Oceans and Continents of the World

The world is home to millions of species and of course to every human alive. It has seven continents, five oceans and about 200 countries.  Learn more...

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In this short film we travel around the world, learning about the continents and oceans that make up our planet.

Oceans and Continents Map

The Five Oceans of the World

The Five Oceans of the World

There are five oceans that cover just over 70% of our planet, and they are all connected together.  These are the oceans in size order, the largest first:

  1. Pacific Ocean
  2. Atlantic Ocean
  3. Indian Ocean
  4. Southern Ocean
  5. Arctic Ocean

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The Five Oceans Song

Newsround Oceans Fact File

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Do you know your Arctic from your Atlantic? Your Indian from your Pacific? If not then read on to find out more!

The Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the biggest ocean of the world and covers more than 30% of the Earth's surface.

The name 'Pacific' come from the Latin word 'pacificus' which means peaceful. Thus, Pacific Ocean means 'peaceful ocean'. However, the Pacific is not really calm and peaceful. The 'ring of fire' is located in the Pacific Ocean. There is a string of volcanoes in the Pacific basin which are still active and therefore many of the world's major earthquakes and volcanic eruptions happen in this region.

The lowest known point on earth is called Challenger Deep. It is located in the Pacific Ocean near Guam in the Philippine Sea at the end of the Mariana Trench. The depth recorded is 10,920 metres or 35,827 feet.

The Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic is the second biggest ocean in the world and is between the continents of America and Europe and Africa.

The Atlantic Ocean is about half the size of the Pacific Ocean and covers roughly 20% of the Earth's surface. However it is growing in size as it is spreading along the Mid-Atlantic Coasts.

Sharks, such as this Thresher Shark swimming in the gulf stream, are found in the waters of the Atlantic.

Did you know that the Mid-Atlantic Ridge is the longest mountain range on Earth? It spreads from Iceland to Antarctica beneath the Atlantic.

The Indian Ocean

The Indian Ocean is located between Africa and Austral-Asia.  The waters of the Indian Ocean provides the largest breeding grounds of the world for humpback whales.

Also found in the Indian ocean, a fish which was thought to be extinct was discovered there. The Coelacanth is found in the warm waters off the Comoro islands between Mozambique and Madagascar.

The Northern Indian Ocean also is the most important transport route for oil as it connects the oil-rich countries of the Middle East Each with Asia. Every day tankers are carrying a cargo of 17 million barrels of crude oil from the Persian Gulf on its waters.

Southern Ocean

The Southern Ocean is located around the South Pole across the Antarctic circle in the Southern Hemisphere off Antarctica.

The Southern Ocean is the home of Emperor Penguins and Wandering Albatrosses.  Icebergs will be encountered in the Southern Ocean during any season, but during May to October there are also strong winds which make crossing the ocean even more dangerous. 

Arctic Ocean

The Arctic Ocean is located around the North Pole across the Arctic circle.  There are many polar bears living on the Arctic ice.  The Arctic Ocean derives its name from the word 'arktos' which means 'bear' in Greek.

A jellyfish with the funny name 'Lion's Mane Jellyfish' can also be found in the Arctic Ocean's waters. It grows up to 2.4m or 8 feet across and lives on plankton and fishes.  Did you know that the Arctic Ocean's ice covers are shrinking by 8% every ten years?

Many Arctic ground features are named after early Arctic explorers, like Nansen Basin or Mendeleyev Ridge.

The Seven Continents of the World

The Seven Continents

  1. Asia
  2. Africa
  3. North America
  4. South America
  5. Antarctica
  6. Europe
  7. Australia and Oceania

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The Seven Continents

Antarctica

Antarctica is a desert - but it's not hot, it's really, really cold. It's called a desert because it hardly ever rains.

The South Pole is near the middle of Antarctica. That's the very bottom of the planet. In parts of Antarctica the winter temperature can be minus 60°C.

Nobody lives in Antarctica permanently. Some scientists stay there to work and carry out research. They may spend months indoors in the research stations. When the weather gets bad, they are cut-off from the rest of the world.

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BBC Science and Nature: Revealing the extraordinary wildlife stories and unseen wilderness of our seven unique continents.

Europe

This collection of Funky Facts from Go Jetters includes information about some of Europe’s significant landmarks.

Some are built masterpieces such as the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, and the canal system supporting the wonderful architecture of the car-free City of Venice, Italy; others are awe-inspiring natural wonders such as the the Matterhorn mountain with it's near-symmetrical pyramidal peak or the dramatic Mount Etna volcano on the island of Sicily, Italy and the natural light show of the Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights, visible from more northerly latitudes of the world such as Lapland in Finland.

Then there's the beautiful colour of the tulip fields of the Netherlands, that can be seen from space when in full bloom!

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BBC Science and Nature: Revealing the extraordinary wildlife stories and unseen wilderness of our seven unique continents.
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Africa

This collection of Facts from Go Jetters focuses on Africa, a vast continent spanning the Equator and containing more than fifty countries and many different climate zones and landscapes.

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https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000b9f8/seven-worlds-one-planet-series-1-3-south-america
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South America

This collection of Funky Facts from Go Jetters focuses on South America, a continent that has the world’s largest river by volume, the River Amazon; the longest mountain range, the Andes; the highest navigable lake, Lake Titicaca; and the world’s highest waterfall, Angel Falls in Venezuela.

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BBC Science and Nature: Revealing the extraordinary wildlife stories and unseen wilderness of our seven unique continents.
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North America

Huge cities with skyscrapers, crowds and man-made landscapes might be what comes to mind when you think of North America. 

This collection of Facts from Go Jetters focuses on North America, a continent found entirely within the northern hemisphere.

In these clips, we explore iconic landmarks within the United States (US), one of North America’s larger countries.

We are introduced to the iconic Statue of Liberty, built on Liberty Island in New York harbour as a symbol of welcome, the Everglades National Park in Florida with it's vast network of wetlands, and we find out some facts about this city’s famed green space known as Central Park.

We also visit Hollywood in California were movies have been made for over 100 years, the stunning waterfalls of Niagara Falls in Canada and an iconic landmark in the US carved out by the power of nature and the Colorado River: the magnificent Grand Canyon.

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BBC Science and Nature: Revealing the extraordinary wildlife stories and unseen wilderness of our seven unique continents.
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Asia

Asia is massive and covers around 30% of the Earth’s land area. No other continent has such varied landscapes, wildlife and weather conditions. From the scorching deserts in the Middle East to ice-covered parts of Russia where temperatures can drop below -60?C, Asia has it all.  

This collection of Facts from Go Jetters focuses on Asia, the world’s largest and most populous continent.

Asia is separated from the continent of Europe by a land border and edged by three oceans: the Indian Ocean to the south, the Pacific Ocean to the east and the Arctic Ocean to the north.

From the Great Wall of China in the east, to the ancient, carved stone city of Petra, Jordan in the west, the clips for this continent reveal a world of wonders.

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BBC Science and Nature: Revealing the extraordinary wildlife stories and unseen wilderness of our seven unique continents.
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Australia and Oceania

Oceania is a continent which is made up of Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and many other smaller islands. Oceania is home to the Great Barrier Reef, one of the natural wonders of the world, and home to lots of ocean wildlife.

This collection of Facts from Go Jetters focuses on Oceania, a continent made up of the large island country of Australia, often called a continent by itself, and other Pacific Islands.

This scattered continent is bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the north, east and south; the Southern Ocean to the south and the Indian Ocean to the west. Like all other continents, Oceania has wonders to explore on land and sea.

Australia is home to unusual, native animals like Kangaroos and Koalas, and to the Great Barrier Reef. This system of reefs is one of the largest eco-systems on Earth and can be seen from space.

External Link Icon BBC Bitesize - Let's explore Australia's Northern Territory
External Link Icon BBC Teach - Go Jetters The Continent of Oceania
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BBC Science and Nature: Revealing the extraordinary wildlife stories and unseen wilderness of our seven unique continents.
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