There are five recognized oceans on Earth. Five oceans — the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean, the Arctic Ocean and the Southern (or Antarctic) Ocean.

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of all, followed by the Atlantic Ocean. The Indian Ocean is the third largest, while the Southern Ocean is the fourth. The smallest one is the Arctic Ocean.

Seven continents – Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, South America. In practice, the list of seven continents is the one most widely adopted and used.

In order from largest to smallest in area, these seven are Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australia.

Africa is the continent with the most countries, 54.
South America has the least number of countries, at 12.

Continents By Number Of Countries
Africa – 54
Asia – 48
Europe – 44
North America – 23
Australia/Oceania – 14
South America – 12

You may have seen the five Olympic rings, one of the symbols of the Olympic Games. They symbolise the gathering of sportspeople from all over the world. The rings were chosen to represent five inhabited continents — Africa, America, Asia, Australia and Europe.

Greenland is the largest island in the world followed by New Guinea, Borneo, and Madagascar.

Since 1981, the Indian Antarctica Programme has been exploring Antarctica, a continent with a very cold climate and harsh environment. In 1983, India established its first scientific base station there, called ‘Dakshin Gangotri’ (two more bases were established later). About 40 teams of Indian scientists have conducted research in this faraway region, especially on the evolution of climate and environment. The settlement where the scientists live has a library and even a post office!

Antarctica “the white continent” is the fifth largest continent in the world with its unique wildlife, extreme coldness, dryness, windiness and unexplored territories. The word Antarctica is derived from the Greek word antarktike, which means “opposite to north” i.e., opposite to the Arctic.

It is situated within the Antarctic Circle and is surrounded by Southern Ocean. James cook discovered Antarctica when he was crossing the Antarctic Circle. The world’s largest ocean current, the Antarctic circumpolar current circumvents the Antarctic continent. Of the 14 million-sq.km area, 98% is covered with thick ice sheets that formed ­­­25 million years ago and holds 75% of the earth’s fresh water.

The United Nations has designated June 8 as World Oceans Day to “remind us all of the major role the ocean plays in everyday life. It serves as the lungs of our planet, a major source of food and medicine and a critical part of the biosphere.