321–324.

92. ^ Masterson 1949, p. 339.

93. ^ Masterson 1949, pp. Appendix 49, p. 1.

94. ^ Masterson 1949, pp. 368–380.

95. ^ Grover 1987, p. 5.

96. ^ Casey 1953, p. 184.

97. ^ Casey 1953, pp. 181–182.

98. ^ Horner 1982, pp. 226–230.

99. ^ Horner 1982, pp. 237–242.

100. ^ Horner 1982, p. 246.

101. ^ Horner 2005, pp. 123–124.

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Long, Gavin (1963). The Final Campaigns. Australia in the War of 1939–1945. Canberra: Australian War Memorial.

Masterson, Dr. James R. (1949). U. S. Army Transportation In The Southwest Pacific Area 1941–1947 (PDF). Washington: Transportation Unit, Historical Division, Special Staff, U. S. Army. Retrieved 24 April 2013.

Mayo, Lida (1991). The Ordnance Department: On Beachhead And Battlefront (PDF). United States Army In World War II — The Technical Services. Washington, DC: Center Of Military History, United States Army. LCCN 79014631. Retrieved 8 May 2013.

McCarthy, Dudley (1959). South-West Pacific Area – First Year. Australia in the War of 1939–1945. Canberra: Australian War Memorial.

McAulay, Lex (1991). Battle of the Bismarck Sea. New York: St Martins Press. ISBN 0-312-05820-9. OCLC 23082610.

Milner, Samuel (1957). Victory in Papua (PDF). Washington, D.C.: United States Army Center of Military History. LCCN 56-60004. OCLC 220484034. Retrieved 9 July 2012.

Morison, Samuel Eliot (1950). Breaking the Bismarcks Barrier: 22 July 1942 – 1 May 1944. History of United States Naval Operations in World War II. Boston: Little, Brown and Company. OCLC 10310299.

Morton, Louis (1993). The Fall Of The Philippines. United States Army In World War II—The War in the Pacific. Washington: Center Of Military History, United States Army. LCCN 53-63678. Retrieved 24 April 2013.

Morton, Louis (1962). Strategy and Command – The First Two Years(PDF). Washington, D.C.: United States Army Center of Military History. LCCN 61-60001. OCLC 63151391. Retrieved 9 July 2012.

Rodman, Matthew K. (2005). A War of Their Own: Bombers over the Southwest Pacific (PDF). Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama: Air University. ISBN 1-58566-135-X. OCLC 475083118. Retrieved 20 February 2009.

Rogers, Paul P. (1990). MacArthur and Sutherland: The Good Years. New York City: Praeger. ISBN 0-275-92918-3.

Stephens, Alan (2001). The Royal Australian Air Force: A History. London: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-555541-4.

Wheeler, Gerald E. (1994). Kinkaid of the Seventh Fleet: A Biography of Admiral Thomas C. Kinkaid, U.S. Navy. Washington, D.C.: Naval Historical Center. ISBN 0-945274-26-2. OCLC 31078997.

Wolk, Herman S. (September 1987). "The Other Founding Father"(PDF). Air Force Magazine. Retrieved 2 July 2012.

Wolk, Herman S. (1988). "George C. Kenney: MacArthur's Premier Airman". In Leary, William M (ed.). We Shall Return! MacArthur's Commanders and the Defeat of Japan, 1942–1945. Lexington, Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 978-0-8131-9105-8. OCLC 17483104.

Further reading[edit]

Dean, Peter (2018). MacArthur's Coalition: US and Australian Operations in the Southwest Pacific Area, 1942-1945. Lawrence. Kanass: University Press of Kansas. ISBN 978-0-7006-2605-2. OCLC 1012716132.

Categories:

Allied commands of World War II

South West Pacific theatre of World War II

Queensland in World War II

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This page was last edited on 13 February 2019, at 06:55 (UTC).

# data[].attributes.body
Under U.S. Army Forces in Australia (USAFIA) a series of bases had gradually been built in Australia, initially to support the US forces in the Philippines. Seven base sections were established in Australia to operate under USAFIA: Base Section 1 at Birdum, Northern Territory; Base Section 2 in Townsville; Base Section 3 in Brisbane; Base Section 4 in Melbourne; Base Section 5 in Adelaide; Base Section 6 in Perth; and Base Section 7 in Sydney.[81] On 20 July USAFIA became the United States Army Services of Supply, Southwest Pacific Area (USASOS SWPA), under the command of Brigadier General Richard J. Marshall, and Barnes returned to the United States.[82][25]

Organization for Administration and Supply, U.S. Army Forces, Southwest Pacific Area, July 1943

When Lieutenant General Krueger's Sixth United States Army headquarters arrived in Australia in February 1943, the administrative functions were taken from USASOS and given to a new headquarters, United States Army Forces in the Far East (USAFFE), under MacArthur's command. This had the same name as MacArthur's old headquarters in the Philippines, but its function was different. This left USASOS with logistical responsibilities only.[82] The new arrangement was awkward, and required considerable adjustment before it functioned properly. In September 1943, Marshall was replaced by Brigadier General James L. Frink.[83]

The New Guinea Advanced Base was formed in Port Moresby in August 1942, and sub bases were created at Milne Bay and Oro Bay. These became Advanced Sub Base A and Advanced Sub Base B respectively in April 1943. Advanced Sub Base C was created on Goodenough Island in April 1943, but was discontinued when the island was handed over to Sixth Army control in July. Meanwhile, Advanced Sub Base D was formed at Port Moresby in May. The sub bases became bases in August 1943. Advanced Base E was formed at Lae and Advanced Base F at Finschhafen in November 1943,[84] followed by Bases G and H at Hollandia and Biak respectively.[85]

With a worldwide shipping crisis[86] and SWPA being at the end of a very long supply line, as well as being a region without well developed transportation nets, regional logistics were almost entirely dependent on water transport.[87][88] No one fleet composed the assets available to the Commander in Chief, SWPA as the U. S. Navy, Royal Navy, Royal Australian Navy, Australian Army, Netherlands East Indies Navy were under his operational command while being maintained under their respective organizations.[89] Those assets were inadequate resulting in the creation of a large Army fleet unique to SWPA, the Permanent Local Fleet, under first USFIA, later USASOS and finally Army Forces, Western Pacific (AFWESPAC), starting with the retention of the USAT Meigs, Admiral Halstead and Coast Farmer from the convoy diverted to Brisbane in December 1941.[90]

That core was augmented by vessels fleeing the Japanese advance, particularly twenty-one Dutch vessels later known as the "KPM vessels" after the Dutch shipping line's name, Koninklijke Paketvaart-Maatschappij.[91]As of 28 April 1942 the Army fleet had grown to twenty-eight ships and by 24 January 1945 that fleet of large ships exceeded ninety with a peak of ninety-eight by 1 August 1945.[92] That number did not count a much larger fleet of small vessels, ranging from landing craft, barges and other floating equipment to seagoing vessels under 1,000 tons, including the Small Ships Section of requisitioned and locally constructed (2,712 craft) vessels manned largely by Australian civilian employees, 1,719 as of June 1945,[93] of the U.S. Army, and many such vessels and floating equipment delivered from the United States.[94] The permanent fleet of SWPA almost had as many vessels as the Army’s general fleet during some periods, though those vessels were often small, obsolete, in poor condition and under unorthodox management in comparison.[95]

As the Allied forces advanced, new bases were formed, and the old ones in Australia were closed. Base Sections 5 and 6 were closed in January 1943, and Base Section 4 in June 1944. The remaining four became bases, and a Base Section was formed in Brisbane to control them. Bases 1 and 3 were closed in December 1944, leaving only Bases 2 and 7.[85] These were deactivated in June 1945 and their functions absorbed by the Australia Base Section, as the Base Section had been renamed in February 1945. In New Guinea, Base D was closed in July 1945, and Bases A, B and E in September, leaving Bases F, G and H.[96] Meanwhile, a series of bases were opened in the Philippines: Base K on Leyte, Base M on Luzon, Base R at Batangas, Base S on Cebu and base X at Manila. These came under the Luzon Base Section, which was redesignated the Philippine on 1 April 1945. [97] On 7 June 1945, USASOS became AFWESPAC, under the command of Lieutenant General Wilhelm D. Styer, and it absorbed USAFFE.[29]

Intelligence[edit]

In April 1942, Brigadier General Spencer Akin and his Australian counterpart at LHQ, Major General Colin Simpson, agreed to pool their resources and establish a combined intelligence organisation, known as the Central Bureau. The Australian, British, and US Armies, as well as the RAAF and the RAN all supplied personnel for this formation, which worked on codebreaking and decrypting Japanese message traffic. This Magicand Ultra intelligence was vitally important to operations in SWPA.[98]

To handle other forms of intelligence, Blamey and MacArthur created the Allied Intelligence Bureau (AIB). This included the Services Reconnaissance Department with its Z Special Unit that carried out special operations like Operation Jaywick; Secret Intelligence Australia; the Coastwatchers, who watched for Japanese aircraft and ships from observation posts behind Japanese lines; and the propaganda specialists of the Far Eastern Liaison Office (FELO). Two other important combined organisations, not part of AIB, were the Allied Translator and Interpreter Section (ATIS), which translated Japanese documents, and the Allied Geographical Section, which prepared maps and charts, and drafted appreciations of the terrain.[99]

Since quality tended to be more important than quantity in intelligence, this proved to be a fruitful field in which the minor Allies, Australia and the Netherlands, could play a key part. Good intelligence enabled the Allied forces to minimise the risk of failures and maximise the chances of success. Moreover, the organisation built up in Australia proved to be useful after the war as well. David Horner later wrote that "it may prove that present day intelligence cooperation has proved to be the most lasting and important legacy of Australia's experience of coalition warfare in the Second World War."[100]

Legacy[edit]

The Allied command structure in the South West Pacific Area faced the challenges of coalition warfare in several ways, with varying degrees of success. The benefits of the wartime alliances proved to be substantial, but required constant effort to maintain. For Australia and New Zealand, coalition warfare became the norm, and the experience in SWPA proved to be a formative and informative one, with many political and military lessons. Over the following decades, Australian, New Zealand and American forces would fight together again, in the Korean War, Vietnam War and the War on Terror.[101]

Footnotes

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it is also known as the oceania

# data[].attributes.headline
The South West Pacific theatre, during World War II, was a major theatre of the war between the Allies and the Axis. It included the Philippines, the Dutch East Indies (except for Sumatra), Borneo, Australia and its mandate Territory of New Guinea (including the Bismarck Archipelago) and the western part of the Solomon Islands. This area was defined by the Allied powers' South West Pacific Area (SWPA) command.In the South West Pacific theatre, Japanese forces fought primarily against the forces of the United States and Australia. New Zealand, the Netherlands (mainly the Dutch East Indies), the Philippines, United Kingdom, and other Allied nations also contributed forces.The South Pacific became a major theatre of the war following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941. Initially, US warplans called for a counteroffensive across the Central Pacific, but this was disrupted by the loss of battleships at Pearl Harbor. During the First South Pacific Campaign, US forces sought to establish a defensive perimeter against additional Japanese attacks. This was followed by the Second South Pacific Campaign, which began with the Battle of Guadalcanal.

# data[].attributes.subject
The South West Pacific theatre, during World War II, was a major theatre of the war between the Allies and the Axis. It included the Philippines, the Dutch East Indies (except for Sumatra), Borneo, Australia and its mandate Territory of New Guinea (including the Bismarck Archipelago) and the western part of the Solomon Islands. This area was defined by the Allied powers' South West Pacific Area (SWPA) command.In the South West Pacific theatre, Japanese forces fought primarily against the forces of the United States and Australia. New Zealand, the Netherlands (mainly the Dutch East Indies), the Philippines, United Kingdom, and other Allied nations also contributed forces.The South Pacific became a major theatre of the war following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941. Initially, US warplans called for a counteroffensive across the Central Pacific, but this was disrupted by the loss of battleships at Pearl Harbor. During the First South Pacific Campaign, US forces sought to establish a defensive perimeter against additional Japanese attacks. This was followed by the Second South Pacific Campaign, which began with the Battle of Guadalcanal.

# data[].attributes.headline
The South West Pacific theatre, during World War II, was a major theatre of the war between the Allies and the Axis. It included the Philippines, the Dutch East Indies (except for Sumatra), Borneo, Australia and its mandate Territory of New Guinea (including the Bismarck Archipelago) and the western part of the Solomon Islands. This area was defined by the Allied powers' South West Pacific Area (SWPA) command.In the South West Pacific theatre, Japanese forces fought primarily against the forces of the United States and Australia. New Zealand, the Netherlands (mainly the Dutch East Indies), the Philippines, United Kingdom, and other Allied nations also contributed forces.The South Pacific became a major theatre of the war following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941. Initially, US warplans called for a counteroffensive across the Central Pacific, but this was disrupted by the loss of battleships at Pearl Harbor. During the First South Pacific Campaign, US forces sought to establish a defensive perimeter against additional Japanese attacks. This was followed by the Second South Pacific Campaign, which began with the Battle of Guadalcanal.

# data[].attributes.subject
The South West Pacific theatre, during World War II, was a major theatre of the war between the Allies and the Axis. It included the Philippines, the Dutch East Indies (except for Sumatra), Borneo, Australia and its mandate Territory of New Guinea (including the Bismarck Archipelago) and the western part of the Solomon Islands. This area was defined by the Allied powers' South West Pacific Area (SWPA) command.In the South West Pacific theatre, Japanese forces fought primarily against the forces of the United States and Australia. New Zealand, the Netherlands (mainly the Dutch East Indies), the Philippines, United Kingdom, and other Allied nations also contributed forces.The South Pacific became a major theatre of the war following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941. Initially, US warplans called for a counteroffensive across the Central Pacific, but this was disrupted by the loss of battleships at Pearl Harbor. During the First South Pacific Campaign, US forces sought to establish a defensive perimeter against additional Japanese attacks. This was followed by the Second South Pacific Campaign, which began with the Battle of Guadalcanal.

# data[].attributes.body
its also known as ocean

# data[].attributes.body
It is @#$%

# data[].attributes.body
I know that japan is part of the south west pacific

# data[].attributes.headline
The Pacific is the largest and deepest of the world's oceans. With an area of some 70,000,000 square miles (180,000,000 square kilometers), including neighboring seas, the Pacific has nearly half of the earth's ocean surface and makes up more than one third of its total surface. It is more than twice the size of the Atlantic Ocean, the world's second largest body of water. Because of its enormous area, the Pacific Ocean is often considered the earth's principal physical feature.The Pacific was given its name, which means "peaceful," by the Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan. Magellan, who sailed across the Pacific in the 1520's, found its waters especially calm. But he may have been luckier than he realized. The Pacific, although it can be peaceful, is also subject to destructive typhoons, or storms similar to hurricanes.

# data[].attributes.subject
The Pacific is the largest and deepest of the world's oceans. With an area of some 70,000,000 square miles (180,000,000 square kilometers), including neighboring seas, the Pacific has nearly half of the earth's ocean surface and makes up more than one third of its total surface. It is more than twice the size of the Atlantic Ocean, the world's second largest body of water. Because of its enormous area, the Pacific Ocean is often considered the earth's principal physical feature.The Pacific was given its name, which means "peaceful," by the Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan. Magellan, who sailed across the Pacific in the 1520's, found its waters especially calm. But he may have been luckier than he realized. The Pacific, although it can be peaceful, is also subject to destructive typhoons, or storms similar to hurricanes.

# data[].attributes.body
Samoa

# data[].attributes.body
South West Pacific Area (SWPA) was the name given to the Allied supreme military command in theSouth West Pacific Theatre of World War II. It was one of four major Allied commands in the PacificWar.

# data[].attributes.body
singapore is apart of the south west pacific.

# data[].attributes.body
I know thta sin

# data[].attributes.headline
what i know about the south West pacific 

# data[].attributes.subject
what i know about the south West pacific 

# data[].attributes.body
American Samoa

# data[].attributes.headline
The marine environment of the Southwest Pacific is considered one of the most biologically diverse in the world. 

# data[].attributes.subject
The marine environment of the Southwest Pacific is considered one of the most biologically diverse in the world. 