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Due to geographical, cultural, and historical reasons, it is widely accepted that there are five oceans: the Arctic, Atlantic, Indian, Pacific, and the Southern Ocean.
The origin of Earth's oceans is unknown. Oceans are thought to have formed in the Hadean eon and may have been the cause for the emergence of life. Plate tectonics, post-glacial rebound, and sea level rise continually change the coastline and structure of the world ocean. A global ocean has existed in one form or another on Earth for eons.
Ocean, continuous body of salt water held in enormous basins on Earth’s surface. There is one ‘world ocean,’ but researchers often separate it into the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Southern, and Arctic oceans. Covering nearly 71 percent of Earth’s surface, the oceans have an average depth of 3,688 metres (12,100 feet).
Historically, there are four named oceans: the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, and Arctic. However, most countries - including the United States - now recognize the Southern (Antarctic) as the fifth ocean.
Humans have gotten into the habit of separating the one big, continuous, mysterious body of water that covers the globe into sectors that we call oceans. Historically, there were just four oceans, but we now recognize five different oceans: the Pacific, Atlantic, Arctic, Indian and Southern Oceans.
Since the year 2000, the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) started recognizing 5 oceans: Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Arctic and Southern Ocean.
What are the 5 Oceans? The Pacific is the largest of these oceans, covering 63,784,077 sq miles (165,200,000 km²). It fills the area between the western coastline of the Americas, the eastern coastlines of Asia and Australia, and is capped to the North and South by the Arctic and Antarctic regions.
The oceans are home to millions of Earth's plants and animals—from tiny single-celled organisms to the gargantuan blue whale, the planet's largest living animal. Fish, octopuses, squid, eels ...
The world's five oceans contain 97 percent of the planet's water supply. Together, they combine to form the "world ocean."
Some 71 percent of Earth’s surface is covered by saltwater oceans, and the continents themselves possess lakes, rivers, and, in some cases, seas. The largest bodies of water are the oceans, but there is some debate over the actual number of distinct oceans.