General information: According to best-medical-schools, the Indian Ocean is the third largest ocean in the world (after the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, but larger than the Southern and Arctic Oceans). The four most important sea passages are the Suez Canal (Egypt), the Bab el-Mandeb Strait (Djibouti-Yemen), the Strait of Hormuz (Iran-Oman) and the Strait of Malacca (Indonesia-Malaysia). In the spring of 2000, the International Hydrographic Organization established the boundaries of the fifth world ocean, which included part of the Indian Ocean south of 60 ° S. sh. Geography
Geography
Location: body of water between Africa, the Southern Ocean, Asia and Australia.
Geographical coordinates: 20° 00′ S. latitude, 80° 00′ E
Reference map: Area
: total: 68.556 million km2; note: includes Andaman Sea, Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal, Great Australian Gulf, Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Oman, Mozambique Channel, Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Malacca Strait and other bodies of water.
Comparative area: about 5.5 times the size of the US.
Land borders:
Coastline: 66,526 km.
Maritime claims:
Climate: northeast monsoons (December to April), southwest monsoons (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.
Relief: the ocean surface is dominated by broad circular, counterclockwise currents in the southern Indian Ocean; the unique reverse direction of surface currents in the northern Indian Ocean; low atmospheric pressure over Southwest Asia due to warm rising summer air currents results in southwest monsoons and southwest–northeast currents, while high pressure over northern Asia due to cold downdraughts in winter air currents leads to the emergence of northeast monsoons and currents directed from the northeast to the southwest; the ocean floor is dominated by the Central Indian Ridge and the Southwest Indian Ridge, the Southeast Indian Ridge, and the 90°E Ridge are located.
Maximum and minimum heights: lowest point: Yavan depression -7,258 m; highest point: sea level 0 m.
Natural resources: oil and gas reserves, fish, shrimp, sand and gravel deposits, gold sand deposits, polymetallic ore deposits on the ocean floor.
Land Use:
Irrigated Land:
Natural Hazards:
Environmental Issues: Endangered Marine Animals including Dugongs, Seals, Turtles and Whales; oil pollution of the Arabian Sea, the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea.
International agreements on environmental protection:
Note to the section “Geography”: the areas of the most intensive shipping are the Bab el-Mandeb, the Strait of Hormuz, the Strait of Malacca, the southern entrance to the Suez Canal and drinking Lombok. Economy
Economics
Economy overview: The main sea routes pass through the Indian Ocean, connecting the Middle East, Africa and East Asia with Europe and America. It accounts for particularly intensive transportation of oil and oil products from the oil fields of the Persian Gulf countries and Indonesia. Fish are of great and increasing importance for riparian countries in terms of domestic consumption and exports. Fishing fleets from Russia, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan also operate in the Indian Ocean, mainly catching shrimp and tuna. Large reserves of hydrocarbons are produced offshore in Saudi Arabia, Iran, India and Western Australia. About 40% of the world’s offshore oil production is carried out in the Indian Ocean. Coastal sand, rich in heavy minerals, and gold placers on the shelf are actively exploited by coastal countries, especially India, South Africa, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand.
