| Atacama |
a desert in northern Chile that lies between the Pacific Ocean and the Andes mountains. |
| Atacama Desert |
an extremely dry region of northern Chile that lies between the Pacific Ocean and the Andes mountains. |
| Australia |
the smallest continent. Australia is southeast of Asia, between the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is in the Eastern Hemisphere. [1/2 definitions] |
| Bering Sea |
a northern arm of the Pacific Ocean that lies between Russia and Alaska. |
| Colombia |
a South American country between Venezuela and the Pacific Ocean. |
| Colorado |
a river that flows southwest from this state to the Pacific Ocean. [1/2 definitions] |
| Coral Sea |
a part of the southern Pacific Ocean located off the northwestern coast of Australia. The Coral Sea is the location of the largest collection of coral reefs in the world. |
| El Niño |
an unusually warm Pacific Ocean current that develops near the International Date Line in the center of the ocean and flows east toward Peru and then south along the coast of South America. El Niño events, which occur every two to seven years approximately, are associated with various negative impacts including damage to the livelihoods of those dependent on fishing and disturbance to regional and global weather patterns, which in turn can increase the incidence of disease and the frequency of destructive weather events. |
| Galápagos Islands |
a group of Ecuadorian islands in the Pacific Ocean about 1,000 miles off the west coast of South America, known for their large number of endemic species and their pivotal role in Charles Darwin's research. |
| Great Pacific Garbage Patch |
a vast accummulation of debris made up primarily of tiny plastic particles floating in the upper column of water in the north central region of the Pacific Ocean. |
| halibut |
a flatfish that lives in the northern Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Halibut are used for food. |
| Hawaii |
an island state of the United States in the Pacific Ocean. Its capital is Honolulu. (abbreviated: HI) [1/2 definitions] |
| Humboldt Current |
a cold current of the Pacific Ocean flowing north along the coasts of Chile and Peru. |
| hurricane |
a powerful storm with heavy rains and winds that blow in a circle at 73 miles per hour or more. Hurricanes form in the West Indian region of the Atlantic Ocean or in the eastern part of the Pacific Ocean near Mexico and Central America. |
| Indonesia |
a country in southeastern Asia made up of a group of islands stretching from the Indian Ocean into the Pacific Ocean. Jakarta is the capital of Indonesia. |
| International Date Line |
(sometimes l.c.) an imaginary north-south line drawn in the Pacific Ocean, roughly at the 18th meridian, on the east side of which, by international agreement, the calendar date is one day earlier than it is on the west side; date line. |
| Japan |
a country in eastern Asia made up of islands in the Pacific Ocean. Tokyo is the capital of Japan. |
| Kiribati |
an island country in the central part of the Pacific Ocean. It lies northeast of Australia. The capital of Kiribati is South Tarawa. |
| Los Angeles |
a city in the U.S. state of California, on the Pacific Ocean. |
| milkfish |
a large, whitish, edible fish found in the Indian and Pacific oceans. |
| nautilus |
any of several related mollusks of the Indian or South Pacific Ocean, having a spiral, chambered shell lined with a pearly membrane; chambered nautilus; pearly nautilus. |