There are 5 oceans of the world. The Atlantic Ocean is between to continental blocks, Africa and Europe. The Indian Ocean is between Oceania, Asia, and Africa. The largest ocean of the world is the Pacific Ocean. It stretches from Asia to the Americas. The Arctic Ocean is a small Ocean that lies on top of the world's surface. At the bottom lies the Antarctic Ocean.
Major Seas
Within the world we live in, there a major seas that surround our continents; such as: The Red Sea, Bering Sea, Arabian Sea, Sea of Japan, Mediterranean Sea, Caribbean Sea, and the Black Sea. They are chunks of the ocean that are isolated or surrounded by land. Seas are different from Oceans because they have their own current and animal life.
Bays
Bays are small or large incursions of water/ocean into the land.
Gulfs
A gulf is a large bay. For instance, there is the Gulf of Mexico and the Gulf of California.
Peninsulas
A Peninsula is an incursion of land into the water.The isthmus connects the peninsula to the continent. Ex: Italy is a peninsula
1st Seafarers
The Polynesians (Native Indians) were the first people to explore the sea. They traveled from America into Asia, into the island of the Pacific.
Vikings
The vikings were merchants, explorers, and pirates who settled in Europe, Asia, and the Atlantic Islands in the late 8th to 11th century. They would explore from Europe to Greenland to the Americas.
"Age of Discovery"
It all started with the exploration of the west trying to reach the east. Some famous explorers of the time would be: Christopher Columbus, Marco Polo, and Leif Ericson.
C. Columbus
Christopher Columbus: Columbus was an explorer and navigator. His first voyage led him to the Atlantic Ocean. He was then credited for opening up the Americas to European colonization. He has been inspired by the work of Marco Polo.
M. Polo
Marco Polo: Marco Polo sailed the ocean with his father and uncle. As he was captured during war against Genoa, he wrote a book about his journey. Although it might be exaggerated, Asia used it as a sort of regional geography for centuries.
L. Ericson
Leif Ericson: Leif Ericson was the first European to set foot on the shores of North America nearly 500 years before Christopher Columbus.
HMS Challegner
The HMS Challenger was the first oceanography expedition. This expedition contains more than 200 scientist. It was launched with a purpose of understanding the currents, depth of the ocean, and how waves are formed. Two prominent early developers that were a part of the Challenger expedition was Prince Albert and Mathew Maury.
Father of Oceanography
Mathew Maury is considered the "father of oceanography" and "Path finder of the Seas". Maury made many important new contributions to charting winds and ocean currents, including ocean lanes for passing ships at sea.