Philippine Sea

Philippine Sea
Map showing the location of the Philippine Sea
Philippine Sea is located in Pacific Ocean
Philippine Sea
Philippine Sea
Location within the Pacific Ocean
Philippine Sea is located in North Pacific
Philippine Sea
Philippine Sea
Philippine Sea (North Pacific )
Philippine Sea is located in Philippines
Philippine Sea
Philippine Sea
Philippine Sea (Philippines)
LocationEast Asia, Southeast Asia, and Micronesia
Coordinates20°N 130°E / 20°N 130°E / 20; 130
Part ofPacific Ocean
Basin countries
Surface area5,695,000 km2 (2,199,000 sq mi)
Islands
Trenches
Philippine Sea
Alternative Chinese name
Traditional Chinese菲律賓海
Simplified Chinese菲律宾海
Hanyu PinyinFēilǜbīn Hǎi
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinFēilǜbīn Hǎi
Japanese name
Kanjiフィリピン海
Kanaフィリピンかい
Transcriptions
RomanizationFiripin Kai
Indonesian name
IndonesianLaut Filipina
Filipino name
TagalogDagat Pilipinas

The Philippine Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean east of the Philippine Archipelago (hence the name) and the largest sea in the world, occupying an estimated surface area of 5 million square kilometers (2×10^6 sq mi).[1] The Philippine Sea Plate forms the floor of the sea.[2] Its western border is the first island chain to the west, comprising the Ryukyu Islands in the northwest and Taiwan in the west. Its southwestern border comprises the Philippine islands of Luzon, Catanduanes, Samar, Leyte, and Mindanao. Its northern border comprises the Japanese islands of Honshu, Shikoku and Kyūshū. Its eastern border is the second island chain to the east, comprising the Bonin Islands and Iwo Jima in the northeast, the Mariana Islands (including Guam, Saipan, and Tinian) in the due east, and Halmahera, Palau, Yap and Ulithi (of the Caroline Islands) in the southeast. Its southern border is Indonesia's Morotai Island.[3]

The sea has a complex and diverse undersea relief.[4] The floor is formed into a structural basin by a series of geologic faults and fracture zones. Island arcs, which are actually extended ridges protruding above the ocean surface due to plate tectonic activity in the area, enclose the Philippine Sea to the north, east and south. The Philippine archipelago, Ryukyu Islands, and the Marianas are examples. Another prominent feature of the Philippine Sea is the presence of deep sea trenches, among them the Philippine Trench and the Mariana Trench, containing the deepest point on the planet.

  1. ^ "Philippine Sea". Encarta. Archived from the original on 20 August 2009. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
  2. ^ North Pacific Ocean
  3. ^ "Philippine Sea". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 12 August 2008.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference bio was invoked but never defined (see the help page).