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The Indian Ocean is the world's third largest body of water at 73,556,000 square kilometers with a volume of 292,131,000 cubic kilometers.
The Indian Ocean separates the continent of Africa to it's west, from the continent of Australia to it's east and borders the continent of Asia to it's north and the Antarctic to it's south. The waters of the Indian Ocean meet the Atlantic Ocean at the point of the 20th meridian east - the nearest land point being Cape Agulhas, Western Cape, South Africa - and from the waters of the Pacific Ocean at 146.55 meridian east, the nearest land point being the Indonesian Archipelago.
The sea bed of the ocean is home to the area where the African, Indian and Antarctic continental plates meet, at the point known as the Rodriguez Point.
The Indian Ocean has been classified as the earth's warmest sea, the earth's youngest sea and also harbours an area with the world's saltiest waters, at the point where it meets with the Arabian Sea, with a water salinity level of between 32 - 37 parts per 1000.
The ocean's deepest point is situated at the point of the Diamantha Trench, at 8,047 meters deep.
The ocean feeds The Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman by way of the Strait of Hormuz, The Great Australian Bight and the Gulf of Aden.
The Ocean also includes The Mozambique Channel, The Gulf of Mannar, The Bab al Mandeb, The Bay of Bengal, the Red Sea, the Loccadive Sea, the Andaman Sea and the Arabian Sea. The ocean is also artificially linked to the man - made Suez Canal via the Red Sea.
The ocean borders forty three countries on three continents, 15 in Africa, 22 in Asia and 6 in Oceania.
Major port cities on the Indian Ocean include Singapore, the largest on the ocean, Mumbai in India, Aden in the Yemen, Durban in South Africa, Muscat in Oman, Jakarta in Indonesia and Perth in Western Australia.
LARGEST ISLANDS OF THE INDIAN OCEAN
The Indian Ocean is home to hundreds of islands, the ten largest of which are;
Madagascar - Independent Republic - 587,713 sq km - Capital, Antanarivo.
Sri Lanka - Independent Republic - 65,610 sq km - Capital, Kotte.
Grande Terre - Largest island of the Kurguelen Island Group, which are an overseas territory of France - 6,675 sq km.
Socratra - Region of Yemen - 3,796 sq km - Capital, Hadibo.
Zanzibar - Region of Tanzania - 2,643 sq km - Capital, Zanzibar City.
Reunion - An Overseas Territory of France - 2,512 sq km - Capital, St Denis.
Mauritius - Independent Republic - 2,040 sq km - Capital, St Louis.
South Andaman Island - Largest island of the Andaman & Nicobar Islands - Region of India - 1,348 sq km.
Grande Comore - Largest island of the Republic of the Comoros - 1,148 sq km.
Great Nicobar Island - Second largest island of the Andaman & Nicobar Islands - Region of India - 1,045 sq km.
ISLAND GROUPS OF THE INDIAN OCEAN
The Indian Ocean is home to hundreds of island groups including;
The Andaman & Nicobar Islands - Region of India - 8,249 sq km - Capital, Port Blair.
The Cocos Keeling Islands & Christmas Island - Australian overseas territory - 149 sq km.
The Comoros - Independent island republic - 2,235 sq km - Capital, Moroni.
The Chagos Archipelago - British Indian Ocean Territory - 544,000 sq km - Main island, Diego Garcia.
The Kurguelen Islands - Overseas Territory of France - 7,215 sq km - Capital, Port Aux France.
The Lakshadweep Islands - Region of India - 32 sq km - Capital, Andrott.
The Maldives - Independent island republic - 298 sq km - Capital, Male.
The Seychelles. - Independent island republic - 451 sq km - Capital, Victoria.
INDIAN OCEAN ISLAND MAPS
Shown below are maps of the Indian Ocean's six major island groups of the Chagos Archipelago, Christmas Island, the Cocos Keeling Islands, the Comoros, the Maldives and the Seychelles.
THE CHAGOS ARCHIPELAGO
The Chagos Archipelago was discovered by the Portuguese in 1512, claimed by France in 1793 and ceded to Mauritius in 1903 before eventually being purchased by the British government in 1968, where the archipelago then became known as the British Indian Ocean Territory.
By 1971 the entire archipelago had been depopulated by the British government in order to lease the archipelago's Diego Garcia Island to the American military, where the Americans operate a naval support base known as Camp Justice, complete with an air base, a submarine base, a high frequency global communications facility, a deep space surveillance system and a vast fuel storage area.
Geographically the archipelago, which lies 500 kilometers due south of the island Republic of the Maldives, consists of one thousand coral atolls which cover an area of 544,000 square kilometers which also includes the world's largest living coral structure, the 12,000 square kilometer Great Chagos Bank and the world's richest, healthiest and most ecologically sound shallow water reef ecosystem, which was designated as the world's largest no take marine environment in 2010.
CHRISTMAS ISLAND
Christmas Island is a tropical island territory of Australia, which lies some 2,600 kilometers north, west of Perth in Western Australia. The island is actually the summit of a submarine volcanic mountain which covers an area of 135 square kilometers.
The island's capital is Flying Fish Cove, also known as The Settlement, where the island's Christmas Island International Airport is also situated.
COCOS KEELING ISLANDS
The Cocos Keeling Islands are an island territory of Australia which consist of two atolls and twenty seven islands.The islands cover an area of just fourteen square kilometers. The island group's capital is West Island, where the group's Cocos Keeling International Airport is also situated.
THE COMOROS
The Republic of the Union of the Comoros is a sovereign state of four major islands situated north of the Mozambique Channel. The group covers an area of around 2, 235 square kilometers. The group's largest island is Grande Comore (Njazidja) which is the location of the island group's capital city, Moroni and their Iconi International Airport.
THE MALDIVES
The Republic of the Maldives are a group of 1,192 coral atolls situated between the Arabian Sea and the Laccadive Sea.The islands cover an area of 298 square kilometers which are dispersed over an area of 90,000 square kilometers. The island group's largest island is Gan (Addu Atoll). The island group's capital city is Male, situated on Male Atoll (Kaafu Atoll) where the island group's Ibrahim Nasir International Airport is also situated.
THE SEYCHELLES
The Republic of the Seychelles are a group of 115 islands which cover an area of 451 square kilometers. The island group's largest island is Mahe Island, where the island group's capital city, Victoria, and the group's Seychelles International Airport are both situated.
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