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ocean
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Earth's oceans ocean zonation Earth Major features of the ocean basins hydrologic cycle Boundaries of the world's oceans and seas features of Earth's oceans hypsographic curve Into the Deep continental margin
For Students
Peru
ocean summary
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Cross section of Earth showing the core, mantle, and crust
Everything Earth
water glass on white background. (drink; clear; clean water; liquid)
Water and its Varying Forms
Metal and enamel pan of boiling water on stove. (boiling point; cooking; steam; cooking gas; non-electric)
Aitch-Two-Oh?
1:116 Aquanauts: Underwater Treasure, divers searching for treasure underwater
International Waters
Chutes d'Ekom - a waterfall on the Nkam river in the rainforest near Melong, in the western highlands of Cameroon in Africa.
Ecosystems
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Earth's oceans
Earth's oceans Earth's oceans and their marginal seas cover nearly 71 percent of the planet's surface.

ocean

Earth feature
Also known as: world ocean
Written by
Alyn C. Duxbury
Research Associate Professor Emeritus of Oceanography, University of Washington, Seattle. Author of The Earth and Its Oceans; coauthor of An Introduction to the World's Oceans.
Alyn C. DuxburyAll
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Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
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ocean, continuous body of salt water that is contained in enormous basins on Earth’s surface. When viewed from space, the predominance of Earth’s oceans is readily apparent. The oceans and their marginal seas cover nearly 71 percent of Earth’s surface, with an average depth of 3,688 metres (12,100 feet). The exposed land occupies the remaining 29 percent of the planetary surface and has a mean elevation of about 840 metres (approximately 2,755 feet). Actually, all...

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