Geographical position of the Indian Ocean: description, features. Indian Ocean on the map

The school course of the geography program includes the study of the largest water areas - the oceans. This topic is quite interesting. Students gladly prepare reports and abstracts on it. This article will contain information that describes the geographical location of the Indian Ocean, its characteristics and features. So, let's begin our acquaintance.

Brief description of the Indian Ocean

On the scale and quantity of water reserves, the Indian Ocean rested comfortably in third place, losing to the Pacific and Atlantic. A significant part of it is located on the territory of the Southern Hemisphere of our planet, and its natural outskirts are:

• The southern part of Eurasia in the north.
• East coast of Africa in the west.
• North and north-west coast of Australia in the east.
• The northern part of Antarctica in the south.

In order to indicate the exact geographical position of the Indian Ocean, a map will be needed. It can also be used during the presentation. So, on the world map the water area has the following coordinates: 14 ° 05'33.68 "south latitude and 76 ° 18'38.01" east longitude.

According to one version, the ocean in question was first called Indian in the work of the Portuguese scientist S. Münster called "Cosmography", which was published in 1555.

Characteristic

The total area of the Indian Ocean , taking into account all the seas, included in its composition, is 76.174 million square meters. Km, the depth (average) is more than 3,7 thousand meters, and the maximum was recorded at over 7.7 thousand meters.

The geographical position of the Indian Ocean has its own characteristics. Due to its large size, it is located in several climatic zones. Also worth paying attention to the size of the water area. For example, the maximum width lies between the Linde Bay and the Toros Strait. The length from west to east is almost 12 thousand km. And if you look at the ocean from north to south, then the biggest indicator will be from Cape Ras Jaddi to Antarctica. This distance is 10.2 thousand km.

Features of the water area

Studying the peculiarities of the geographical position of the Indian Ocean, it is necessary to consider its boundaries. First, let's pay attention to the fact that the entire water area is in the eastern hemisphere. From the south-west side it borders the Atlantic Ocean. In order to see this place on the map, it is necessary to find 20 ° along the meridian in. Etc. The border with the Pacific Ocean is in the southeast. It passes along the 147 ° meridian to. Etc. The Indian Ocean is not reported with the Arctic Ocean. Its border to the north is the largest continent - Eurasia.

The structure of the coastline has a weak dissection. There are several large bays and 8 seas. Islands are relatively few. The largest are Sri Lanka, Seychelles, Curia-Muria, Madagascar, and others.

Bottom relief

Characterization of the geographical position of the Indian Ocean will not be complete unless we consider the features of the relief.

The Central Indian Ridge is an underwater formation that is located in the central part of the water area. Its length is about 2.3 thousand km. The width of the relief formation is within 800 km. The height of the ridge is more than 1 thousand meters. Some peaks protrude out of the water, forming volcanic islands.

The West Indian Range is located in the southwestern part of the ocean. There is increased seismic activity. The length of the ridge is about 4 thousand km. But in width it is less than the previous one about half.

The Arabian-Indian ridge is an underwater relief formation. It is located in the north-western part of the water area. Its length is slightly less than 4 thousand km, and its width is about 650 km. At the end point (Father Rodriguez) passes into the Central Indian Ridge.

The bottom of the Indian Ocean consists of sediments of the Cretaceous period. In some places, their thickness reaches 3 km. The deepest trough has a length of about 4,500 km in length, and its width varies from 10 to 50 km. It is called Javanese. The depth of the depression is 7,729 m (the largest indicator in the Indian Ocean).

Climatic features

One of the most important circumstances in the formation of climate is the geographical position of the Indian Ocean relative to the equator. It divides the water area into two parts (the largest is in the south). Naturally, such an arrangement affects the temperature fluctuation and the amount of precipitation. The highest temperatures were recorded in the water areas of the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf. Here the average is a mark of +35 ° C. And at the southern point, the temperature can drop to -16 ° C in winter and -4 ° C in summer.

The northern part of the ocean is in a hot climatic zone, due to which its waters are one of the warmest in the World Ocean. Here, it is mainly influenced by the Asian continent. Due to the current situation in the northern part, there are only two seasons - a sultry rainy summer and a cloudless cloudless winter. As for the equatorial belt, in this part of the water area the climate practically does not change throughout the year.

Given the geographical position of the Indian Ocean, it is worth noting that its largest part is under the influence of air currents. From this we can conclude: in the main the climate is formed due to monsoons. In the summer period, low pressure areas are established above the land, and high pressure areas above the ocean. During this season, the wet monsoon has a direction from west to east. In winter, the situation is changing, and then begins to dominate the arid monsoon, which comes from the east and advances to the west.

In the southern part of the water area, the climate is more severe, since it lies in the subarctic belt. Here, the proximity to Antarctica influences the ocean. Near the coast of this continent, the average temperature is fixed at -1.5 ° C, and the limit of the buoyancy of the ice reaches 60 ° parallel.

Let's sum up the results

The geographical position of the Indian Ocean is a very important issue, which deserves special attention. Because of its large size, this water area has many features. On the coastline in a huge number of cliffs, estuaries, atolls, coral reefs. Also worth noting and such islands as Madagascar, Socotra, Maldives. They are sites of ancient continents. And the Andaman, Nikobarsky descended from the volcanoes that rose to the surface.

After studying the proposed material, each student will be able to present a cognitive and interesting presentation.