Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. Its name is derived from the Latin name Mare Pacificum, "peaceful sea", bestowed upon it by the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan. It extends from the Arctic in the north to Antarctica in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.

At 169.2 million square kilometres (65.3 million square miles) in area, this largest division of the World Ocean covers about 46% of the Earth's water surface and about 32% of its total surface area, making it larger than all of the Earth's land area combined.

The equator subdivides it into the North Pacific Ocean and South Pacific Ocean, with two exceptions: the Galápagos and Gilbert Islands are deemed wholly within the South Pacific.

Bordering countries and island nations within the Pacific Ocean are:

Bordering countries and territories

American Samoa Australia Brunei Cambodia Canada Chile People's Republic of China Taiwan Colombia Cook Islands Costa Rica East Timor El Salvador Ecuador Fiji French Polynesia

Guam Guatemala Honduras Indonesia Japan Kiribati North Korea South Korea Malaysia Marshall Islands Mexico Federated States of Micronesia Nauru New Caledonia New Zealand}} Nicaragua

Niue Northern Mariana Islands Palau Panama Papua New Guinea Peru Philippines Pitcairn Islands Russia Samoa Singapore Solomon Islands Thailand Tokelau Tonga Tuvalu

United States Vanuatu Vietnam Wallis and Futuna