Nature Description:
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the world"s five oceans (followed by the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Southern Ocean, and Arctic Ocean). Strategically important access waterways include the La perouse, Tsugaru, Tsushima, Taiwan, Singapore, and Torres Straits. The decision by the Internatioanal Hydrographic Organization in the spring of 2000 to delimit a fifth ocean, the Southern Ocean, removed the portion of the Pacific Ocean south of 60 degrees south. The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. The ocean was first sighted by Europeans early in the 16th century, first by the Spanish explorer Vasco Nunez de Balboa who crossed the Isthmus of Panama in 1513.
The 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. The Pacific's greatest asset is its fish. The shoreline waters of the continents and the more temperate islands yield herring, salmon, sardines, snapper, swordfish, and tuna, as well as shellfish.
Water temperatures in the Pacific vary from freezing in the pleward areas to about 30 decrees C near the equator. Salinity also varies latitudinally. The water near the equator is less salty than that found in the mid_latitudes because of abundant equatorial precipitation throughout the year. Poleward of the temperate latitudes salinity is also low, because little evaporation of seawater takes place in these frigid areas.
Ports and terminals:
Bangkok (Thailand), Hong Kong (China), Kao-hsiung (Taiwan), Los Angeles (US), Manila (Philippines), Pusan (South Korea), San Francisco (US), Seattle (US), Shanghai (China), Singapore, Sydney (Australia), Vladivostok (Russia), Wellington (NZ), Yokohama (Japan).
