love to hear the waves smash the rocks…we love to watch and listen to the Ocean.

The Oceans of the world are vast…they are humongous!

Look at our earth, most of our earth is covered with water…in fact, over 72% of the earth

is covered with water called Oceans and Seas.

The Oceans are very salty, we call it saline; say it with me “say-leen” …saline means

salty and the Oceans of the earth are saline water and not fresh water and you cannot drink

Ocean water…but you CAN swim in the Ocean and you can open your eyes in it and it won't

burn your eyes!

And you CAN SCUBA dive in the Ocean and explore the Ocean.

Let's explore the Oceans of the world together.

There are five major Oceans of the world, and although these Oceans are all connected,

they each have a different name.

They are; The Pacific Ocean…the Atlantic Ocean…the Indian Ocean…The Southern Ocean

(also called the Antarctic Ocean) …and the Arctic Ocean.

Let's learn a little about them in order of their size.

The largest Ocean is called the Pacific Ocean.

The Pacific Ocean is massive!

Beginning from the coasts of Asia and Australia, and reaching way over to North and South America;

and then up to the north where it meets the Arctic Ocean and wayyy down to the Southern

Ocean; the Pacific Ocean takes in a big big chunk of the earth.

You'll find the islands of Polynesia in the Pacific including Hawaii and Samoa and

Tonga and a thousand other islands scattered throughout the South Pacific.

At the bottom of the Pacific Ocean you'll find the deepest place on earth!

The Mariana Trench.

The Mariana Trench is a deep scar over fifteen hundred miles long cut into the crust of the

earth and at the bottom of the Mariana Trench, the deepest known point on earth named The

Challenger Deep!

It is over 36,000 feet deep!

If you dropped the highest mountain on earth; Mount Everest, into The Challenger Deep, it

would still be covered with over a mile of sea water!

That's deep baby!

The next largest Ocean is the Atlantic Ocean.

Although the Atlantic is number 2…it is gigantic!

Like the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic also reaches north to the Arctic Ocean and down

to the Southern Ocean; and borders North and South America.

And then it reaches far across over to…Europe and Africa!

The island of Puerto Rico is in the Atlantic Ocean.

The Atlantic Ocean kind of looks like an “S” as it follows the coasts of its borders and

it separates the “Old World” of Europe and Asia and Africa from the “New World”

of the Americas.

Over the thousands of years, many thousands of ships have crossed the Atlantic, and thousands

of ships have sunk in Atlantic.

The Titanic hit an iceberg in the Atlantic and sank!

Many ships still with valuable treasure are scattered all over the Atlantic Ocean waiting

to be found!

Ocean number three!

The Indian Ocean…the boundaries of the Indian Ocean are Africa, Southern Asia, Australia

and the Southern Ocean.

The Indian Ocean is the largest breeding ground for the Humpback Whale!

But it is also the source for a large percentage of oil pumping; oil spills are believed to

be a great threat to the health of the Indian Ocean and the life in the Ocean.

Let's consider then Southern Ocean…also known as the Antarctic Ocean which waters

encompasses the southern Continent of Antarctica and touches three Oceans of the world: The

Pacific, the Atlantic and the Indian Oceans.

The worlds largest penguin species; the Emperor Penguin, live on the ice of the Southern Ocean…did

I say ice?

YES!

ICE!

The Southern Ocean is cold!

It's the coldest Ocean because of the sheet of ice that covers Antarctica…and its cold

all the time!

This brings us to our last-named Ocean…It surrounds and covers the North Pole where

there is no land but only ice and Ocean water and this Ocean is named the Arctic Ocean.

The Arctic Ocean may be the smallest of our Oceans, but it is not small…it is very,

very large and during the warmer months some of the ice melts and becomes ocean water,

and during colder months the water freezes and becomes ice.

These are the five Oceans of the world.

As you look out over these waters of the Ocean you may think…I can't see anything out

over the water and I can't see under the surface…hmm there must be nothing there…and

you may think nothing is going on down there!

But the truth is…a lot IS going on in the Ocean.

There are volcanoes IN the Ocean!

Volcanoes spewing lava!

And LIFE...living things are in the Ocean!

Hundreds of thousands of species of animals and plants are in the Oceans of the world!

From the coldest waters of the Ocean to the warmest…plants and animals rely on healthy

and clean seawater to survive and thrive.

Many varieties of animals make the Oceans their home.

From the tiny krill to the largest animal on earth; the Blue Whale…they make their

home in the Oceans.

I don't think a Blue Whale would walk very easily on land...do you?

Strange and freaky looking animals like Octopus and Squid and the Nautilus and the Cuttlefish…these

amazing and intelligent creatures live in these waters as well.

Fish of every shape and size and color; and Sharks!

They are down there!

What do you think you'll find on the Ocean floor?

If you say; Gardens of spectacular coral reefs which grow very slowly and plants and sponges

that grow and provide protection for smaller critters…well, you would be right!

And deep…way deep down in the Ocean where light cannot penetrate you will find strange

creatures which provide their own bioluminescent light!

AMAZING!

Don't forget that mammals like Dolphins and Whales, Walrus, Seals and Sealions…they

all depend on the Ocean.

A vast variety of birds including Penguins and Albatross and the fascinating Pelican;

they also live on and around the Oceans of the world.

All these wonderful creatures big and small and many others require clean and healthy

waters of the Ocean to live…but the Oceans are in trouble!

These Oceans we've learned about are becoming more and more polluted with garbage!

Plastics and paper and garbage we carelessly throw away are making its way to the Ocean

and becoming huge floating islands of trash!

Wreaking havoc and causing problems for our animal friends down there!

Can anybody help protect the Oceans from being the dumping ground of the world?

Can you?

We must all do our part to protect these precious waters of the world.

Raise your hands if you're going to be friend of the Ocean and the billions of our living

friends in the Ocean.

I'm raising my hand right now.

Are you?