This is a list of seas of the World Ocean , including marginal seas, areas of water, various gulfs , bights , bays , and straits . In many cases it is a matter of tradition for a body of water to be named a sea or a bay, etc., therefore all these types are listed here.
39-601: The Philippine Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean east of the Philippine Archipelago (hence the name) and the largest sea in the world , occupying an estimated surface area of 5 million square kilometers (2 × 10 ^ sq mi). The Philippine Sea Plate forms the floor of the sea. Its western border is the first island chain to the west, comprising the Ryukyu Islands in
78-419: A negative effect on local sources of livelihood, such as fishing and tourism. It is also making the waters warmer, which endangers corals. Warmer water causes corals to absorb more carbon dioxide. This alters the water's pH balance, making it acidic, a condition to which the corals are not adapted, and in which they are ill-equipped to survive. The Philippine Sea hosts an exotic marine ecosystem. There are 421 of
117-439: Is a centre of marine biodiversity as well as a biodiversity hotspot . However, at least 418 species are being threatened because of unsustainable practices. The rise in temperature change caused shifts in the marine ecosystems . which could cause corals to die due to changing sea temperature. As fish and other marine life rely on corals for sustenance and habitat, communities that rely on fishing are heavily affected as well. As
156-1051: Is a rich fishing ground for fishermen from Aurora, Quezon and Bicol. The Philippines Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources trains fishermen in sustainable-fishing techniques to prevent the destruction of coral formations, which could negatively affect the food chain that the migratory fish depend on. Migratory fish generally sell at high prices. For example, a single bluefin tuna from the Benham Rise can be sold at market for ₱2,000 . 20°N 130°E / 20°N 130°E / 20; 130 List of seas#Marginal seas by ocean There are several terms used for bulges of ocean that result from indentations of land, which overlap in definition, and which are not consistently differentiated: Many features could be considered to be more than one of these, and all of these terms are used in place names inconsistently; especially bays, gulfs, and bights, which can be very large or very small. This list includes large areas of water no matter
195-801: Is approximately 2 million square kilometers. It encompasses the tropical waters of Malaysia , Indonesia , the Philippines , Timor-Leste , Papua New Guinea , and Solomon Islands . The Philippine islands, which lie at its apex, make up 300,000 square kilometers (120,000 sq mi) of it. The part of the Coral Triangle's coral reef area that lies within the Philippines ranges from 10,750 square kilometers (4,150 sq mi) to 33,500 square kilometers (12,900 sq mi). It contains over 500 species of scleractinian or stony corals, and at least 12 endemic coral species. The Coral Triangle contains 75% of
234-421: Is dubbed as "the center of the center of marine fish biodiversity". Within its territory, thirty-three endemic species of fish have been identified, including the blue-spotted angelfish ( Chaetodontoplus caeruleopunctatus ) and the sea catfish ( Arius manillensis ). The Philippine marine territory has also become a breeding and feeding ground for endangered marine species, such as the whale shark ( Rhincodon typus ),
273-529: Is integral with southern Luzon. Any suggestion that Northern Luzon is not part of the Philippine Mobile Belt is not borne out by the detailed fault mapping of Pinet and Stephan (1989), and others. A common tectonic plate illustration for the Philippines is incorrect in this regard. The composition of the Philippine Mobile Belt is generally interpreted as a collage of a large variety of blocks or terrane of diverse origin amalgamated before collision with
312-526: Is sometimes also considered a marginal sea of the Atlantic. (coast-wise from north to south) (from east to west) While all other seas in the world are defined at least in part by land boundaries, there is only one sea which is defined only by ocean currents: Entities called "seas" which are not divisions of the World Ocean are not included in this list. Excluded are: Philippine Mobile Belt In
351-634: The 1st Mobile Fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy . Aside from the navy, aerial activity was also present in the Battle of the Philippine Sea, as hundreds of aircraft from both countries fired at each other. The Americans indisputably won, and nicknamed the aerial war the " Great Marianas Turkey Shoot " due to the number of Japanese aircraft shot down. Japan struggled to recover from the severe damages of its imperial navy and air strength suffered from
390-577: The Philippine Sea plate , including ophiolites in North Luzon, or continental crust from the Sunda plate . On top of which are Cretaceous to Quaternary magmatic arcs. These magmatic arcs are exposed in the western Central Cordillera , and the northern Sierra Madre . The Cagayan River Basin is an intra-arc rift . Subduction of Late Oligocene to Early Miocene South China sea oceanic crust occurs at
429-596: The Spratly Islands dispute in 2011, various Philippine government agencies started using the designation " West Philippine Sea " to refer to parts of the South China Sea . However, a PAGASA spokesperson said that the sea east of the Philippine archipelago will continue to be called the Philippine Sea. The Philippines depends on the Philippine Sea as one of the sources of its food, and for many people's livelihoods. In
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#1732837527368468-623: The Sunda plate . They are not part of the Philippine Mobile Belt but are in collision with it. The Sulu Trench marks the boundary of the Sulu micro-block with the Sulu Sea basin and the Palawan micro-block. The inactive Palawan Trench marks the subduction boundary between the Palawan microblock and the Spratly Islands plateau of the South China Sea basin. The Palawan/Calamian arm was also known in 1981 as
507-520: The 577 known species of corals in coastal waters, including 19 seagrass species and 30 species of mangrove, both of which contribute nutrients to coral systems. The Philippines also consists of 20 percent of the shellfish globally. Sea turtles , sharks , moray eels , octopuses , and sea snakes , along with numerous species of fish such as tuna can commonly be observed. Additionally, the Philippine Sea serves as spawning ground for Japanese eel , tuna, and different whale species. The Philippine Sea
546-604: The Coral Triangle area, the Philippines harvests seaweeds, milkfish, shrimp, oyster, mussel, and live reef fish as aquaculture products. Fishermen catch many types of fish, including small pelagic, anchovy, sardine, mackerel, and tuna, among others. Recent scientific expeditions have found that the Benham Rise (also known as the Philippine Rise) in the Philippine Sea has a diverse marine ecosystem that attracts migratory commercial fish like tuna, marlin and mackerel. The Benham Rise
585-435: The Coral Triangle work to provide their people with technical assistance and other resources needed to promote conservation, sustainability, biodiversity, food security, sources of livelihood, and economic development. Climate change is affecting the coastal ecosystem found in the Coral Triangle. It is contributing to rising sea levels and ocean acidification , thus endangering marine animals like fish and turtles. This has
624-732: The Eastern coasts of the Philippine Islands ", bounded as follows: On the west. By the eastern limits of the East Indian Archipelago , South China Sea and East China Sea . On the north. By the southeast coast of Kyushu , the southern and eastern limits of the Inland Sea and the south coast of Honshu Island. On the east. By the ridge joining Japan to the Bonin , Volcano and Ladrone (Mariana) Islands, all these being included in
663-691: The Eurasian margin. Seven principal blocks have been identified in Luzon: the Sierra Madre Oriental, Angat, Zambales , Central Cordillera of Luzon, Bicol and Catanduanes Island blocks. In the Central Philippines four principal blocks have been identified: Panay, Mindoro, Cebu and Bohol. In Mindanao six principal blocks have been identified: Pacific Cordillera, Surigao, Pujada peninsular, Central Cordillera of Mindanao, Daguma range and Zamboanga. In Luzon,
702-647: The Manila Trench. In Visayas, oldest known magmatic rocks in the Philippines are found in Cebu Island, where dioritic rocks have been dated at Lower Cretaceous (Walther and others, 1981), similar rocks have been recognized in neighboring Bohol Island. In Mindanao, interpretation of the age of these rocks is further complicated by their petrographic diversity. Sajona and others (1993) analyzed Pliocene-Pleistocene adakitic rocks in Zamboanga Peninsula and mention
741-508: The Manila Trench. Subduction of Eocene Philippine Sea oceanic crust occurs at the East Luzon Trough – Philippine Trench system. The strike-slip , left lateral fault , Philippine fault system is associated with the northward movement of the belt. The island of Luzon is bisected by the braided N–S trending Philippine fault system . Luzon is not bisected E-W, and illustrations showing anything similar are erroneous. Northern Luzon
780-521: The Middle Oligocene to Late Miocene age of the arc is well constrained stratigraphically as well as radiometrically. Most of the intrusive rocks are dioritic in composition, although alkali rocks also occur. In the Central Cordillera of Luzon, intrusive rocks include Paleogene rocks related to an ancient arc and Neogene intrusive and volcanic rocks related to eastward subduction from
819-770: The Palawan block and Palawan microcontinent, and in 1989 as the Palawan Micro-Block. The Philippine Mobile Belt is bounded on the west by the Manila Trench and its associates the Negros Trench and the Cotabato Trench , which subducts the Sunda plate under the Philippine Mobile Belt. To the east is the Philippine Trench and its northern associate, the East Luzon Trench which subducts Philippine Sea plate
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#1732837527368858-685: The Philippine Mobile Belt. The continuity of the Philippine-East Luzon Trench is interrupted and displaced by Benham Plateau on the Philippine Sea plate, which collided and is still colliding with the Sierra Madre of eastern Luzon. To the north the Philippine Mobile Belt ends in Taiwan, where accreted portions of the Luzon Arc and Luzon forearc form the eastern Coastal Range and the inland Longitudinal Valley of Taiwan, respectively. To
897-478: The Philippine Sea is situated in a particularly active Western Pacific tropical cyclone basin , the physical damage caused by typhoons coming from the east can further destroy the marine habitats. The first European to navigate the Philippine Sea was Ferdinand Magellan in 1521, who named it Mar Filipinas when he and his men were in the Mariana Islands prior to the exploration of the Philippines . Later it
936-620: The Philippine Sea. On the south. By a line joining Guam , Yap , Pelew ( Palau ) and Halmahera Islands. The Philippine Sea Plate forms the floor of the Philippine Sea. It subducts under the Philippine Mobile Belt which carries most of the Philippine archipelago and eastern Taiwan . Between the two plates is the Philippine Trench . The Philippine Sea has a marine territorial scope of over 679,800 square kilometers (262,500 sq mi), and an EEZ of 2.2 million km. Attributed to an extensive vicariance and island integrations,
975-556: The Philippines contains the highest number of marine species per unit area relative to the countries within the Indo-Malay-Philippines Archipelago , and has been identified as the epicenter of marine biodiversity. With its inclusion in the Coral Triangle, the Philippine Sea encompasses over 3,212 fish species, 486 coral species, 800 seaweed species, and 820 benthic algae species, wherein the Verde Island Passage
1014-542: The adjoining major plates are undergoing massive deformation. Most segments of the Philippines , including northern Luzon , are part of the Philippine Mobile Belt, which is bounded by the Philippine Sea plate to the east, the Molucca Sea Collision Zone to the south, Sunda plate to the southwest, and the South China Sea Basin to the west and north-west. To the north it ends in eastern Taiwan ,
1053-522: The area, enclose the Philippine Sea to the north, east and south. The Philippine archipelago, Ryukyu Islands , and the Marianas are examples. Another prominent feature of the Philippine Sea is the presence of deep sea trenches , among them the Philippine Trench and the Mariana Trench , containing the deepest point on the planet. The Philippine Sea has the Philippines and Taiwan to the west, Japan to
1092-649: The battle. This heavily attributed to the victory of the United States in the Battle of the Philippine Sea which was a vital part of the Americans' reclamation of the Philippines, and the Mariana Islands from Japan. In 1989, the United States Department of Defense revealed the loss of a one-megaton nuclear bomb in the Philippine Sea during the 1965 Philippine Sea A-4 incident . Following an escalation of
1131-488: The due east, and Halmahera , Palau , Yap and Ulithi (of the Caroline Islands ) in the southeast. Its southern border is Indonesia 's Morotai Island . The sea has a complex and diverse undersea relief . The floor is formed into a structural basin by a series of geologic faults and fracture zones. Island arcs , which are actually extended ridges protruding above the ocean surface due to plate tectonic activity in
1170-482: The dugong ( Dugong dugon ), and the megamouth shark ( Megachasma pelagios ). Within the South China Sea , Philippine scientists have discovered an abundant amount of marine life and species that have the potential to be biomedical advances for the Philippines as well. The Coral Triangle (also called the Indo-Malayan Triangle) is considered to be the global center of marine biodiversity. Its total oceanic area
1209-605: The geology of the Philippines, the Philippine Mobile Belt is a complex portion of the tectonic boundary between the Eurasian plate and the Philippine Sea plate , comprising most of the country of the Philippines . It includes two subduction zones, the Manila Trench to the west and the Philippine Trench to the east, as well as the Philippine fault system . Within the Belt, a number of crustal blocks or microplates which have been shorn off
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1248-404: The livelihoods of 120 million people, and is a source of food for the Philippine coastal communities and for millions more people worldwide. Whale- shark tourism in the Coral Triangle also provides a steady source of income for the surrounding community. The marine resources in the Coral Triangle have a high economic value, not only in the Philippines, but across the globe. The countries surrounding
1287-590: The north, the Marianas to the east and Palau to the south. Adjacent seas include the Celebes Sea which is separated by Mindanao and smaller islands to the south, the South China Sea which is separated by Philippines , and the East China Sea which is separated by the Ryukyu Islands . The International Hydrographic Organization defines the Philippine Sea as "that area of the North Pacific Ocean off
1326-546: The northwest and Taiwan in the west. Its southwestern border comprises the Philippine islands of Luzon , Catanduanes , Samar , Leyte , and Mindanao . Its northern border comprises the Japanese islands of Honshu , Shikoku and Kyūshū . Its eastern border is the second island chain to the east, comprising the Bonin Islands and Iwo Jima in the northeast, the Mariana Islands (including Guam , Saipan , and Tinian ) in
1365-675: The south the Philippine Mobile Belt terminates in the Molucca Sea Collision Zone , which is itself part of the elongated zone of convergence extending north through the Philippines into Taiwan. Within the Molucca Sea Collision Zone, the Molucca Sea plate has been totally subsumed by the arc-arc collision of the Halmahera Arc and the Sangihe Arc of eastern Indonesia. The belt's basement rock complex consists of oceanic crust from
1404-464: The term used in the name. The largest terrestrial seas, in decreasing order of area, are: Seas may be considered marginal between ocean and land, or between oceans in which case they may be treated as marginal parts of either. There is no single ultimate authority on the matter. (clockwise from 180°) In addition to the marginal seas listed in the three subsections below, the Arctic Ocean itself
1443-476: The world's coral species (around 600 species). It is home to over 2000 types of reef fish, and six of the world's seven species of marine turtles (the hawksbill , loggerhead , leatherback , green turtle , olive ridley , and sea turtle ). There is no single causal explanation for the unusually high biodiversity found in the Coral Triangle, but most researchers have attributed it to geological factors such as plate tectonics. The Philippine Sea provides or supports
1482-830: The zone of active collision between the North Luzon Trough portion of the Luzon Volcanic Arc and South China. The Philippine Mobile Belt has also been called the Philippine Microplate and the Taiwan–Luzon–Mindoro Belt . Palawan with the Calamian Islands and the Sulu Archipelago with the Zamboanga Peninsula of western Mindanao are the tops of two protruding north-eastern arms of
1521-482: Was discovered by other Spanish explorers from 1522 to 1565. A historic battle between the naval fleets of the United States and Japan took place in the vicinity of the Philippine Sea. This was called The Battle of the Philippine Sea , and occurred near the Mariana Islands from 19 to 20 June 1944. It was also the largest carrier-to-carrier battle in history which featured the United States Fifth Fleet and
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