Physical Description of...the OCEAN
Michaela, Ecologist



The Ocean covers approximately 70.1% of the world. So, naturally, there are a lot of things about the ocean to describe. It is a vast place full of interesting plants, interesting creatures, and some things that are just plain weird. But whether they are fish or plant, friend or foe, they all have a place in the ocean. Here are some descriptions of those places and the things surrounding them.

The ocean is 3.4% salt, which makes the other 96.6% water. Have you put Epsom salt in your bathwater? Most of this salt comes from either the ocean or the Dead Sea.

The ocean’s water is the basis of life for many organisms, Fish, plants, and mammals alike. These organisms range from seaweed to sharks to coral, but all are important.

The average depth is about 12,000 feet deep, however, its deepest point is 36,198 feet deep. It has mountains, its highest being 33,474 feet high. It has volcanoes and valleys and canyons. In fact, it has most of the features land has- valleys, basins, hills, caves, volcanoes, you name it.

The climate in the ocean can be very harsh, and demanding. However, it is less strenuous closer to the top. The average temperature of the surface water is about 62.6 degrees Fahrenheit. At the bottom, though, it can get close to 32 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s almost a 33° difference, which means the fish and plant life have to adapt to their temperatures. However, mammals that live in the water, such as dolphins and manatees, must live close to the top, because they are warm-blooded and require oxygen.

The ocean often has its version of storms. One of these is the Water spout. This is like a tornado over water, and it sucks up water. It looks like a big, swirling column of water. It has the capability of destroying boats. The ocean also has whirlpools. These whirling spirals are like a horizontal version of Water Spouts. You get drawn into them and the only way to get out is to swim with the current and very slowly edge closer to the edge of the whirlpool. Often people don’t see them coming and only know they are there once they are inside them. These whirlpools occur mainly when several different currents that travel in different directions meet.

The more famous and well-known of these is the Hurricane and the tidal wave. Hurricanes are like vast, powerful, life-threatening, moving whirlpools. They kill thousands of people and destroy millions of homes every year. Tidal waves are often caused by earthquakes beneath the ocean, and sometimes by very large chunks of ice falling into the ocean. They create huge waves that are often over 60 ft high and create mass devastation.

Some of the more fascinating points of the ocean are its corral reefs. These vast shelves of brightly colored coral, anemones, and sea plants can be as small as a few feet wide or miles long. Many organisms live here, like urchins, clown fish, clams, or starfish, as well as larger fish milling around, eating the small things that live there.

The ocean can also sustain humans. When strained and deprived of its salt, the water can be drank by humans. Its vast quantity and variety of fish can be eaten by humans, too. The ocean is a great place for swimming, boating, fishing, or any number of various aquatic activities.

As you can see, the ocean is a very unique place with unique organisms and land formations. But no one can ever exactly describe the ocean; it is so vast and mind-blowing. How many species of fish are there? What do the deepest, darkest recesses of the ocean look like? The world may never know.

1