The Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the __ 1 __ (large) of the Earth ’ s oceans, covering about 46% of the Earth ’ s water surface and 32% of its total surface area. It extends __ 2 __ the Arctic in the north to the Antarctica in the south, __ 3 __ (surround) by Asia and Australia in the west and the Americas in the east. The Pacific Ocean contains about 25,000 islands. The __ 4 __ (major) of them are found south of the equator. __ 5 __ water near the equator is less salty than that found in the midlatitudes ( 中纬度 ) for __ 6 __ (abundance) equatorial precipitation ( 赤道降水 ) throughout the year. The surface circulation of Pacific waters is __ 7 __ (general) clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and counterclockwise in the Southern Hemisphere. The exploitation of the Pacific ’ s mineral wealth is various, __ 8 __ is influenced by the ocean ’ s great depths. In shallow waters off the coasts of Australia and New Zealand, natural gas is produced, and pearls __ 9 __ (harvest) along the coasts of Australia, Japan and the Philippines. One more thing worth __ 10 __ (mention) is that the Pacific ’ s greatest wealth is its fish.