Important Trade in Indian Ocean :-
The Indian Ocean was opened to trade earlier than both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Not only are its waters fairly calm, but its powerful monsoons also enable easy sailing for ships traveling west early in the season. The Indian Ocean is vital to the trade industry, as it provides major sea routes that connect the Middle East, Africa, and East Asia with Europe and the Americas.
Approximately 40% of the world’s offshore oil production comes from the Indian Ocean, with an especially heavy traffic of petroleum and petroleum products coming from the oil fields of the Persian Gulf and Indonesia. The Indian Ocean provides its beaches with all kinds of valuable minerals. Countries like India, Pakistan, South Africa, Indonesia, Thailand, and Sri Lanka benefit from this. In addition, fishing fleets from bordering countries as well as Russia, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan also take advantage of the Indian Ocean, as fish are extremely important to both consumption and trade.
Important Facts of Indian Ocean :-
- Recently, scientists have found a “lost continent” whose remains are thought to exist in the depths of the Indian Ocean. Scientists are now calling this undiscovered land mass “Mauritia.”
- The Indian Ocean’s deepest point is the Sunda Deep, which is located in the Java Trench near the southern part of Java, Indonesia. It has a maximum depth of 25,344 ft.
- Due to the melting of polar caps, the Indian Ocean actually grows wider by about 20cm every year.
- About forty percent of world’s oil supply is sourced from the depths of the Indian Ocean.
- Indian Ocean water has the lowest oxygen content in the world. This can be attributed to the fast evaporation rate in the area.
- While the rest of world refer to it as the “Indian Ocean,” ancient Sanskrit texts have named this body of water as Ratnakara (“mine of gems”) while Hindi tradition refers to it as Hind Mahasagar.
- The Indian Ocean reaches and connects four continents (Asia, Australia, Africa, and Antarctica), 18 countries in Asia, 16 countries in Africa, and at least 57 island groups.
- The Ninety East Ridge underwater mountain range (which separates the east and west regions of the Indian Ocean) is named as such because it is located at the center of the Eastern Hemisphere, along with the 90th meridian.
- The world’s lowest and highest water salinity levels were both recorded in the Indian Ocean.
- When compared to other world oceans, the Indian Ocean is relatively closed. It is primarily landlocked by Asia to its north.
