The Pacific Ocean: A Whole New View that Will Blow Your Mind!
Flying over the Pacific Ocean for hours without seeing solid ground is to experience the true scale of our aquatic planet. More than 70% of the Earth’s surface is covered by water, and no basin illustrates this better than the Pacific, still the largest ocean on Earth.
An immense ocean
The Pacific Ocean holds almost half of the world’s oceanic water. Its surface covers around 155 million km² and its average depth reaches 4,000 meters, although the Mariana Trench reaches 11,000 meters. Crossing it by plane is like traversing an endless ocean that separates entire continents.
A satellite perspective confirms this: seen from space, Earth becomes a sphere dominated by blue, with only the silhouettes of America and Australia hinting at the edges.
From Panthalassa to the present Pacific
230 million years ago, Panthalassa surrounded the supercontinent Pangaea. When the supercontinent broke apart, the Pacific Ocean emerged, shaped by the tectonic activity of massive plates.
The Pacific, formed from fragments of older oceans like Farallon and Izanagi, continues to be the dominant ocean for millions of years, despite the Atlantic growing each year and the Pacific slowly shrinking.
The engine of global climate
The influence of the Pacific Ocean goes beyond geography; it also shapes the Earth’s climate. Phenomena such as El Niño and La Niña emerge from its waters, capable of altering rainfall, causing droughts, and modifying temperatures on a global scale.
In 2024, British explorers described the intensity of its color: a bright and iridescent blue that contrasts with the dark green of the Atlantic. Oceanographer Lam called the Pacific “the most amazing oceanic basin of all,” a reminder that our planet, essentially, is a world of water.
