Depth of the Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is considered the third largest ocean in the world, as it constitutes approximately 20% of the total area of the world’s oceans, with an area of 28360000 square miles, and its average depth is approximately 3960 meters, and its deepest point is located in the Sunda Deep region in the Java Trench that follows the coast. In the southern part of the Indonesian island of Java, the depth of this point is approximately 7450 metres.
Countries bordering the Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is bordered to the north by India, Bangladesh, Iran, and Pakistan, to the east by the Malay Peninsula, the Indonesian Sunda Islands, and Australia, to the south by Antarctica, and to the west by the Arabian Peninsula and Africa. It is also connected to the Atlantic Ocean and Africa to the southwest. Its waters mix with the waters of the Pacific Ocean from the east and southeast, and it consists of several islands, the most important of which are: Madagascar Island, which is the fourth largest island in the world, La Reunion Island, the Comoros, the Maldives, the islands of Sri Lanka, Mauritius, the Seychelles, and the Indonesian archipelago.
The seas surrounding the Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean includes many seas, the most important of which are: the Andaman Sea, the Bay of Bengal, the Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Aden, the Gulf of Oman, the Arabian Gulf, the Red Sea, the Timor Sea, the Java Sea, the Mozambique Channel, and many others. The Indian Ocean is considered to have a unique strategic location. Because of the natural resources it possesses, in addition to its possession of many international shipping routes, examples of which include: the Strait of Hormuz, the Strait of Malacca, the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the Sunda Strait, and Lombok.
Read also:What was the Red Sea called in the past?How was the Indian Ocean formed?
The origin of the formation of the Indian Ocean is due to the disintegration of southern Gondwana, which began its disintegration 180 million years ago, due to its movement towards the northeast of the Indian subcontinent, where it began to collide with Eurasia 50 million years ago, and the movement of the African continent to the west, in addition to the separation of Australia from Antarctica before 53 million years ago, meaning that about 36 million years ago the Indian Ocean was formed in its present form, and its age is only less than 80 million years.
Read also:The most beautiful beaches of Egypt
