Maps
A Visual Guide to the World’s Largest Bodies of Water
Did you know that about 71% of Earth’s surface is covered with water? Between the large salt water oceans and long fresh water rivers, water makes up a significant part of our planet. Some particular bodies of water like the Pacific Ocean make up the majority of water on Earth. This visualization from TowerPaddleBoards.com illustrated 50 of the largest bodies of water on Earth.
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The graphic depicts the Earth’s oceans, 15 largest seas, 15 largest lakes, and 15 largest river systems in an interesting way. It illustrated the outlines of each body of water and includes a photograph of the water system within the boundaries. The visualizations of the river systems also include the streams connected to the systems.
These are the 10 largest bodies of water in the world:
- Pacific Ocean: 60 million square miles
- Atlantic Ocean: 41 million square miles
- Indian Ocean: 27.2 million square miles
- Southern Ocean: 7.8 million square miles
- Arctic Ocean: 5.4 million square miles
- Philippine Sea: 2.1 million square miles
- Coral Sea: 1.8 million square miles
- Arabian Sea: 1.4 million square miles
- South China Sea: 1.3 million square miles
- Weddell Sea: 1 million square miles
The Pacific Ocean makes up about 46% of the water surface on Earth and 32% of the planet’s total surface. It’s larger than all of the land area on Earth combined! It is also home to the Mariana Trench, the deepest oceanic trench on Earth with a maximum known depth of 36,037 feet.