INDIAN Ocean: location and characteristics

Our planet is made up largely of oceans and seas, occupying a large part of the extension of the globe, and therefore being very important parts. One of these oceans is the Indian Ocean, and to get to know it better and in greater depth in this lesson from a Teacher we will talk about the Indian Ocean, its location and characteristics.

The Indian Ocean is the third ocean with the largest volume of water all over our planet, being only behind the oceans Peaceful and Atlantic. The ocean has a surface area of ​​20% of the entire terrestrial surface, so we can understand the enormous extension it has, having up to 68 million km2.

The Indian Ocean also has a large amount of volume possessing around 290 million km3, and therefore being 20% ​​of all the water we have on the planet.

Regarding its location, we must say that it extends from southern Africa to western Australia. To the north it borders the Asian continent, while to the west it collides with Africa, to the east with the island of Australia, and finally to the south it coincides with the so-called Southern Ocean.

Here we discover the names of the oceans of the world.

To continue this lesson on the Indian Ocean We must talk about its characteristics, since it helps us to know this enormous mass of water in depth, and thereby differentiate it from other oceans.

For all this, the main features of the Indian Ocean are the following:

• How much with a normal salinity in these bodies of water, counting on a percentage of salt between 3.2 and 3.7%, and therefore not having great differences with other oceans of the same type.
• The temperature of the Indian Ocean varies a lot depending on the area we are talking about, since the southern area has a surface temperature that It's around 22 degrees while in the southern zone we can talk about 28º.
• Like all oceans, this one also supplies and changes due to various river flows that pass through the area, the main ones being those of the Atlantic Ocean, the Red Sea and the Antarctic currents.
• Comparing it with others, it's a very young ocean, being the reason why we can still find cliffs and mountain ranges, which over the centuries will disappear until none of these exist.
• His middle depth is about 4,210 meters, although along its extension we can find great differences in depth, with some of the deepest regions in the world, but with others with little depth. Its shallowest point is near the Indonesian island of Java, more specifically in the southern part of it.
• Monsoons are very important for this mass of water, since they are the winds that manipulate the currents so that the water flows reach the ocean.
• The seas that make up this enormous ocean are the sea of andaman, he Arabic, he Red Sea, Savu Sea, of scams and the Gulf of Carpentaria.

In this other lesson we will discover the main seas of the world.

Finally we must talk about the main islands located in the Indian Ocean, since these make up great part of the relevance of this body of water, and it is necessary to know them to understand the culture of the region.

For all this, the indian ocean islands are the following:

• Indonesian Archipelago: One of the great island countries on our planet is Indonesia, and all the islands that make up this important region are part of the so-called Indian Ocean, being possibly the best known of all they.
• Maldiva's Islands: Some paradisiacal islands that throughout history have been colonies of powerful empires such as the English or the Dutch. They are currently a sovereign state made up of almost 1,200 islands.
• Maurice Island: Some islands with an English past that could only achieve independence in the last century. Like many other nations in the area, they survive thanks to the tourism of their visitors.
• Sri Lanka: A sovereign country very close to India and Pakistan, this island has always had a great relationship with these relations, and even many people think that it is part of India.
• Madagascar: An island belonging to the African continent, being just off its eastern coast. It is the largest African island and the fourth in the world, and its isolation has made it have a unique and different fauna from the rest of the African continent.
• Seychelles island: Some small islands very close to Madagascar, being considered as paradisiacal islands, and being regularly visited by thousands of people from all over the world. For all this they almost live only from the tourism they receive.