Indian Ocean (geographical location, nature features, types of economic activities).

The Indian Ocean is the third largest after the Pacific and Atlantic. It covers about 20% of the Earth’s water surface. It is located mostly in the Southern Hemisphere between Asia in the North, Africa in the West, Australia in the East, Antarctica in the South. It connects in the Southwest with the Atlantic Ocean, in the East and Southeast with the Pacific Ocean. The area of ​​the Indian Ocean is 74,917 thousand km2.
The nature of the Indian Ocean has a lot in common with the nature of the Pacific Ocean. There are about 100 animal species in the Indian Ocean. Mammals: whales, dolphins, killer whales, sperm whales, fish: tuna, flying fish, birds: frigates and albatrosses. There are also a large number of sharks in the ocean, several species of which are dangerous to humans. In addition to sharks, jellyfish, blue-ringed octopus, mollusks cones, poisonous snakes pose a danger to humans. From the vegetation in the ocean, red, brown and blue-green algae can be found in abundance. There are relatively few islands; of the large islands, Madagascar, Ceylon, Sri Lanka can be noted. There are also volcanic and coral islands in the Indian Ocean.
The ocean shelf is rich in minerals, in the strata of sedimentary rocks and at the bottom of the Persian Gulf, there are huge deposits of oil and natural gas. Ocean waters have become the raw material for fresh water for countries such as Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. The main transport routes pass in the northern part of the ocean, and small transport vessels are still used, the direction of which is associated with the monsoons. The catch of fish from the waters of the Indian Ocean accounts for about 6% of the total world catch.