Pacific Ocean
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| The '''Pacific Ocean''' is the largest of the [[Earth]]'s [[ocean]]ic divisions. Its name is derived from the [[Latin]] name ''Mare Pacificum'', "peaceful sea", bestowed upon it by the [[Portugal|Portuguese]] explorer [[Ferdinand Magellan]]. It extends from the [[Arctic]] in the north to [[Antarctica]] in the south, bounded by [[Asia]] and [[Australia (continent)|Australia]] on the west and the [[Americas]] on the east. | The '''Pacific Ocean''' is the largest of the [[Earth]]'s [[ocean]]ic divisions. Its name is derived from the [[Latin]] name ''Mare Pacificum'', "peaceful sea", bestowed upon it by the [[Portugal|Portuguese]] explorer [[Ferdinand Magellan]]. It extends from the [[Arctic]] in the north to [[Antarctica]] in the south, bounded by [[Asia]] and [[Australia (continent)|Australia]] on the west and the [[Americas]] on the east. | ||
| - | ==History== | ||
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| - | Important human migrations occurred in the Pacific in prehistoric times, most notably those of the [[Polynesia]]ns from the Asian edge of the ocean to [[Tahiti]], [[Hawaii]], [[New Zealand]], [[Easter Island]] and possibly even [[Americas|America]]. | ||
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| - | The east side of the ocean was discovered by Spanish explorer [[Vasco Núñez de Balboa]] in the early 16th century. Balboa's expedition crossed the [[Isthmus of Panama]] and reached the Pacific Ocean in 1513. He named it ''Mar del Sur'' (''South Sea''). Later, Portuguese explorer [[Ferdinand Magellan]] sailed the Pacific on a Spanish expedition of world [[circumnavigation]] from 1519 to 1522. Magellan called the ocean ''Pacífico'' or "Pacific" ( that meant peaceful) because, after sailing through the stormy seas off [[Cape Horn]], he was surprised how calm the waters became. Although Magellan himself died in the [[Philippines]] in 1521, Spanish navigator [[Juan Sebastián Elcano]] led the expedition back to Spain across the [[Indian Ocean]] and round the [[Cape of Good Hope]], completing the first world circumnavigation in 1522. | ||
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| - | In 1564, five Spanish ships consisting of 379 explorers crossed the ocean from Mexico led by [[Miguel López de Legazpi]] and sailed to the [[Philippines]] and [[Mariana Islands]]. For the remainder of the 16th century, Spanish influence was paramount, with ships sailing from [[Mexico]] and [[Peru]] across the Pacific Ocean to the Philippines, via [[Guam]], and establishing the [[Spanish East Indies]]. The [[Manila galleon]]s operated for two and a half centuries linking [[Manila]] and [[Acapulco]], in one of the longest trade routes in history. Spanish expeditions also discovered [[Tuvalu]], the [[Marquesas Islands|Marquesas]], the [[Solomon Islands]] and [[New Guinea]] in the South Pacific. | ||
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| - | Later, in the quest for [[Terra Australis]], Spanish explorers in the 17th century discovered the [[Pitcairn Islands|Pitcairn]] and [[Vanuatu]] archipelagos, and sailed the [[Torres Strait]] between [[Australia]] and New Guinea, named after navigator [[Luís Vaz de Torres]]. Dutch explorers, sailing around southern Africa, also engaged in discovery and trade; [[Abel Tasman|Abel Janszoon Tasman]] discovered [[Tasmania]] and [[New Zealand]] in 1642. The 18th century marked the beginning of major exploration by the Russians in [[Alaska]] and the [[Aleutian Islands]]. Spain also sent [[Spanish expeditions to the Pacific Northwest|expeditions to the Pacific Northwest]] reaching [[Vancouver Island]] in southern Canada, and Alaska. The French explored and settled [[Polynesia]], and the British made three voyages with [[James Cook]] to the South Pacific and [[Australia]], [[Hawaii]], and the North American [[Pacific Northwest]]. In 1768 [[Pierre-Antoine Véron]], a young [[astronomer]] accompanying [[Louis Antoine de Bougainville]] on his voyage of exploration, established the width of the Pacific with precision for the first time in history. One of the earliest voyages of scientific exploration was organized by Spain in the [[Malaspina Expedition]] of 1789-1794. It sailed vast areas of the Pacific, from Cape Horn to Alaska, Guam and the Philippines, New Zealand, Australia and the South Pacific. | ||
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| - | Growing [[imperialism]] during the 19th century resulted in the occupation of much of Oceania by other European powers, and later, [[Japan]] and [[United States]]. Significant contributions to oceanographic knowledge were made by the voyages of [[HMS Beagle|HMS ''Beagle'']] in the 1830s, with [[Charles Darwin]] aboard; [[HMS Challenger|HMS ''Challenger'']] during the 1870s; the [[USS Tuscarora (1861)|USS ''Tuscarora'']] (1873–76); and the German ''Gazelle'' (1874–76). | ||
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| - | Although the United States gained control of [[Guam]] and the [[Philippines]] from [[Spain]] in 1898, Japan controlled most of the western Pacific by 1914 and occupied many other islands during [[World War II]]. However, by the end of that war, Japan was defeated and the [[United States Navy|U.S. Pacific Fleet]] was the virtual master of the ocean. Since the end of World War II, many former colonies in the Pacific have become independent [[Sovereign state|state]]s. | ||
| - | ==See also== | ||
| - | *[[Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation]] | ||
| - | *[[Pacific Alliance]] | ||
| - | *[[Pacific-Antarctic Ridge]] | ||
| - | *[[Pacific coast]] | ||
| - | *[[Pacific hurricane]] | ||
| - | *[[Pacific Time Zone]] | ||
| - | *[[Pacific War]] | ||
| - | *[[Seven Seas]] | ||
| - | *[[Typhoon]] | ||
| - | *[[War of the Pacific]] | ||
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Revision as of 13:07, 21 May 2024
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"Ever since reading Captain Wallis's and Captain Cook's accounts of their discoveries in the Pacific, I've dreamed of nothing but tropical islands." --Mutiny on the Bounty (1932) by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall |
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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 on the west and the Americas on the east.
Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Pacific Ocean" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.
