Philippine Sea

Philippine Sea
Philippine Sea Location within the Pacific Ocean Show map of Pacific Ocean Philippine Sea Philippine Sea (North Pacific ) Show map of North Pacific Philippine Sea Philippine Sea (Philippines) Show map of Philippines
Location	East Asia, Southeast Asia, and Micronesia
Coordinates	20°N 130°E / 20°N 130°E / 20; 130
Part of	Pacific Ocean
Basin countries	List Federated States of Micronesia Indonesia Japan Palau Philippines Taiwan United States (Guam and Northern Mariana Islands)
Surface area	5,695,000 km2 (2,199,000 sq mi)
Islands	List Bonin Islands Catanduanes Dinagat Islands Green Island Guam Guiluan Island Guishan Island Halmahera Homonhon Honshu Izu Islands Kyūshū Leyte Luzon Mariana Islands Mindanao Morotai Orchid Island Palau Polillo Islands Ryukyu Islands Saipan Samar Siargao Shikoku Taiwan Tinian Ulithi Yap
Trenches	Izu–Bonin Trench Mariana Trench Nankai Trough Philippine Trench Ryukyu Trench

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.