The Pacific Ocean, which Ecuador is riparian, it is the oldest, most extensive and deepest in the planet. Its surface is double than the Atlantic. It is too big that occupies a third part of the whole earth. Its latitudinal extension (between the coasts of Indonesia and Peru) is almost half the circumference of the globe, with 19,800 km. Its eastern shores are Asia and Australia and its western shores are America. The relief of its seabed is characterized by a great plain in the depths of its central part and a chain of submerged mountains (the oceanic ridge). In that seabed is also located the deepest place in the world, Marianas Trenches (11.000m), being 25% higher than the Everest ( 8,848 m above sea level) In its area, there are about 25 thousand islands.
Most of them are part of Oceania (Polynesia Archipielago), Asia (The Philipines) and America (Galapagos Islands) . The Pacific influences the climate of the entire planet through what is known as "El Niño" phenomenon that occurs annually. The tectonic plates that move under and around this great ocean make the Pacific, the region with the highest seismic activity in the world. In addition, 90% of the world's active volcanoes, placed just at the edge of the plates, form what is known as the "Ring of Fire of the Pacific"
