It may be called planet Earth but our world is a watery one. About 71 per cent of the planet is covered by water, with nearly all of it (96.5 per cent) found in the ocean.
The largest, and deepest, is the vast Pacific Ocean. But which is the smallest?
The answer depends slightly on whether you’re asking about oceans or seas. Oceans are larger while seas are often found inside oceans and usually partly border land.
There are five oceans – the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Southern and the Arctic Ocean, which is the smallest, shallowest, and coldest of them all – though they are all connected in one huge body of water (which is why people often refer to the one ocean).
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The Arctic Ocean is approximately 14 million km², compared to the enormous Pacific at about 162 million km². Surrounded by Alaska, Canada, Greenland, Norway and Russia, it is covered by ice for most of the year.
Though it would be too cold for many species to survive, lots of marine animals, including polar bears, narwhals and beluga whales, have adapted to these chilly conditions and call the Arctic Ocean home.
There are more than 50 seas. The smallest is the Sea of Marmara in Turkey, at about 7,052km².
Top image: 2010 satellite picture of the Sea of Marmara. Credit: NASA, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
