Sea and ocean are two of the most frequently used and interchangeable words (in writing and dialogue) which mean the same thing that is the earth’s mass of seawater. However, when strictly speaking, there is a difference between the two.
The Sea:
The sea, on the other hand, is a body of salt water that surrounds the earth around or on many sides, or is part of another oceans. For example, the Caspian Sea and the Dead Sea are large, salt marshes that surround the earth — with no natural habitat; Sargasso Sea is part of the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea straddles the Atlantic Ocean. The major seas comprises the Mediterranean, the Baltic, the Bering, the Black, the Caribbean, the Coral, the North, the Red and the Yellow. The largest seas are the seas of South China , the Caribbean , and the Mediterranean.
An Ocean:
Ocean is a large area of salt water covering three-quarters of the earth’s surface. Surrounded by continents, or equator, and other lines of thought. The seven main oceans of the earth are; Arctic, North Atlantic, South Atlantic, North Pacific, South Pacific, Indian and Antarctic Oceans. These seven main oceans include the “world ocean”.
Interconnection of Ocean and Sea:
Thus, the oceans are connected to the salt marshes (covering 71% of the earth’s surface) where boundaries are established by the continental land masses, or equator and seawater. The sea, on the other hand, tends to be smaller than the ocean (the partition of the sea) and is half salty water i.e.; surrounded by or on many (slightly closed) sides of the land and / or part of the sea.
Oceans cover about 71% of the earth’s surface. Oceans contain about 97% of the world’s water supply.
The Oceans of the world:
The oceans of the world are all connected. Until the year 2000, there were four known oceans: the Pacific, the Atlantic, India, and the Arctic. In the spring of 2000, the International Hydrographic Organization released the new seabed, the South Ocean (around Antarctica and extends to 60 degrees latitude).
The Seas of the world:
There are also many seas (small branches of the sea); seas are often partially closed to land. The largest oceans are the South China Sea, the Caribbean Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea.
Name | Area
sq. mi |
Average depth
ft. |
Pacific Ocean | 60,060,700 | 13,215 |
Atlantic Ocean | 29,637,900 | 12,880 |
Indian Ocean | 26,469,500 | 13,002 |
Southern Ocean1 | 7,848,300 | 13,100–16,400 |
Arctic Ocean | 5,427,000 | 3,953 |
Mediterranean Sea2 | 1,144,800 | 4,688 |
Caribbean Sea | 1,049,500 | 8,685 |
South China Sea | 895,400 | 5,419 |
Bering Sea | 884,900 | 5,075 |
Gulf of Mexico | 615,000 | 4,874 |
Okhotsk Sea | 613,800 | 2,749 |
East China Sea | 482,300 | 617 |
Hudson Bay | 475,800 | 420 |
Japan Sea | 389,100 | 4,429 |
Andaman Sea | 308,000 | 2,854 |
North Sea | 222,100 | 308 |
Red Sea | 169,100 | 1,611 |
Baltic Sea | 163,000 | 180 |