Editing Pacific Ocean (section)

== Geography ==
The Pacific Ocean extends for about 15,500 kilometres from the Bering Strait to the Southern Ocean. Its greatest east–west width occurs near the equator, where the ocean separates [[Southeast Asia]] and [[Oceania]] from [[Central America]] and northern [[South America]]. The equator is commonly used to divide the ocean into the North Pacific and South Pacific.

The western margin contains numerous marginal seas between the Asian mainland and offshore island arcs. The [[Bering Sea]] occupies the northern end of the basin. Farther south, the [[Sea of Okhotsk]], [[Sea of Japan]] and [[Philippine Sea]] lie between the continent and the island chains of the western Pacific. The [[Coral Sea]] lies east of [[Australia]], while the [[Tasman Sea]] separates Australia from [[New Zealand]]. The eastern margin is less divided by marginal seas. It follows the Pacific coasts of [[Canada]], the [[United States]] and [[Mexico]] before continuing along Central America and the western coast of South America.

Most Pacific islands are concentrated in the central and western parts of the ocean. [[Melanesia]] and [[Micronesia]] occupy the western tropical Pacific. [[Polynesia]] extends across a broad triangular region between [[Hawaii]], New Zealand and [[Easter Island]]. Continental islands such as [[New Guinea]] and New Zealand formed through tectonic processes associated with continental margins. Many smaller islands developed from volcanoes or coral reefs.