Pacific Cruises

Some may want to cruise the Pacfic Ocean to see the nations, sialdns and culture of the fmaous Ocean and itls landscaopes. Some may want to see the many fmaous islands of the ocean. Some may want to a specific part of the ocean. Some may want to tour the coastlinesof various islands in the coean. Some may want to see the ports, towns and settlements of the cdoastline of the ocean. Some may want to tour the coastline to see towns and cities in the islands. Some may want to stay at luxury or cheap hotels, cabins, houses, apartments, mansions, apartments, flats in the island region.

Some may want to go on a cruise of the Pacific Ocean. Some may want to cruise on luxury or cheap ocean liners in the ocean. Some may want to travel by a large ocean liner. Some may want to travel via the islands, and to see the cultures of the ocean. Some may want to see the culture and landscapes and ports of the islands and coastline of the continents on the coast of the ocean.

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. Its name is derived from the Latin name Mare Pacificum, peaceful sea, bestowed upon it by the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan. It extends from the Arctic in the north to Antarctica in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west and the Americas in the east.

The largest landmass entirely within the Pacific Ocean is the island of New Guinea, the second largest island in the world. Almost all of the smaller islands of the Pacific lie between 30°N and 30°S, extending from Southeast Asia to Easter Island; the rest of the Pacific Basin is almost entirely submerged. During the Last glacial period, New Guinea was part of Australia so the largest landmass would have been Borneo-Palawan.

The great triangle of Polynesia, connecting Hawaii, Easter Island, and New Zealand, encompasses the island arcs and clusters of the Cook Islands, Marquesas Islands, Samoa, Society, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuamotu, Tuvalu and the Wallis and Futuna islands.

North of the equator and west of the International Date Line are the numerous small islands of Micronesia, including the Caroline Islands, the Marshall Islands and the Mariana Islands.

In the southwestern corner of the Pacific lie the islands of Melanesia, dominated by New Guinea. Other important island groups of Melanesia include the Bismarck Archipelago, Fiji, New Caledonia, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu.

Islands in the Pacific Ocean are of four basic types: continental islands, high islands, coral reefs, and uplifted coral platforms. Continental islands lie outside the Andesite line and include New Guinea, the islands of New Zealand, and the Philippines. These islands are structurally associated with nearby continents. High islands are of volcanic origin, and many contain active volcanoes. Among these are Bougainville, Hawaii, and the Solomon Islands.
Pacific Ocean viewed from Southern California coast.

The third and fourth types of islands are both the result of coralline island building. Coral reefs are low-lying structures that have built up on basaltic lava flows under the ocean's surface. One of the most dramatic is the Great Barrier Reef off northeastern Australia. A second island type formed of coral is the uplifted coral platform, which is usually slightly larger than the low coral islands. Examples include Banaba (formerly Ocean Island) and Makatea in the Tuamotu group of French

Along the Pacific Ocean's irregular western margins lie many seas, the largest of which are the Celebes Sea, Coral Sea, East China Sea, Philippine Sea, Sea of Japan, South China Sea, Sulu Sea, Tasman Sea, and Yellow Sea. The Strait of Malacca joins the Pacific and the Indian Oceans on the west, and Drake Passage and the Straits of Magellan link the Pacific with the Atlantic Ocean on the east. To the north, the Bering Strait connects the Pacific with the Arctic Ocean.

As the Pacific straddles the ± 180° meridian, the West Pacific (or western Pacific, near Asia) is in the Eastern Hemisphere, while the East Pacific (or eastern Pacific, near the Americas) is in the Western Hemisphere.

The andesite line is the most significant regional distinction in the Pacific. It separates the deeper, mafic igneous rock of the Central Pacific Basin from the partially submerged continental areas of felsic igneous rock on its margins. The andesite line follows the western edge of the islands off California and passes south of the Aleutian arc, along the eastern edge of the Kamchatka Peninsula, the Kuril Islands, Japan, the Mariana Islands, the Solomon Islands, and New Zealand's North Island. The dissimilarity continues northeastward along the western edge of the Andes Cordillera along South America to Mexico, returning then to the islands off California. Indonesia, the Philippines, Japan, New Guinea, and New Zealand—all eastward extensions of the continental blocks of Asia, Australia and Zealandia—lie outside the Andesite Line.

Within the closed loop of the andesite line are most of the deep troughs, submerged volcanic mountains, and oceanic volcanic islands that characterize the Pacific basin. Here basaltic lavas gently flow out of rifts to build huge dome-shaped volcanic mountains whose eroded summits form island arcs, chains, and clusters. Outside the Andesite Line, volcanism is of the explosive type, and the Pacific Ring of Fire is the world's foremost belt of explosive volcanism. The Ring of Fire is named after the several hundred active volcanoes that sit above the various subduction zones.

Important human migrations occurred in the Pacific in prehistoric times, most notably those of the Polynesians from the Asian edge of the ocean to Tahiti and then to Hawaii, New Zealand, and Easter Island.

The ocean was first sighted by Europeans early in the 16th century, first by the Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa who crossed the Isthmus of Panama in 1513, and then by Ferdinand Magellan, who sailed the Pacific during his circumnavigation from 1519 to 1522. In 1564, conquistadors crossed the ocean from Mexico
Bathyscaphe Trieste, before her record dive to the bottom of the Mariana Trench, 23 January 1960.

led by Miguel López de Legazpi who sailed to the Philippines and Mariana Islands. For the remainder of the 16th century, Spanish influence was paramount, with ships sailing from Spain to the Philippines, New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands.

During the 17th century, the Dutch, sailing around southern Africa, dominated discovery and trade; Abel Janszoon Tasman discovered Tasmania and New Zealand in 1642. The 18th century marked a burst of exploration by the Russians in Alaska and the Aleutian Islands, the French in Polynesia, and the British in the three voyages of James Cook to the South Pacific and Australia, Hawaii, and the North American Pacific Northwest.

Growing imperialism during the 19th century resulted in the occupation of much of Oceania by European powers, and later, the United States and Japan. Significant contributions to oceanographic knowledge were made by the voyages of HMS Beagle in the 1830s, with Charles Darwin aboard; HMS Challenger during the 1870s; the USS Tuscarora (1873-76); and the German Gazelle (1874-76). Although the United States gained control of the Philippines from Spain in 1898, Japan controlled most of the western Pacific by 1914 and occupied many other islands during World War II. However, by the end of that war, Japan was defeated and the U.S. Pacific Fleet was the virtual master of the ocean. Since the end of World War II, many former colonies in the Pacific have become independent states.

The exploitation of the Pacific's mineral wealth is hampered by the ocean's great depths. In shallow waters of the continental shelves off the coasts of Australia and New Zealand, petroleum and natural gas are extracted, and pearls are harvested along the coasts of Australia, Japan, Papua New Guinea, Nicaragua, Panama, and the Philippines, although in sharply declining volume in some cases. The Pacific's greatest asset is its fish. The shoreline waters of the continents and the more temperate islands yield herring, salmon, sardines, snapper, swordfish, and tuna, as well as shellfish.

Bordering countries ; American Samoa, Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, People's Republic of China, Colombia, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, East Timor, El Salvador, Ecuador, Fiji, French Polynesia, Guam, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Kiribati, North Korea, South Korea, Macau, Malaysia, Marshall Islands, Mexico, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niue, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Pitcairn Islands, Russia, Samoa, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Republic of China (Taiwan), Thailand, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, United States, Vanuatu, Vietnam, Wallis and Futuna

Major ports and harbours ; Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico, Anchorage, Alaska, United States, Antofagasta, Chile, Arica, Chile, Auckland, New Zealand, Bacolod City, Philippines, Bangkok, Thailand, Bluff, New Zealand, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, Buenaventura, Colombia, Busan, South Korea, Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, Mexico, Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines, Callao, Peru, Cebu City, Philippines, Chongjin, North Korea, Dalian, People's Republic of China, Davao City, Philippines, Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico, Esmeraldas, Ecuador, Guayaquil, Ecuador, Hong Kong (People's Republic of China), Honolulu, Hawaii, United States, Incheon, South Korea, Iloilo, Philippines, Iquique, Chile, Jayapura, Indonesia, Kaohsiung, Republic of China (Taiwan), Kitimat, British Columbia, Canada, Keelung, Republic of China (Taiwan), Klang, Malaysia, Kobe, Japan, Laem Chabang, Thailand, Lyttelton, New Zealand, Long Beach, California, United States, Los Angeles, California, United States, Manta, Ecuador, Manzanillo, Colima, Mexico, Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Manila, Philippines, Nampho, North Korea, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, Oakland, California, United States, Panama City, Panama, Portland, Oregon, United States, Portoviejo, Ecuador, Prince Rupert, British Columbia, Canada, Puerto Chacabuco, Chile, Puerto Montt, Chile, Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico, Qingdao, People's Republic of China, San Antonio, Chile, San Diego, California, United States, San Francisco, California, United States, Seattle, Washington, United States, Shanghai, People's Republic of China, Shenzhen, People's Republic of China, Singapore, Songkhla, Thailand, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, Tacoma, Washington, United States, Taichung, Republic of China (Taiwan), Talcahuano, Chile, Tauranga, New Zealand, Tianjin, People's Republic of China, Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, Tokyo, Japan, Valparaíso, Chile, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, Vladivostok, Russia, Xiamen, People's Republic of China, Yantai, People's Republic of China, Yokohama, Japan, Zamboanga, Philippines

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Pacific Cruises

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