Indian Ocean

Description

The world's third largest ocean is bounded west by Africa, north by Asia, east by Australia (part of Oceania), and south by Antarctica¹. A line from Antarctica to Tasmania, Australia, separates it from the southernmost Pacific. A line from the southern tip of South Africa to Antarctica separates the southernmost Indian Oceans from the southernmost Atlantic. The Strait of Malacca separates the Pacific's South China Sea from the Indian's Andaman Sea. Side pieces of this ocean are the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz, the Arabian Sea, the Palk Strait, the Bay of Bengal, the Coco Channel, the Andaman Sea, the Timor Sea², the Mozambique Channel, the Strait of Mandab and the Red Sea.³ The largest island is Madagascar--the world's fourth largest. The only other large island is Sri Lanka⁴. Helping to mark of the Arabian Sea from the rest of the Indian Ocean is Socotra island. Atop the Maldives Ridge are the Lacadive Islands⁵, the Maldives and the Chagos Archipelago. In the middle of the West Australian Basin are Cocos and Christmas islands. Amsterdam and St. Paul islands are on the Mid-Indian Ridge. Heard, Macdonald, and the Kerguélen islands are on the Kerguélen Ridge. Prince Edward and the Crozet islands are on the Crozet Plateau. The Mascarene⁶ Islands and most of the Seychelles crown the Mascarene Ridge. The ocean floor consists of: the Arabian Basin, marked eastward by the Maldive Ridge; the Mid-Indian Basin, marked eastward by the Ninety East Ridge and westward by the Mid-Indian Ridge; the West Australian Basin; the Somali Basin, separated from the Arabian Basin by the Carlsberg Ridge; the Mascarene Basin, whose east bound is the Mascarene Ridge; the Madagascar Basin, whose west is set by the South Madagascar Ridge and southeast by the South-West Indian Ridge; the Crozet Basin, southeast of the South-West Indian Ridge; the Natal and Agulhas Basins, whose south and southeast limit is set by the Atlantic-Indian Ridge and the Crozet Plateau; the Atlantic-Indian Basin, bounded east by the Kerguélen Ridge; and the South Australian Basin, which is separated from the Indian-Antarctic Basin by the Indian-Antarctic Ridge.

Greater Gorgon is an important natural gas field about 130 kilometers from Australia. It includes the Jansz Gas Field.⁷

Around the ocean

northwest, within the ocean
north from the center of the ocean
northeast, within the ocean
northeast, from the top of the West Australian Basin
northeast, from the top center of the West Australian Basin
north, from the top right center of the West Australian Basin
north from just east of the top right center of the West Australian Basin
north, from the northeast of the West Australian Basin
east, from the West Australian Basin, within the ocean
east, from the West Australian Basin
north, from the South Australian Basin
northeast, from the South Australian Basin
northeast, across the South Tasman Rise
east, from the southern Indian Ocean
south, between about 147 and 160 degrees east
south, between 136 and 142.5 degrees east
south, between 120 and 136 degrees _east
south, between 105 and 120 degrees east
south, between 90 and 105 degrees east
south, between 75 and 90 degrees east
south, between 60 and 75 degrees east
south, between 45 and 60 degrees east
south, between 25 and 45 degrees east
south, between 20 and 25 degrees east
southwest
north of the eastern Agulhas Bank
northeast of the Agulhas Bank
west, from the Natal Basin
west of the Mozambique Channel
east of the Mozambique Channel
west
northwest, from the center of the Somali Basin
northwest, from the top of the Somali Basin

Other broad topics

the Earth

Footnotes

1. Some geographers interpose a 'Southern Ocean' between Antarctica and the Indian Ocean. Some would extend this ocean around the southern continent south of 40 degrees latitude south.
2. Some consider the Timor Sea part of the Pacific Ocean. The Sawu or Savu Sea is however always considered part of the Indian Ocean.
3. There are also "seas" next to Antarctica, but they are better defined by the coasts they front, or by ice shelves, then by any separateness from the ocean northward.
4. Or Ceylon.
5. Officially Lakshadweep.
6. Or Masacarenes or Mascareignes.
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_natural_gas_fields, accessed January 30, 2017.