Indian Ocean (2004) | Jan Mayen (2006) | |
Airports | - | 1 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006) |
Area | total: 68.556 million sq km
note: includes Andaman Sea, Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal, Flores Sea, Great Australian Bight, Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Oman, Java Sea, Mozambique Channel, Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Savu Sea, Strait of Malacca, Timor Sea, and other tributary water bodies |
total: 377 sq km
land: 377 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 5.5 times the size of the US | slightly more than twice the size of Washington, DC |
Background | The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's five oceans (after the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean, but larger than the Southern Ocean and Arctic Ocean). Four critically important access waterways are the Suez Canal (Egypt), Bab el Mandeb (Djibouti-Yemen), Strait of Hormuz (Iran-Oman), and Strait of Malacca (Indonesia-Malaysia). The decision by the International Hydrographic Organization in the spring of 2000 to delimit a fifth ocean, the Southern Ocean, removed the portion of the Indian Ocean south of 60 degrees south. | This desolate, mountainous island was named after a Dutch whaling captain who indisputably discovered it in 1614 (earlier claims are inconclusive). Visited only occasionally by seal hunters and trappers over the following centuries, the island came under Norwegian sovereignty in 1929. The long dormant Haakon VII Toppen/Beerenberg volcano resumed activity in 1970; it is the northernmost active volcano on earth. |
Climate | northeast monsoon (December to April), southwest monsoon (June to October); tropical cyclones occur during May/June and October/November in the northern Indian Ocean and January/February in the southern Indian Ocean | arctic maritime with frequent storms and persistent fog |
Coastline | 66,526 km | 124.1 km |
Country name | - | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Jan Mayen |
Dependency status | - | territory of Norway; since August 1994, administered from Oslo through the county governor (fylkesmann) of Nordland; however, authority has been delegated to a station commander of the Norwegian Defense Communication Service |
Disputes - international | some maritime disputes (see littoral states) | none |
Economy - overview | The Indian Ocean provides major sea routes connecting the Middle East, Africa, and East Asia with Europe and the Americas. It carries a particularly heavy traffic of petroleum and petroleum products from the oilfields of the Persian Gulf and Indonesia. Its fish are of great and growing importance to the bordering countries for domestic consumption and export. Fishing fleets from Russia, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan also exploit the Indian Ocean, mainly for shrimp and tuna. Large reserves of hydrocarbons are being tapped in the offshore areas of Saudi Arabia, Iran, India, and western Australia. An estimated 40% of the world's offshore oil production comes from the Indian Ocean. Beach sands rich in heavy minerals and offshore placer deposits are actively exploited by bordering countries, particularly India, South Africa, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. | Jan Mayen is a volcanic island with no exploitable natural resources. Economic activity is limited to providing services for employees of Norway's radio and meteorological stations on the island. |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Java Trench -7,258 m
highest point: sea level 0 m |
lowest point: Norwegian Sea 0 m
highest point: Haakon VII Toppen/Beerenberg 2,277 m |
Environment - current issues | endangered marine species include the dugong, seals, turtles, and whales; oil pollution in the Arabian Sea, Persian Gulf, and Red Sea | NA |
Flag description | - | the flag of Norway is used |
Geographic coordinates | 20 00 S, 80 00 E | 71 00 N, 8 00 W |
Geography - note | major chokepoints include Bab el Mandeb, Strait of Hormuz, Strait of Malacca, southern access to the Suez Canal, and the Lombok Strait | barren volcanic island with some moss and grass |
Irrigated land | - | 0 sq km |
Land boundaries | - | 0 km |
Land use | - | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005) |
Legal system | - | the laws of Norway, where applicable, apply |
Location | body of water between Africa, the Southern Ocean, Asia, and Australia | Northern Europe, island between the Greenland Sea and the Norwegian Sea, northeast of Iceland |
Map references | Political Map of the World | Arctic Region |
Maritime claims | - | territorial sea: 4 nm
contiguous zone: 10 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of Norway |
Natural hazards | occasional icebergs pose navigational hazard in southern reaches | dominated by the volcano Haakon VII Toppen/Beerenberg; volcanic activity resumed in 1970 |
Natural resources | oil and gas fields, fish, shrimp, sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits, polymetallic nodules | none |
Population | - | no indigenous inhabitants
note: personnel operate the Long Range Navigation (Loran-C) base and the weather and coastal services radio station (July 2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Chennai (Madras; India), Colombo (Sri Lanka), Durban (South Africa), Jakarta (Indonesia), Kolkata (Calcutta; India) Melbourne (Australia), Mumbai (Bombay; India), Richards Bay (South Africa) | - |
Radio broadcast stations | - | AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA
note: there is one radio and meteorological station (1998) |
Terrain | surface dominated by counterclockwise gyre (broad, circular system of currents) in the southern Indian Ocean; unique reversal of surface currents in the northern Indian Ocean; low atmospheric pressure over southwest Asia from hot, rising, summer air results in the southwest monsoon and southwest-to-northeast winds and currents, while high pressure over northern Asia from cold, falling, winter air results in the northeast monsoon and northeast-to-southwest winds and currents; ocean floor is dominated by the Mid-Indian Ocean Ridge and subdivided by the Southeast Indian Ocean Ridge, Southwest Indian Ocean Ridge, and Ninetyeast Ridge | volcanic island, partly covered by glaciers |