Another week, another ocean. Now in the third week of June, it’s time to learn about the third ocean in the alphabet. That’s also the third-largest ocean — the Indian Ocean!
As the name suggests, the Indian Ocean is by India. In fact, it stretches across a huge area south of India (and Asia) between Africa and Australia. In total, the Indian Ocean covers about one-seventh of the Earth.
The Indian Ocean is the warmest of the five oceans. That’s good news for animals that like tropical waters. Those include many jellies, schools of squid, and the world’s largest fish — the whale shark. Some creatures live only in the Indian Ocean, such as the Indian Ocean humpback dolphin.
The Indian Ocean is also home to perhaps the smartest fish. Manta rays have the largest brain of any fish on Earth! Shawn Heinrichs spent five years making movies about manta rays. And he has swum with them up close. “I feel their intelligence, curiosity, and gentle nature,” Heinrichs told News-O-Matic. “It reminds me that we can be just like them.”
There are a few island countries along the Indian Ocean. They include the African nation of Madagascar. Another group of about 1,200 small islands is the Maldives. (That heart-shaped island on the cover is in the Maldives.)
There are only two trenches in the Indian Ocean. One is the Java Trench (also called the Sunda Trench). It’s the deepest point of the Indian Ocean, at 23,595 feet (7,192 m) deep. Amandangi Hastuti grew up near the Java Trench — in Java, Indonesia.
Hastuti has researched the Indian Ocean for 10 years. She studies the underwater earthquakes that happen there. And she learned why the Indian Ocean has had such strong quakes. It’s because of giant plates of land moving below the ocean. The Indian Ocean lies on top of five of these huge plates.
“When these plates slip over, under, or past each other, energy builds up,” Hastuti explained. This energy can be “released as an earthquake,” she explained. “Undersea earthquakes sometimes cause ocean waves called tsunamis,” Hastuti added. A powerful quake in 2004 caused a deadly tsunami in the Indian Ocean. After that, countries worked together to create a tsunami warning system.
Shawn Heinrichs was born along the Indian Ocean. That helped him want to protect the ocean. Sadly, the Indian Ocean is getting warmer. Heinrichs wants kids to help. “It’s our job to take care of the planet,” he said.
“You are an important part of the solution.”
Updated June 16, 2020, 5:02 P.M. (ET)
By Katie Bry
