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What is the difference between an ocean and a sea?

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What is the difference between an ocean and a sea?

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Although the terms “ocean” and “sea” are often used interchangeably, a sea is generally considered to be smaller than an ocean. One definition of “ocean” is: a great body of interconnecting salt water that covers 71 percent of the Earth’s surface. There are four major oceans—Arctic, Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific. However, some sources do not include the Arctic Ocean, calling it a marginal sea. The term “sea” is often assigned to saltwater areas on the margins of oceans, such as the Mediterranean Sea situated beside the Atlantic Ocean. Sources: Mayhew, Susan, and Anne Penny. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Geography, p. 164; The Guinness Book of Answers, 8th ed., pp. 62-65; The Universal Almanac 1992, p. 296.

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Ocean and sea are two words that are used frequently and interchangeably (in writing and conversation) to mean the same thing: a continuous mass of seawater on the earth’s surface. However, strictly speaking, there is a difference between the two. An ocean is a large expanse of salt water that covers three-quarters of the earth’s surface. It is bounded by the continents, or the equator, and other imaginary lines. The Earth’s seven main oceans are; the Arctic, North Atlantic, South Atlantic, North Pacific, South Pacific, Indian and Antarctic Oceans. These seven main oceans comprise the “world ocean”. Sea on the other hand, is a body of salt water that is surrounded by land on all or most sides, or that is part of one of the oceans. For example, the Caspian Sea and the Dead Sea are large saline lakes that are surrounded by land-they lack a natural outlet; Sargasso Sea is a portion of the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea is attached to the Atlantic Ocean. Major seas include the Me

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Oceans are the large bodies of salt water that cover almost three quarters of the surface of the Earth. Sea refers to certain large bodies of water, but there is inconsistency as to its precise definition and application. Most commonly, a sea may refer to a large expanse of saline water connected with an ocean, but it is also used sometimes of a large saline lake that lacks a natural outlet, e.g. the Caspian Sea.

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