Indian Ocean

Area | 68.556 million sq km
Coastline | 66,526 km
Lowest Point | -7,258 m (Java Trench)

The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceans, after the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean. It lies between Africa and Australia and south of Arabia, India and Indonesia. Some geographers extend the Indian Ocean all the way south to Antarctica, although in recent years, an increasing number of geographers define all ocean south of 60° S as part of the Southern Ocean.

It is the warmest ocean in the world, and some of the warmest spots are just to the west of Australia. [1] Moisture from the Indian Ocean brings water into the weather system in southern Australia. North of the equator, monsoons are prominent in the Indian Ocean. Monsoons are prevailing winds that last for several months out of the year. They strongly affect nearby countries. An example is Bangladesh, which faces extreme flooding every year.

Countries and territories located within the Indian Ocean are Madagascar, Seychelles, Comoros, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Mauritius, Reunion, and the British Indian Ocean Territory.

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Oceans

Arctic Ocean • Atlantic Ocean • Indian Ocean • Pacific Ocean • Southern Ocean