Indian Ocean

Indian Ocean
Extent of the Indian Ocean according to The World Factbook
Location	South Asia
Coordinates	20°S 80°E / 20°S 80°E / -20; 80Coordinates: 20°S 80°E / 20°S 80°E / -20; 80
Type	Ocean
Max. width	1,610 km (1,000 mi)
Surface area	70,560,000 km2 (27,240,000 sq mi)
Average depth	3,741 m (12,274 ft)
Max. depth	7,906 m (25,938 ft)

The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering 70,560,000 km² (27,240,000 sq mi) (approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface). It is bounded by Asia on the north, on the west by Africa, on the east by Australia, and on the south by the Southern Ocean or, depending on definition, by Antarctica. It is named after the country of India. The Indian Ocean is known as Ratnākara (Sanskrit: रत्नाकर), "the mine of gems" in ancient Sanskrit literature, and as Hind Mahāsāgar (Hindi: हिन्द महासागर), "the great Indian sea", in Hindi.

The borders of the Indian Ocean, as delineated by the International Hydrographic Organization in 1953 included the Southern Ocean but not the marginal seas along the northern rim, but in 2000 the IHO delimited the Southern Ocean separately, which removed waters south of 60°S from the Indian Ocean, but included the northern marginal seas.Meridionally, the Indian Ocean is delimited from the Atlantic Ocean by the 20° east meridian, running south from Cape Agulhas, and from the Pacific Ocean by the meridian of 146°55'E, running south from the southernmost point of Tasmania. The northernmost extent of the Indian Ocean is approximately 30° north in the Persian Gulf.