英語翻譯
he Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan reached the great ocean in 1520.He called it “Pacific”,because he found it calm after his voyage around South America.True,it does have violent storms,but generally fewer than the Atlantic.
The giant Pacific stretches 9300 miles from the Arctic Circle at Bering Strait to the South Polar zone.Along the equator it reaches nearly halfway around the globe.Its area is nearly 64 million square miles -- greater than the entire land area of the world.It holds half the water on the earth.
The eastern limits of the Pacific are sharply marked by the west coasts of the Americas.The only major breaks are the Aleutian Islands and Lower California.
The western limits are very different.From north to south,they are split by many peninsulas and islands.The resulting bays and arms of the Pacific are named as separate seas.