HowStuffWorks Geography & Maps Guide  Tags: geography maps world_features africa asia europe artic anartica australia oceania oceans south_america north_america united_states usa canada mexico middle_east  

Early explorers drove flags into the ground to claim territories. But no one bothered to float a flag in the oceans. For the most part, we peaceably shared the oceans until we realized what valuable goods could be found in their dark and murky depths.

Atlantic Ocean, the world's second largest body of water. Its area, including all connecting seas and gulfs, is about 33,420,000 square miles (86,557,000 km2), almost 24 per cent of the world's oceanic area.

An ocean is a continuous body of saltwater that covers about 70 per cent of the earth's surface.

The Pacific Ocean is the world's largest body of water. It lies between North and South America on the east, Asia and Australia on the west, and Antarctica on the south.

The Indian Ocean is an ocean lying south of Asia, west of Australia, north of Antarctica, and east of Africa.