The Indian Ocean is one of the third largest oceans in the world. This ocean is 20% of the water on the surface of the earth. To the north of this ocean is the Indian subcontinent. East Africa sits at the west side of the Indian Ocean. The Indian Ocean is bordered by Indochina on the east and by Australia on the south. This ocean is called the Indian ocean as it gets it’s name from India. Three crustal plates converge in the ocean to form a point called the Rodrigues Triple Point. The depth of this ocean is 3,890 meters and that is the average. The deepest point is 7258 meters deep.
The Indian Ocean is known to be the warmest ocean in the world because it is affected by the monsoon climate of the equator. Storms in the Indian ocean are severe causing cyclones to strike land areas around it. Life in this ocean is very limited due to it’s warm waters. This ocean is also called Ratnakara. The total area of the Indian Ocean is 73.6 million sq km. It is larger than the Arctic Ocean. The Indian Ocean has a coastline of about 66,526 km.
The Indian Ocean is rich in natural resources and they are oil fields, gas fields, fish, shrimp, sand and gravel. Some endangered species in the Indian Ocean are dugong, seals, turtles, and whales. This is due to the oil pollution in the Arabian Sea, Persian Gulf, and the Red Sea. The Indian Ocean provides major sea routes. These sea routes connect the Middle East, Africa, and East Asia to Europe and the Americas. The beach sands of the Indian Ocean are very rich in heavy mineral deposits.
Studies are being conducted today on this ocean by scientists. The ocean continues to get warmer and have less rainfall. This is due to the effects of the climate change. As the ocean warms up, scientists predict prolonged drought. This ocean is about 5.5 times larger than the United States. This ocean has 5 major chokepoints called Bab el Mandeb, Strait of Hormuz, Strait of Malacca, southern access to the Suez Canal, and the Lombok Strait. The geographic coordinates of this ocean are 20 00 S and 80 00 E. In the southern part of the Indian Ocean, there are icebergs that pose serious navigational hazards.
Ref: http://www.worldmapmaker.com
