|
Sponsored Links
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering about 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by Asia (including the Indian subcontinent, after which it is named); on the west by Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and Australia; and on the south by the Southern Ocean (or, traditionally, by Antarctica). One component of the all-encompassing World Ocean, the Indian Ocean is delineated from the Atlantic Ocean by the 20° east meridian running south from Cape Agulhas,[1] and from the Pacific by the 147° east meridian. The northernmost extent of the Indian Ocean is approximately 30° north latitude in the Persian Gulf and, thus, has asymmetric ocean circulation. This ocean is nearly 10,000&_160;kilometres (6,200&_160;mi) wide at the southern tips of Africa and Australia; its area is 73,556,000&_160;square&_160;kilometres (32.1&_160;mi), including the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf. The ocean's volume is estimated to be 292,131,000&_160;cubic&_160;kilometers (70,086,000&_160;mi³). Small islands dot the continental rims. Island nations within the ocean are Madagascar (formerly Malagasy Republic), the world's fourth largest island; Comoros; Seychelles; Maldives; Mauritius; and Sri Lanka. Indonesia borders it on the east. The ocean's importance as a transit route between Asia and Africa has made it a scene of conflict. Because of its size, however, no nation had successfully dominated most of it until the early 1800s when the United Kingdom controlled much of the surrounding land. After the decline of the British Empire, the ocean has been dominated by India and Australia. The African, Indian, and Antarctic crustal plates converge in the Indian Ocean. Their junctures are marked by branches of the Mid-Oceanic Ridge forming an inverted Y, with the stem running south from the edge of the continental shelf near Mumbai, India. The eastern, western, and southern basins thus formed are subdivided into smaller basins by ridges. The ocean's continental shelves are narrow, averaging 200&_160;kilometres (125 mi) in width. An exception is found off Australia's western coast, where the shelf width exceeds 1,000&_160;kilometres (600 mi). The average depth of the ocean is 3,890&_160;metres (12,760 ft). Its deepest point, is in the Diamantina Deep close to the coast of south west Western Australia. North of 50° south latitude, 86% of the main basin is covered by pelagic sediments, of which more than half is globigerina ooze. The remaining 14% is layered with terrigenous sediments. Glacial outwash dominates the extreme southern latitudes. A spring 2000 decision by the International Hydrographic Organisation delimited a fifth world ocean, stripping the southern portions of the Indian Ocean. The new ocean extends from the coast of Antarctica north to 60° south latitude which coincides with the Antarctic Treaty Limit. The Indian Ocean remains the third-largest of the world's five oceans.
|
Indian Ocean Subcategories
Indian Ocean Articles
|
|
