Geographical Position of the Indian Ocean

The Indian Ocean lies in the southern hemisphere. It washes Africa, Eurasia, Australia and Antarctica. It is crossed by the equator in the north.

The coastlines of the Indian Ocean are unbroken in the north. There are some seas and gulfs: the Red sea, the Arabian sea, the bay of Bengal, the Persian gulf. Big islands in this ocean are not numerous: the island of Madagascar, Shri -Lanka. On the border with the Pacific Ocean there are the Greater Sundo islands.

Average depth of the Indian Ocean is 3.700m. The deepest place is near the island Java. It is 7.450m. On the bottom of the ocean there are mountain ranges, plains and depressions.

The climate of the ocean is different. In the north it is warm. The trade winds blow here. In the south the ocean comes close to Antarctica. The coldest places are situated here.

Water masses are connected with the climate. In the north water is very warm +30*C. The Indian Ocean is saltier than the other oceans. The saltiness of the water in the Red sea is very high. In the south cold water masses are in the ocean. The Indian Ocean is rich in living organisms. A lot of fish and different kinds of seaweed can be finding in the tropical and equatorial climatic belts. The whales and seals live near Antarctica.

There are some currents in the Indian Ocean. The warm currents are: the Monsoon current and the South Trade Wind current. The Cold Western Winds current is one of the strongest in the world.

The continents influence on the ocean. In the north-western part of the Indian Ocean there are little rains and the dry tropical air masses blow to the ocean. The water is salty here. In the north- eastern part there are many rains and great rivers carry a lot of water to the ocean.

Activity of people is connected with the peculiarities of the Indian Ocean. The ocean is rich in minerals. There are many deposits of oil and gas in the Persian Gulf. The ocean is not used for fishing.

The Arctic Ocean