List of the Marginal Seas of the Indian Ocean

The Indian Ocean is a relatively large ocean with an area of 26,469,900 square miles (68,566,000 sq km). It is the worlds third largest ocean behind the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. The Indian Ocean is located between Africa, the Southern Ocean, Asia and Australia and has an average depth of 13,002 feet (3,963 m). The Java Trench is its deepest point at -23,812 feet (-7,258 m). The Indian Ocean is most known for causing the monsoonal weather patterns that dominate much of Southeast Asia and for being an important chokepoint throughout history.The Ocean also borders several marginal seas. A marginal sea is an area of water that is a partially enclosed sea adjacent to or widely open to the open ocean (Wikipedia.org). The Indian Ocean shares its borders with seven marginal seas. The following is a list of those seas arranged by area. All figures were obtained from Wikipedia.orgs pages on each sea.1) Arabian SeaArea: 1,491,126 square miles (3,862,000 sq km)2) Bay of BengalArea: 838,614 s quare miles (2,172,000 sq km)3) Andaman SeaArea: 231,661 square miles (600,000 sq km)4) Red SeaArea: 169,113 square miles (438,000 sq km)5) Java SeaArea: 123,552 square miles (320,000 sq km)6) Persian GulfArea: 96,911 square miles (251,000 sq km)7) Sea of Zanj (located off the east coast of Africa)Area: UndefinedReferenceInfoplease.com. (n.d.). Oceans and Seas - Infoplease.com. Retrieved from: http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0001773.html#axzz0xMBpBmBwWikipedia.org. (28 August 2011). Indian Ocean - Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_oceanWikipedia.org. (26 August June 2011). Marginal Sea - Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marginal_seas