Philippine Sea facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Philippine Sea
Philippine Sea Location in Pacific Ocean Show map of Pacific Ocean Philippine Sea Location in Philippines Show map of Philippines
Coordinates	20°N 130°E / 20°N 130°E / 20; 130
Part of	Pacific Ocean
Basin countries	Federated States of Micronesia Guam Indonesia Japan Northern Mariana Islands Palau Philippines Taiwan
Islands	List Bonin Islands Catanduanes Dinagat Islands Guam Halmahera Homonhon Honshu Kyūshū Leyte Luzon Mariana Islands Mindanao Morotai Palau Polillo Islands Ryukyu Islands Saipan Samar Siargao Shikoku Taiwan Tinian Ulithi Yap
Trenches	Izu-Bonin Trench Mariana Trench Nankai Trough Philippine Trench Ryukyu Trench

The Philippine Sea is a marginal sea east and northeast of the Philippines occupying an estimated surface area of 5 million square kilometres (2 million square miles). The Philippine Sea Plate forms the floor of the sea, which forms a portion of the western North Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by the Philippine archipelago (Luzon, Catanduanes, Samar, Leyte and Mindanao) on the southwest; Halmahera, Morotai, Palau, Yap, and Ulithi (of the Carolines) on the southeast; the Marianas, including Guam, Saipan, and Tinian, on the east; the Bonin and Iwo Jima on the northeast; the Japanese islands of Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyūshū on the north; the Ryukyu Islands on the northwest; and Taiwan in the west.

The sea has a complex and diverse undersea relief. The floor is formed into a structural basin by a series of geologic faults and fracture zones. Island arcs, which are actually extended ridges protruding above the ocean surface due to plate tectonic activity in the area, enclose the Philippine Sea to the north, east and south. The Philippine archipelago, Ryukyu Islands, and the Marianas are examples. Another prominent feature of the Philippine Sea is the presence of deep sea trenches, among them the Philippine Trench and the Mariana Trench, containing the deepest point on the planet.

Geography

An image captured from the ISS while flying over the Philippine Sea

Location

Location of the Philippine Sea

The Philippine Sea has the Philippines and Taiwan to the west, Japan to the north, the Marianas to the east and Palau to the south. Adjacent seas include the Celebes Sea which is separated by Mindanao and smaller islands to the south, the South China Sea which is separated by Philippines, and the East China Sea which is separated by the Ryukyu Islands.

Related pages

• Kyushu-Palau Ridge

Images for kids

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  Philippine Sea plate

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  View of the beach, rocky coastline and the Philippine Sea in Pingtung County, Taiwan

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  Japanese Carrier Division Three under attack by United States Navy aircraft from Task Force 58, late afternoon, 20 June 1944. The heavy cruiser circling at right, nearest to the camera, is either Maya or Chōkai. Beyond that, is the small aircraft carrier Chiyoda.

See also

In Spanish: Mar de Filipinas para niños