subject to tropical cyclones (typhoons) in
southeast and east Asia from May to December (most frequent from July to
October); tropical cyclones (hurricanes) may form south of Mexico and strike
Central America and Mexico from June to October (most common in August and
September); southern shipping lanes subject to icebergs from Antarctica;
occasional El Nino phenomenon occurs off the coast of Peru when the trade
winds slacken and the warm Equatorial Countercurrent moves south, killing
the plankton that is the primary food source for anchovies; consequently,
the anchovies move to better feeding grounds, causing resident marine birds
to starve by the thousands because of their lost food source

*Pacific Ocean, Geography

Note:
the major choke points are the Bering Strait, Panama Canal, Luzon Strait,
and the Singapore Strait; the Equator divides the Pacific Ocean into the
North Pacific Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean; ships subject to
superstructure icing in extreme north from October to May and in extreme
south from May to October; persistent fog in the northern Pacific from June
to December is a hazard to shipping; surrounded by a zone of violent
volcanic and earthquake activity sometimes referred to as the Pacific Ring
of Fire

*Pacific Ocean, Government

Digraph: ZN

*Pacific Ocean, Economy

Overview:
The Pacific Ocean is a major contributor to the world economy and
particularly to those nations its waters directly touch. It provides
low-cost sea transportation between East and West, extensive fishing
grounds, offshore oil and gas fields, minerals, and sand and gravel for the
construction industry. In 1985 over half (54%) of the world's total fish
catch came from the Pacific Ocean, which is the only ocean where the fish
catch has increased every year since 1978. Exploitation of offshore oil and
gas reserves is playing an ever-increasing role in the energy supplies of
Australia, New Zealand, China, US, and Peru. The high cost of recovering
offshore oil and gas, combined with the wide swings in world prices for oil
since 1985, has slowed but not stopped new drillings.
Industries:
fishing, oil and gas production

*Pacific Ocean, Communications

Ports:
Bangkok (Thailand), Hong Kong, Los Angeles (US), Manila (Philippines), Pusan
(South Korea), San Francisco (US), Seattle (US), Shanghai (China),
Singapore, Sydney (Australia), Vladivostok (Russia)