Name all the... › The Five Oceans
Name All the The Five Oceans
Five named oceans. The fifth was only formally recognised in recent decades.
Answers register as you type, so there is nothing to submit. Spelling counts, capitals and punctuation do not.
For most of the twentieth century schools taught four oceans. The Southern Ocean, the belt of water circling Antarctica, was named as the fifth by the International Hydrographic Organization in 2000, and the change filtered into atlases slowly, which is why people who learned geography earlier tend to stall on it.
It earns its place because of a current rather than a coastline. The Antarctic Circumpolar Current runs unbroken around the continent and keeps that water colder and less salty than the oceans to the north.
The full list of 5 answers
- Pacific Ocean
- Atlantic Ocean
- Indian Ocean
- Southern Ocean
- Arctic Ocean
Frequently asked questions
When did the Southern Ocean become official?
The International Hydrographic Organization recognised the name in 2000. Many older maps and textbooks still show four oceans.
Which ocean is largest?
The Pacific, by a wide margin. It covers more area than all the land on Earth combined.
Do you have to type the word ocean?
No. Pacific and Pacific Ocean both register, as do the short forms of the others.
Prefer multiple choice?
The trivia rounds give you four options and an explanation after every answer. General KnowledgeGeographyScienceHistory