Indian Ocean

The Indian Ocean is the ocean surrounded by Asia to the north, Australia and the Pacific Ocean to the east, the Southern Ocean to the south, and Africa and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. It is named for the river Indus and Ancient India on its north shore. The Bay of Bengal, the Arabian Sea, the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea are all parts of this ocean.

Earth's oceans (World Ocean)
Atlantic Ocean Arctic Ocean Indian Ocean Pacific Ocean Southern Ocean

The deepest point in the Indian Ocean is in the Java Trench near the Sunda Islands in the east, 7500 m (25,344 feet) deep. The average depth is 3,890 m (12,762 ft). The Indian Ocean is the third largest ocean, 28,350,000 square miles in size. The majority is in the southern hemisphere.

Indian Ocean Media

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  During summer, warm continental masses draw moist air from the Indian Ocean hence producing heavy rainfall. The process is reversed during winter, resulting in dry conditions.

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  Air pollution in South Asia spread over the Bay of Bengal and beyond.

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  Madagascar's Elephant bird, Mauritius's Dodo bird and ostrich (from left to right)

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  Coral reefs of the Maldives

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  Aldabra giant tortoise from the islands of the Aldabra Atoll in the Seychelles

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  According to the Coastal hypothesis, modern humans spread from Africa along the northern rim of the Indian Ocean.

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  The Austronesian maritime trade network was the first trade routes in the Indian Ocean.

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  Greco-Roman trade with ancient India according to the Periplus Maris Erythraei 1st century CE

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  The economically important Silk Road was blocked from Europe by the Ottoman Empire in c. 1453 with the fall of the Byzantine Empire. This spurred exploration, and a new sea route around Africa was found, triggering the Age of Discovery.

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  For most of the 16th century, the Portuguese dominated the Indian Ocean trade.

Other websites

• Maps of the indian Ocean
• Océan Indien in easy French
• NOAA In-situ Ocean Data Viewer Archived 2011-12-24 at the Wayback Machine Plot and download ocean observations
• The Indian Ocean in World History: Educational Website Interactive resource from the Sultan Qaboos Cultural Center
• The Regional Tuna Tagging Project-Indian Ocean with details of the importance of Tuna in the Indian Ocean.. Archived 2017-09-11 at the Wayback Machine
• Detailed maps of the Indian Ocean
• The Indian Ocean Trade: A Classroom Simulation Archived 2011-09-25 at the Wayback Machine
• CIA - The World Factbook, Oceans: Indian Ocean Archived 2014-05-09 at the Wayback Machine