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Background:
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The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's five
oceans (after the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean, but larger
than the Southern Ocean and Arctic Ocean). Four critically
important access waterways are the Suez Canal (Egypt), Bab el
Mandeb (Djibouti-Yemen), Strait of Hormuz (Iran-Oman), and
Strait of Malacca (Indonesia-Malaysia). |
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Location:
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body of water
between Africa, the Southern Ocean, Asia, and Australia |
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Map references:
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Political
Map of the World |
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Area:
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total:
68.556 million sq km
note: includes Andaman Sea, Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal,
Flores Sea, Great Australian Bight, Gulf of Aden, Gulf of
Oman, Java Sea, Mozambique Channel, Persian Gulf, Red Sea,
Savu Sea, Strait of Malacca, Timor Sea, and other tributary
water bodies |
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Area - comparative:
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about 5.5 times
the size of the US |
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Coastline:
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66,526 km |
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Climate:
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northeast monsoon
(December to April), southwest monsoon (June to October);
tropical cyclones occur during May/June and October/November
in the northern Indian Ocean and January/February in the
southern Indian Ocean |
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Terrain:
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surface dominated
by counterclockwise gyre (broad, circular system of currents)
in the southern Indian Ocean; unique reversal of surface
currents in the northern Indian Ocean; low atmospheric
pressure over southwest Asia from hot, rising, summer air
results in the southwest monsoon and southwest-to-northeast
winds and currents, while high pressure over northern Asia
from cold, falling, winter air results in the northeast
monsoon and northeast-to-southwest winds and currents; ocean
floor is dominated by the Mid-Indian Ocean Ridge and
subdivided by the Southeast Indian Ocean Ridge, Southwest
Indian Ocean Ridge, and Ninetyeast Ridge |
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point:
Java Trench -7,258 m
highest point: sea level 0 m |
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Natural resources:
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oil and gas
fields, fish, shrimp, sand and gravel aggregates, placer
deposits, polymetallic nodules |
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Natural hazards:
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occasional
icebergs pose navigational hazard in southern reaches |
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Environment - current issues:
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endangered marine
species include the dugong, seals, turtles, and whales; oil
pollution in the Arabian Sea, Persian Gulf, and Red Sea |
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Geography - note:
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major chokepoints
include Bab el Mandeb, Strait of Hormuz, Strait of Malacca,
southern access to the Suez Canal, and the Lombok Strait |
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Economy - overview:
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The Indian Ocean
provides major sea routes connecting the Middle East, Africa,
and East Asia with Europe and the Americas. It carries a
particularly heavy traffic of petroleum and petroleum products
from the oilfields of the Persian Gulf and Indonesia. Its fish
are of great and growing importance to the bordering countries
for domestic consumption and export. Fishing fleets from
Russia, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan also exploit the Indian
Ocean, mainly for shrimp and tuna. Large reserves of
hydrocarbons are being tapped in the offshore areas of Saudi
Arabia, Iran, India, and western Australia. An estimated 40%
of the world's offshore oil production comes from the Indian
Ocean. Beach sands rich in heavy minerals and offshore placer
deposits are actively exploited by bordering countries,
particularly India, South Africa, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and
Thailand. |
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Ports and harbors:
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Chennai (Madras;
India), Colombo (Sri Lanka), Durban (South Africa), Jakarta
(Indonesia), Kolkata (Calcutta; India) Melbourne (Australia),
Mumbai (Bombay; India), Richards Bay (South Africa) |
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Disputes - international:
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some maritime
disputes (see littoral states) |
This page was last updated on 11 May, 2004
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