The largest gulf of the Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest pond in the world. Its area is estimated at 179 million square meters. Km. This is 30 square kilometers more than the entire terrestrial land. The maximum width of the basin is about 17.2 thousand km, and the length is 15.5 thousand km. The water area of the ocean extends from the shores of the American continent to Australia itself. The pool includes dozens of large seas and bays.

How the Pacific was formed

The water area of the present basin began to emerge in the Mesozoic era. The first stage was the disintegration of Pangea's continent into Laurasia and Gondwana. As a result, the Pantalassa reservoir began to decrease. The seas and bays of the Pacific began to form between the break of Laurasia and Gondwana. In the Jurassic period, several tectonic plates formed beneath the reservoir . At the end of the chalky era, the Arctic continent began to split. At the same time the Australian plate took the course to the equator, and the Pacific plate - to the west. In the Miocene, the active tectonic movement of the seams ceased.

Today, the displacement of plates is minimal, but it continues. The motion is carried out along the axis of the mid-rift submarine zones. Because of this, the seas and gulfs of the Pacific are declining or expanding. Displacement of the largest plates occurs at a speed of up to 10 cm / year. This mainly applies to the Australian and Eurasian plates. The smaller plates can reach a displacement speed of up to 12-14 cm / year. The slowest - up to 3 cm per year. Due to this continuous movement, the largest bays of the Pacific Ocean were formed. In recent years, the water area of the basin has changed by several meters.

Location of the Pacific

The water area of the reservoir is divided into two parts: southern and northern. The border of the regions is the equator. The largest bays of the Pacific Ocean are located in the northern part, like the largest seas and straits. However, many specialists consider this division in the field to be inaccurate, since it does not take into account the direction of the current. Therefore, there is an alternative classification of areas of the water area to the southern, central and northern. The largest seas, bays, straits of the Pacific Ocean are in close proximity to the American mainland. This primarily applies to countries such as the United States, Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador, Ecuador, Nicaragua, etc. In the southern area of the water area, there are many small seas between the islands: Tasmanovo, Arafura, Coral, Flores, Javan and others. These are adjacent to the bays and straits of the Pacific Ocean, such as Karpentaria, Siamese, Bakbo, Makasarsky.

A special place in the northern part of the basin is occupied by the Sulu Sea. It is located within the Philippine archipelago. It includes about a dozen small coves and bays. Near Asia the most significant seas are the Japanese, Yellow, Chinese, Okhotsk.

Alaska Bay

The boundary of the basin is the coastline from the Alexander archipelago to the Alaska peninsula. This is the largest gulf of the Pacific Ocean. Its depth in places exceeds the mark of 5,5 thousand meters. The main ports are Prince Rupert and Seward. The coastal boundary of the water area is uneven, rugged. It is represented not only by azure sands, but also by high mountains, forests, waterfalls and even glaciers, like Hubbard. The bay includes many estuaries and coves.

To date, the Alaskan Sea is considered to be the main source of major storms moving to the sides of the entire American coast, including the states of Oregon and Washington. In addition, the bay is enriched with natural hydrocarbon. Seasonal rains in the water area do not stop even for a week. Some islands of the basin are classified as a national reserve.

Panamanian

It is located off the coast of Central America. It borders with Panama on the isthmus of 140 km. Its minimum width is about 185 km, and the maximum reaches 250. The deepest point of the basin is a basin of 100 m. This gulf of the Pacific Ocean in the total area reaches 2,400 sq. Km. Km. The largest bays are Parita and San Miguel. The straits here are semi-diurnal, and their average height is 6.4 meters. In the east of the water area are the famous Pearl Islands.

In the northern part of the gulf the Panama Canal originates. At the entrance to it is the largest port of the Balboa basin. The channel itself unites the Caribbean Sea, the Panama Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. Also, the Tuira River flows into the water area.

The largest bays are: California

This pool is also known as the Sea of Cortez. This gulf of the Pacific separates the Mexican coast from the peninsula of California. The Sea of Cortez has one of the oldest water areas. Its age is 5.3 million years. Thanks to the bay, the Colorado River received a direct exit to the ocean. The area of the pool is 177 thousand square meters. Km. The deepest point reaches 3,400 meters, and the average mark is 820 meters. Brody near the bay is uneven. To date, the California water area is considered the deepest in the Pacific Ocean. The maximum point is in the estuary near the town of Yuma.

The largest islands of the Gulf are Tiburon and Angel de la Guarda. From small ports it is possible to allocate Isla-Partida and Espirito-Santo.

Gulf of Fonseca

Washes the shores of Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua. This is the easternmost bay of the Pacific Ocean. It was opened in the beginning of the 16th century by the Spaniards and named after the archbishop named Juan Fonseca. The area of the water area is about 3.2 thousand square meters. Km. The width of the basin is within 35 km, and the length is up to 74 km. It should be noted that this is the shallowest gulf in the Pacific (peak - 27 meters). In Fonseca fall semidiurnal straits, the height of which varies from 2 to 4.5 m. The length of the coastline is 261 km. Most of it is in Honduras (70%). The remaining percentage is shared by Nicaragua and El Salvador.

The largest islands of the basin are El Tigre, Meanguera, Sacate Grande and Conchaguita. The water area of Fonseca is located in a seismically active zone, therefore, earthquakes and insignificant tsunamis occur regularly within its boundaries. At the beginning of the bay there are two active volcanoes of Kosiguin and Konchagua.

It is interesting that Honduras and El Salvador fought for one time in Fonseca alone. A compromise was reached only in 1992.