Indian Ocean

Sunday, 20 January 2013

Maaya - Mohit Chauhan With INdian Ocean Band

Indian Ocean - Kandisa - MTV Unplugged Season 03

INDIAN OCEAN - Bula Raha Hai [OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO] Feat. Rajat Barmecha

Aahatein - Agnee (Feat. Rahul Ram - Indian Ocean & Pritam) - Splitsvilla Theme Song

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Aden
Aden (/ˈɑːdɛn/ AH-den; Arabic: عدن ʻAdan‎) is a seaport city in South Yemen, located by the eastern approach to the Red Sea (the Gulf of Aden), some 170 kilometres east of Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately a million people. Aden's ancient, natural harbour lies in the crater of a dormant volcano which now forms a peninsula, joined to the mainland by a low isthmus. This harbour, Front Bay, was first used by the ancient Kingdom of Awsan between the 5th and 7th centuries BCE. The modern harbour is on the other side of the peninsula.
Aden consists of a number of distinct sub-centers: Crater, the original port city; Ma'alla, the modern port; Tawahi, known as "Steamer Point" in the colonial period; and the resorts of Gold Mohur. Khormaksar, located on the isthmus that connects Aden proper with the mainland, includes the city's diplomatic missions, the main offices of Aden University, and Aden International Airport (the former British Royal Air Force station RAF Khormaksar), Yemen's second biggest airport. On the mainland are the sub-centres of Sheikh Othman, a former oasis area; Al-Mansura, a town planned by the British; and Madinat ash-Sha'b (formerly Madinat al-Itihad), the site designated as the capital of the South Arabian Federation and now home to a large power/desalinization facility and additional faculties of Aden University.

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Aegean Sea
The Aegean Sea (/ɨˈdʒiːən/; Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος, Egeo Pelagos [eˈʝeo ˈpelaɣos] ( listen); Turkish: Ege Denizi or historically Turkish: Adalar Denizi) is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea located between the southern Balkan and Anatolian peninsulas, i.e., between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey. In the north, it is connected to the Marmara Sea and Black Sea by the Dardanelles and Bosporus. The Aegean Islands are within the sea and some bound it on its southern periphery, including Crete and Rhodes. The Aegean Region consists of nine provinces in southwestern Turkey, in part bordering on the Aegean sea.
The sea was traditionally known as Archipelago (in Greek, Αρχιπέλαγος, meaning "chief sea"), but in English this word's meaning has changed to refer to the Aegean Islands and, generally, to any island group.
The Aegean Sea covers about 214,000 square kilometres (83,000 sq mi) in area, and measures about 610 kilometres (380 mi) longitudinally and 300 kilometres (190 mi) latitudinally. The sea's maximum depth is 3,543 metres (11,624 ft), east of Crete. The Aegean Islands are found within its waters, with the following islands delimiting the sea on the south (generally from west to east): Kythera, Antikythera, Crete, Kasos, Karpathos and Rhodes.

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Alboran Sea
Coordinates: 36°0′N 3°0′W / 36°N 3°W / 36; -3
The Alboran Sea is the westernmost portion of the Mediterranean Sea, lying between Spain on the north and Morocco and Algeria on the south. The Strait of Gibraltar, which lies at the west end of the Alboran Sea, connects the Mediterranean with the Atlantic Ocean.
Its average depth is 1,461 feet (445 m) and maximum depth is 4,920 feet (1,500 m).
The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Alboran Sea as follows:
On the West. The Eastern limit of the Strait of Gibraltar [A line joining Europa Point to P. Almina (35°54′N 5°18′W / 35.9°N 5.3°W / 35.9; -5.3)].
On the East. A line joining Cape de Gata (Spain) to C. Fegalo (Africa) (35°36′N 1°12′W / 35.6°N 1.2°W / 35.6; -1.2).
Surface currents in the Alboran Sea flow eastward, bringing water from the Atlantic into Mediterranean; deeper subsurface currents flow westward, carrying saltier Mediterranean water into the Atlantic. There is typically a rotary circulation, also known as a gyre, in the Alboran Sea as a result of this exchange of water. The Alboran Sea is a transition zone between the two seas, containing a mix of Mediterranean and Atlantic species. The Alboran Sea is habitat for the largest population of bottlenose dolphins in the western Mediterranean, is home to the last population of harbour porpoises in the Mediterranean, and is the most important feeding grounds for loggerhead sea turtles in Europe. The Alboran sea also hosts important commercial fisheries, including sardines and swordfish. In 2003, the World Wildlife Fund raised concerns about the widespread drift net fishing endangering populations of dolphins, turtles, and other marine animals.

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Americas
The Americas, or America, are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World.
In the English language, the Americas refers to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, whereas America, in current usage, usually refers to the United States of America.
The Americas cover 8.3% of the Earth's total surface area (28.4% of its land area) and contain about 13.5% of the human population (about 900 million people).
The specifics of Paleo-Indian migration to and throughout the Americas, including the exact dates and routes traveled, are subject to ongoing research and discussion. The traditional theory has been that these early migrants moved into the Beringia land bridge between eastern Siberia and present-day Alaska around 40,000–17,000 years ago, when sea levels were significantly lowered due to the Quaternary glaciation. These people are believed to have followed herds of now-extinct pleistocene megafauna along ice-free corridors that stretched between the Laurentide and Cordilleran ice sheets. Another route proposed is that, either on foot or using primitive boats, they migrated down the Pacific Northwest coast to South America. Evidence of the latter would since have been covered by a sea level rise of hundreds of meters following the last ice age.

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Amundsen Gulf
Amundsen Gulf is a gulf located in Canadian Northwest Territories, between Banks Island and Victoria Island and the mainland . It is approximately 250 mi (400 km) in length and about 93 mi (150 km) across where it meets the Beaufort Sea.
The Amundsen Gulf was explored by Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen between 1903 and 1906. The gulf is at the western end of the famous Northwest Passage, a route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific.
Few people live along the shores of the gulf, but there are a few towns and communities including: Sachs Harbour, Ulukhaktok and Paulatuk. Heading north in the gulf one would find the Prince of Wales Strait. Heading southeast and east, the gulf leads through the Dolphin and Union Strait, past Simpson Bay and into the Coronation Gulf. From there one would go through the Dease Strait and into the Queen Maud Gulf, and eventually head northeast into the Victoria Strait. Heading west and northwest a traveller would first enter the Beaufort Sea and then the Arctic Ocean.

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Amundsen Sea
The Amundsen Sea is an arm of the Southern Ocean off Marie Byrd Land in western Antarctica. It is bounded by Cape Flying Fish, the northwestern tip of Thurston Island to the east and Cape Dart on Siple Island to the west. East of Cape Flying Fish starts the Bellingshausen Sea. West of Cape Dart is no named marginal sea of the Southern Ocean between Amundsen Sea and Ross Sea. Named for the Norwegian polar explorer Roald Amundsen by the Norwegian expedition of 1928–29, under Captain Nils Larsen, while exploring this area in February, 1929.
The sea is mostly ice-covered, and the Thwaites Ice Tongue protrudes into it. The ice sheet which drains into the Amundsen Sea averages about 3 km (1.9 mi) in thickness; is roughly the size of the state of Texas and the area is known as the Amundsen Sea Embayment (ASE); it forms one of the three major ice drainage basins of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet.
The ice sheet which drains into the Amundsen Sea averages about 3 km (1.9 mi) in thickness; is roughly the size of the state of Texas and the area is known as the Amundsen Sea Embayment (ASE); it forms one of the three major ice drainage basins of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, the others being the Ross Sea Embayment and the Weddell Sea Embayment. In March 2007, scientists studying the ASE through satellite and airborne surveys announced a significant thinning of the ASE, due to shifts in wind patterns that allow warmer waters to flow beneath the ice sheet.

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Andaman Sea
The Andaman Sea or Burma Sea (Burmese: မြန်မာပင်လယ်, IPA: [mjəmà pìɴlɛ̀]; Hindi: अंडमान सागर; Thai: ทะเลอันดามัน, IPA: [tʰa.leː ʔan.daː.man]) is a body of water to the southeast of the Bay of Bengal, south of Burma (Myanmar), west of Thailand and east of the Andaman Islands, India; it is part of the Indian Ocean.
The sea has been traditionally used for fishery and transportation of goods between the coastal countries and its coral reefs and islands are popular tourist destinations. The fishery and tourist infrastructure was severely damaged by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami.
At its southeastern reaches, the Andaman Sea narrows to form the Straits of Malacca, which separate the Malay Peninsula from the island of Sumatra.
The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the "Andaman or Burma Sea" as follows:
On the Southwest. A line running from Oedjong Raja (5°32′N 95°12′E / 5.533°N 95.2°E / 5.533; 95.2) in Sumatra to Poeloe Bras (Breuëh) and on through the Western Islands of the Nicobar Group to Sandy Point in Little Andaman Island, in such a way that all the narrow waters appertain to the Burma Sea.

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Antarctic
The Antarctic ( /ænˈtɑrktɪk/ or /ænˈtɑrtɪk/) is a polar region, specifically the region around the Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica and the ice shelves, waters, and island territories in the Southern Ocean situated south of the Antarctic Convergence. The region covers some 20% of the Southern Hemisphere, of which 5.5% (14 million km²) is the surface area of the continent itself.
The maritime part of the region constitutes the area of application of the international Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), where for technical reasons the Convention uses an approximation of the Convergence line by means of a line joining specified points along parallels of latitude and meridians of longitude. The implementation of the Convention is managed through an international Commission headquartered in Hobart, Australia by an efficient system of annual fishing quotas, licenses and international inspectors on the fishing vessels, as well as satellite surveillance.

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Antarctica
Antarctica

This map uses an orthographic projection, near-polar aspect. The South Pole is near the center, where longitudinal lines converge.
Antarctica (ⁱ/æntˈɑrtɨkə/ or /ænˈtɑːktɨkə/) is Earth's southernmost continent, containing the geographic South Pole. It is situated in the Antarctic region of the Southern Hemisphere, almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle, and is surrounded by the Southern Ocean. At 14.0 million km² (5.4 million sq mi), it is the fifth-largest continent in area after Asia, Africa, North America, and South America. For comparison, Antarctica is nearly twice the size of Australia. About 98% of Antarctica is covered by ice that averages at least 1 mile (1.6 km) in thickness.
Antarctica, on average, is the coldest, driest, and windiest continent, and has the highest average elevation of all the continents. Antarctica is considered a desert, with annual precipitation of only 200 mm (8 inches) along the coast and far less inland. The temperature in Antarctica has reached −89 °C (−129 °F). There are no permanent human residents, but anywhere from 1,000 to 5,000 people reside throughout the year at the research stations scattered across the continent. Only cold-adapted organisms survive there, including many types of algae, animals (for example mites, nematodes, penguins, seals and tardigrades), bacteria, fungi, plants, and protista. Vegetation where it occurs is tundra.

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Arabian Peninsula
The Arabian Peninsula (Arabic: شبه الجزيرة العربية šibh al-jazīrat al-ʻarabīya or جزيرة العرب Ǧazīrat al 'Arab‎) is a land mass situated north-east of Africa. Also known as Arabia or the Arabian subcontinent, it is the world's largest peninsula and covers 3,237,500 km² (1,250,000 mi²). The area is an important part of the Asian continent and plays a critical geopolitical role of the Middle East and Arab World due to its vast reserves of oil and natural gas. The peninsula formed as a result of the rifting of the Red Sea between 56-23 million years ago, and is bordered by the Red Sea to the west, the Persian Gulf to the northeast, and the Indian Ocean to the southeast.
The Arabian Peninsula is located in the Asia continent and bounded by (clockwise) the Persian Gulf on the northeast, the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman on the east, the Arabian Sea on the southeast and south, the Gulf of Aden on the south, the Bab-el-Mandeb strait on the southwest, and the Red Sea on the southwest and west. The northern portion of the peninsula merges with the Syrian Desert with no clear border line, although the northern boundary of the Arabian Peninsula is generally considered to be the northern borders of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

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Arafura Sea
Coordinates: 9°30′S 135°0′E / 9.5°S 135°E / -9.5; 135
The Arafura Sea lies west of the Pacific Ocean overlying the continental shelf between Australia and New Guinea.
The Arafura Sea is bordered by Torres Strait and through that the Coral Sea to the east, the Gulf of Carpentaria to the south, the Timor Sea to the west and the Banda and Ceram seas to the northwest. It is 1,290 kilometres (800 mi) long and 560 kilometres (350 mi) wide. The depth of the sea is primarily 50–80 metres (165–265 feet) with the depth increasing to the west. As a shallow tropical sea, its waters are a breeding ground for tropical cyclones.^{[citation needed]}
The sea lies over the Arafura Shelf, part of the Sahul Shelf. When sea levels were low during the last glacial maximum, the Arafura Shelf, the Gulf of Carpentaria and Torres Strait formed a large flat land bridge connecting Australia and New Guinea and easing migration of humans from Asia into Australia. The combined landmass formed the continent of Sahul.
The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) defines the Arafura Sea as being one of the waters of the East Indian Archipelago. The IHO defines its limits as follows:

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Archipelago Sea
Coordinates: 60°18′N 21°00′E / 60.3°N 21°E / 60.3; 21
Archipelago Sea (Finnish Saaristomeri, Swedish Skärgårdshavet) is a part of the Baltic Sea between the Gulf of Bothnia, the Gulf of Finland and the Sea of Åland, within Finnish territorial waters. By some definitions it contains the largest archipelago (island group) in the world by the number of islands, although many of the islands are very small and tightly clustered.
The larger islands are inhabited and connected by ferries and bridges. The Åland Islands, including the largest islands of the region, form an autonomous region within Finland. The rest of the islands are part of Finland Proper. The Archipelago Sea is a significant tourist destination.
The Archipelago Sea covers a roughly triangular area with the cities of Mariehamn (60°5′52″N 19°56′23″E / 60.09778°N 19.93972°E / 60.09778; 19.93972), Uusikaupunki (60°48′4″N 21°24′50″E / 60.80111°N 21.41389°E / 60.80111; 21.41389), and Hanko (59°50′0″N 22°58′15″E / 59.833333°N 22.97083°E / 59.833333; 22.97083), at the corners. The archipelago can be divided into inner and outer archipelagos, with the outer archipelago consisting mainly of smaller, uninhabited islands. The total surface area is 8300 square kilometers, of which 2000 square kilometers is land.

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Arctic Ocean
The Arctic Ocean, located in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Arctic north polar region, is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceanic divisions. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, although some oceanographers call it the Arctic Mediterranean Sea or simply the Arctic Sea, classifying it as one of the mediterranean seas of the Atlantic Ocean. Alternatively, the Arctic Ocean can be seen as the northernmost part of the all-encompassing World Ocean.
Almost completely surrounded by Eurasia and North America, the Arctic Ocean is partly covered by sea ice throughout the year (and almost completely in winter). The Arctic Ocean's temperature and salinity vary seasonally as the ice cover melts and freezes; its salinity is the lowest on average of the five major oceans, due to low evaporation, heavy freshwater inflow from rivers and streams, and limited connection and outflow to surrounding oceanic waters with higher salinities. The summer shrinking of the ice has been quoted at 50%. The US National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) uses satellite data to provide a daily record of Arctic sea ice cover and the rate of melting compared to an average period and specific past years.

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Argentine Sea
The Argentine Sea (Spanish: Mar Argentino) refers to the sea within the continental shelf off the Argentine mainland. It is a term often related to the Argentine claims to both the Falkland Islands and the Antarctic Peninsula.
It is located in the South Atlantic Ocean off the southeastern coast of Argentina, extending from the approximate latitude of Montevideo, Uruguay, southward to Tierra del Fuego, and is situated about 500 miles (800 km) north of Antarctica. The Argentine Sea has a surface of 386,102 sq. mi. (1,000,000 km²) and is one of the largest seas in the world. The average depth of sea is 3,952 feet (1,205 m) and maximum depth is 7,296 feet (2,224 m). The area that matches this description has no specific name in The Times Atlas of the World. The quoted statistics are dubious because the continental shelf only includes land to a depth of 200 m making it impossible to have an average depth of 1200 m.
The Argentine Sea progressively widens going southward, in contrast with the narrowing of the continental mass. The sea platform has a series of plateaus which descend to the east as large terraces or steps. Because of its stair-shaped plateaus, the Argentine Sea is similar morphologically to the Extra-Andean Patagonia. The Falkland Islands are also located within the continental shelf of the Argentine Sea.

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Astore River
Astor River, a tributary of the Indus River and one of the rivers draining the Deosai Plateau, runs through Astore Valley. The river originates from western slopes of Burzil Pass.
Astor river joins Gilgit River at coordinates 34°00′N 74°41′E / 34°N 74.683°E / 34; 74.683.
Coordinates: 34°00′N 74°41′E / 34°N 74.683°E / 34; 74.683

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Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about 106,400,000 square kilometres (41,100,000 sq mi), it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area. The first part of its name refers to Atlas of Greek mythology, making the Atlantic the "Sea of Atlas".
The oldest known mention of "Atlantic" is in The Histories of Herodotus around 450 BC (Hdt. 1.202.4): Atlantis thalassa (Greek: Ἀτλαντὶς θάλασσα; English: Sea of Atlas); see also: Atlas Mountains. The term Ethiopic Ocean, derived from Ethiopia, was applied to the southern Atlantic ocean as late as the mid-19th century. Before Europeans discovered other oceans, the term "ocean" itself was synonymous with the waters beyond the Strait of Gibraltar that we now know as the Atlantic. The early Greeks believed this ocean to be a gigantic river encircling the world.
The Atlantic Ocean occupies an elongated, S-shaped basin extending longitudinally between Europe and Africa to the east, and the Americas to the west. As one component of the interconnected global ocean, it is connected in the north to the Arctic Ocean (which is sometimes considered a sea of the Atlantic), to the Pacific Ocean in the southwest, the Indian Ocean in the southeast, and the Southern Ocean in the south. (Other definitions describe the Atlantic as extending southward to Antarctica.) The equator subdivides it into the North Atlantic Ocean and South Atlantic Ocean.

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Australia
Australia ( /əˈstreɪljə/), officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent as well as the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area. Neighbouring countries include Indonesia, East Timor and Papua New Guinea to the north; the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and New Caledonia to the north-east; and New Zealand to the south-east.
For at least 40,000 years before European settlement in the late 18th century, Australia was inhabited by indigenous Australians, who belonged to one or more of roughly 250 language groups. After discovery by Dutch explorers in 1606, Australia's eastern half was claimed by Great Britain in 1770 and settled through penal transportation to the colony of New South Wales from 26 January 1788. The population grew steadily in subsequent decades; the continent was explored and an additional five self-governing Crown Colonies were established.

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Bab el Mandeb
The Bab-el-Mandeb (variously transliterated Mandab or Mandib, and with article "el-" given also as "al-", with or without connecting dashes) meaning "Gate of Grief" in Arabic (باب المندب), is a strait located between Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula, Djibouti and Eritrea, north of Somalia, in the Horn of Africa, and connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden. It is sometimes called the Mandab Strait in the English language.
The strait derives its name from the dangers attending its navigation, or, according to an Arab legend, from the numbers who were drowned by the earthquake which separated Asia and Africa.

Bab el-Mandab acts as a strategic link between the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, via the Red Sea and the Suez Canal. In 2006, an estimated 3.3 million barrels (520,000 m³) of oil passed through the strait per day, out of a world total of about 43 million barrels per day (6,800,000 m³/d) moved by tankers.
The distance across is about 20 miles (30 km) from Ras Menheli in Yemen to Ras Siyan in Djibouti. The island of Perim divides the strait into two channels, of which the eastern, known as the Bab Iskender (Alexander's Strait), is 2 miles (3 km) wide and 16 fathoms (30 m) deep, while the western, or Dact-el-Mayun, has a width of about 16 miles (25 km) and a depth of 170 fathoms (310 m). Near the coast of Djibouti lies a group of smaller islands known as the "Seven Brothers". There is a surface current inwards in the eastern channel, but a strong undercurrent outwards in the western channel.

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Bahrain
Bahrain ( pronunciation) (Arabic: ‏البحرين‎, al-Baḥrayn) (Persian: ‏بحرين‎, Baḥrain), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain (Arabic: مملكة البحرين‎, Mamlakat al-Baḥrayn), is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,234,571, including 666,172 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.
Bahrain is an archipelago of 33 islands, the largest being Bahrain Island, at 55 km (34 mi) long by 18 km (11 mi) wide. Saudi Arabia lies to the west and is connected to Bahrain by the King Fahd Causeway. The peninsula of Qatar is to the southeast across the Gulf of Bahrain. The planned Qatar Bahrain Causeway will link Bahrain and Qatar and become the world's longest marine causeway.
Known for its oil and pearls, Bahrain is also home to many large structures, including the Bahrain World Trade Center and the Bahrain Financial Harbour, with a proposal in place to build the 1,022 m (3,353 ft) high Murjan Tower. The Qal'at al-Bahrain (the harbour and capital of the ancient land of Dilmun) was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2005. The Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix takes place at the Bahrain International Circuit.

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Balearic Sea
Coordinates: 40°0′N 1°30′E / 40°N 1.5°E / 40; 1.5
The Balearic Sea or Iberian Sea is a body of water in the Mediterranean Sea near the Balearic Islands. In the Catalan language the area is also known as the Catalan-Balearic Sea (Mar Catalanobalear).
The Ebro River flows into this small sea.
The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Balearic Sea as follows:
Between the Islas Baleares and the coast of Spain, bounded:
On the Southwest. A line from Cape San Antonio, Spain (38°50′N 0°12′E / 38.833°N 0.2°E / 38.833; 0.2) to Cabo Berberia, the Southwest extreme of Formentera (Islas Baleares).
On the Southeast. The South Coast of Formentera, thence a line from Punta Rotja, its Eastern extreme, to the Southern extreme of Isla Cabrera (39°07′N 2°54′E / 39.117°N 2.9°E / 39.117; 2.9) and to Isla del Aire, off the Southern extreme of Minorca.
On the Northeast. The East coast of Minorca up to Cabo Favaritx (40°00′N 4°14′E / 40°N 4.233°E / 40; 4.233) thence a line to Cabo San Sebastian (Spain) (41°54′N 3°10′E / 41.9°N 3.167°E / 41.9; 3.167).

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Bali Sea
The Bali Sea (Indonesian: Laut Bali) is the body of water north of the island of Bali and south of Kangean Island in Indonesia. The sea forms the south-west part of the Flores Sea, and the Madura Strait opens into it from the west.
The Bali Sea is sometimes grouped with Flores Sea for oceanographic purposes, however in some nautical charts, Bali Sea is written as a distinct sea for navigation. The sea has an area of 45,000 km² (17,000 sq mi) and a maximum depth of 1,590 m (5,217 ft).
The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) defines the Bali Sea as being one of the waters of the East Indian Archipelago. The IHO defines its limits as follows:
On the North. A line from the Western Paternoster Island to the East point of Sepandjang and thence through this island to the West point of Gedeh Bay on the South coast of Kangean (7°01′S 115°18′E / 7.017°S 115.3°E / -7.017; 115.3).
On the West. A line from the West point of Gedeh Bay, Kangean Island, to Tg Sedano, the Northeast extreme of Java and down the East coast to Tg Bantenan, the Southeast extreme of the island.

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Banda Sea
The Banda Sea is a sea in the Maluku Islands of Indonesia, technically^[vague] part of the Pacific Ocean but separated^[vague] from it by hundreds of islands, as well as the Halmahera and Ceram Seas. It is about 1000 km (600 mi) east to west, and about 500 km (300 mi) north to south.
The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) defines the Banda Sea as being one of the waters of the East Indian Archipelago. The IHO defines its limits as follows:
On the North The Southern limits of the Molukka Sea [sic] and the Western and Southern limits of the Ceram Sea.
On the East. From Tg Borang, the Northern point of Noehoe Tjoet [Kai Besar], through this island to its Southern point, thence a line to the Northeast point of Fordata, through this island and across to the Northeast point of Larat, Tanimbar Islands (7°06′S 131°55′E / 7.1°S 131.917°E / -7.1; 131.917), down the East coast of Jamdena [Yamdena] Island to its Southern point, thence through Anggarmasa to the North point of Selaroe and through this island to Tg Aro Oesoe its Southern point (8°21′S 130°45′E / 8.35°S 130.75°E / -8.35; 130.75).

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Bangladesh
Coordinates: 23°N 90°E / 23°N 90°E / 23; 90
Bangladesh (ⁱ/ˈbɑːŋɡlədɛʃ/ or ⁱ/bæŋɡləˈdɛʃ/ (Anglicized pronunciation); Bengali: বাংলাদেশ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh (Bengali: গণপ্রজাতন্ত্রী বাংলাদেশ Gônoprojatontri Bangladesh) is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India and Burma and by the Bay of Bengal to the south. The capital (and largest city) is Dhaka, located in central Bangladesh. The official state language is Bengali. The name Bangladesh means "Land of Bengal" or "Country of Bengal" the in the Bengali language, from Bangla "Bengal" and desh holding a dual meaning of "land" and "country" as English "country," German land, French pays, etc.
The borders of present-day Bangladesh were established with the partition of Bengal during the reign and demise of the British India. Its map was chartered by Sir Cyril Radcliffe during the creation of Pakistan and India in 1947, when the region became East Pakistan, part of the newly formed nation of Pakistan. Due to political exclusion and economic exploitation by the politically dominant West Pakistan, popular agitation grew against West Pakistan and led to the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971, after the Bangladeshi Declaration of Independence on 26 March 1971. With the intervention of the Indian Army, the war came to an end on 16 December 1971 with the surrender of the Pakistan Army at Ramna Race Course.

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Bara River
Bara River (Pashto: باړه سیند; Urdu: دریائے باڑہ ) is a river in Khyber Agency and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The Bara River originates in the Tirah Valley of Bara Tehsil, Khyber Agency. It joins the Kabul River Canal which originates from the Warsak Dam, and enters Peshawar. Then it flows in the North-easterly direction to the Nowshera District, eventually joining the Kabul River near Camp Koruna, Akbarpura. Due to its higher elevation, very limited areas flow through gravity into Bara river.
Coordinates: 34°06′N 71°45′E / 34.1°N 71.75°E / 34.1; 71.75

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Barents Sea
The Barents Sea (Norwegian: Barentshavet, Russian: Баренцево море or Barentsevo More) is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean, located north of Norway and Russia. Known in the Middle Ages as the Murman Sea, the sea takes its current name from the Dutch navigator Willem Barents. It is a rather deep shelf sea (average depth 760 feet (230 m) and maximum depth 1,480 feet (450 m)), bordered by the shelf edge towards the Norwegian Sea in the west, the islands of Svalbard (Norway) in the northwest, and the islands of Franz Josef Land and Novaya Zemlya (Arkhangelsk Oblast) in the northeast and east. Novaya Zemlya separates the Kara Sea from the Barents Sea. Significant fossil fuel energy resources exist in the Barents Sea region.
The southern half of the Barents Sea, including the ports of Murmansk (Russia) and Vardø (Norway) remain ice-free year round due to the warm North Atlantic drift. In September, the entire Barents Sea is more or less completely ice-free. Until the Winter War (1939–40), Finland's territory also reached to the Barents Sea, with the harbor at Petsamo being Finland's only ice-free winter harbor.

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Basol River
Basol River is located in Gwadar District, Balochistan, Pakistan. Basol river drains into Khor Kalmat lagoon. The geographical coordinated of Khor Kalmat are N 25° 24' 32 E 64° 4' 37.
Coordinates: 25°19′N 64°13′E / 25.317°N 64.217°E / 25.317; 64.217

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Bay of Bengal
The Bay of Bengal, the largest bay in the world, forms the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. Roughly triangular in shape, it is bordered mostly by India and Sri Lanka to the west, Bangladesh to the north, and Burma (Myanmar) and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to the east.
The Bay of Bengal occupies an area of 2,172,000 km². A number of large rivers – the Padma (a distributary of the Ganges), Meghna (a distributary of the Brahmaputra), Jamuna (a branch of the Brahmaputra), Ayeyarwady, Godavari, Mahanadi, Krishna and Kaveri – flow into the Bay of Bengal. Among the important ports are Cuddalore, Ennore, Chennai, Karaikal, Pondicherry, Tuticorin, Kakinada, Machilipatnam, Vishakhapatnam, Gangavaram, Krishnapatnam, Paradip, Kolkata, Mongla, Chittagong and Yangon.
The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Bay of Bengal as follows:
On the East. A line running from Cape Negrais (16°03'N) in Burma through the larger islands of the Andaman group, in such a way that all the narrow waters between the islands lie to the Eastward of the line and are excluded from the Bay of Bengal, as far as a point in Little Andaman Island in latitude 10°48'N, longitude 92°24'E and thence along the Southwest limit of the Burma Sea [A line running from Oedjong Raja (5°32′N 95°12′E / 5.533°N 95.2°E / 5.533; 95.2) in Sumatra to Poeloe Bras (Breuëh) and on through the Western Islands of the Nicobar Group to Sandy Point in Little Andaman Island, in such a way that all the narrow waters appertain to the Burma Sea].

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Bay of Biscay
The Bay of Biscay (Spanish: Golfo de Vizcaya; French: Golfe de Gascogne; Basque: Bizkaiko golkoa; Breton: Pleg-mor Gwascogn; Gascon: Golf de Gasconha) is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. It lies along the western coast of France from Brest south to the Spanish border, and the northern coast of Spain west to Cape Ortegal, and is named in English after the province of Biscay, in the Spanish Basque Country.
The average depth is 1,744 metres (5,722 ft) and maximum depth is 2,789 metres (9,150 ft).
Parts of the continental shelf extend far into the bay, resulting in fairly shallow water in many areas and thus cause the rough seas for which the region is known. The Bay of Biscay is home to some of the Atlantic Ocean's fiercest weather. Large storms occur in the bay, especially during the winter months. Up until recent years it was a regular occurrence for merchant vessels to founder in Biscay storms, and many lives were lost. Improved ships and weather prediction have reduced the toll of the storms.

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Bay of Campeche
The Bay of Campeche (Spanish: Golfo de Campeche) (sometimes confused with Bahía de Campeche^{[citation needed]}) is the southern bight of the Gulf of Mexico. It is surrounded on three sides by the Mexican states of Campeche, Tabasco and Veracruz. It was named by Francisco Hernández de Córdoba and Antonio de Alaminos during their expedition in 1517.
The Cantarell Complex of five oil fields lies beneath the Bay of Campeche. It is the second most productive oil field in the world, supplying about two thirds of Mexico's crude oil output. On June 3, 1979, Ixtoc I, an exploratory oil well located in the bay, suffered a blowout that caused a catastrophic explosion, resulting in what has been ranked as the third largest unintentional oil spill in history. The area of the bay is 6,000 square miles (16,000 km²) and maximum depth of the bay is approximately 180 feet (55 m).
During the months of June and July, the Bay of Campeche is considered one of the "hot" breeding spots for Atlantic hurricanes. The bay is also considered the eastern border on the main migration routes for birds in the Americas.

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Bay of Fundy
The Bay of Fundy (French: Baie de Fundy) is a bay on the Atlantic coast of North America, on the northeast end of the Gulf of Maine between the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, with a small portion touching the U.S. state of Maine. Some sources believe the name "Fundy" is a corruption of the French word "Fendu", meaning "split", while others believe it comes from the Portuguese fondo, meaning "funnel". The bay was also named Baie Française (French Bay) by explorer/cartographer Samuel de Champlain during a 1604 expedition led by Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Monts which resulted in a failed settlement attempt on St. Croix Island.
The Bay of Fundy is known for having the highest tidal range in the world. Rivaled by Ungava Bay in northern Quebec, King Sound in Western Australia, Gulf of Khambhat in India, and the Severn Estuary in the UK, it has one of the highest vertical tidal ranges in the world. The Guinness Book of World Records (1975) declared that Burntcoat Head, Nova Scotia has the highest tides in the world:

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Beas River
The Beas River (or Vipasha, Hindi: ब्यास, Punjabi: ਬਿਆਸ, Sanskrit: विपाशा) is a river in the northern part of India. The river rises in the Himalayas in central Himachal Pradesh, India, and flows for some 470 km (290 miles) to the Sutlej River in the Indian state of Punjab.
Its total length is 470 km (290 miles), and its drainage basin is 20,303 square kilometres (7,839 sq mi) large.
The river was also known as Arjikuja of the Vedas, or Vipasa to the ancient Indians, and the Hyphasis to the Ancient Greeks.
The present name "Beas" is thought to be a corruption of the older name and original name "Vipasha" in Sanskrit. The river got this name, Vi-pasha, the "one who removed the bondage" (or pasha in Sanskrit). According to ancient texts, the river was named after sage Vasistha. Vasistha, tried to end his life due to the death of his 100 sons, by jumping into this river and tying himself. But as soon as the sage fell into the river, all the knots got untied, and he did not die. The river is also referred to as Vipasha in Himachal, especially by the scholars.

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Beaufort Sea
The Beaufort Sea (French: mer de Beaufort) is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean, located north of the Northwest Territories, the Yukon, and Alaska, west of Canada's Arctic islands. The sea is named after hydrographer Sir Francis Beaufort. The major Mackenzie River empties into the Canadian part of the sea, west of Tuktoyaktuk, which is one of the few permanent settlements on the sea shores.
The sea, characterized by severe climate, is frozen over most of the year; only a narrow pass up to 100 km (62 mi) opens in August–September near its shores. The seacoast was populated about 30,000 years ago, but the population density is very low. The sea contains significant resources of petroleum and natural gas under its shelf, such as the Amauligak field. They were discovered in the period between 1950s and 1980s, and their exploration became the major human activity in the area since the 1980s. The traditional occupations of fishery and whale and seal hunting are practiced only locally, and have no commercial significance. As a result, the sea hosts one of the largest colonies of beluga whales, and there is no sign of overfishing. There is a long-standing dispute between the United States and Canada over the sea border area, but significant steps have been taken in 2010 toward its resolution.

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Bellingshausen Sea
The Bellingshausen Sea is an area along the west side of the Antarctic Peninsula, west of Alexander Island, east of Cape Flying Fish on Thurston Island, and south of Peter I Island (there the southern Vostokkysten). In the south are, from west to east, Eights Coast, Bryan Coast and English Coast (west part) of West Antarctica. To the west of Cape Flying Fish joins Amundsen Sea.
Bellingshausen Sea has an area of 487,000 km² (188,000 sq mi) and reaches a maximum depth of 4,470 meters (14,670 ft).
It takes its name from Admiral Thaddeus Bellingshausen, who explored in the area in 1821.
In the late Pliocene Epoch, about 2.15 million years ago, the Eltanin asteroid impacted here. This is the only known impact in a deep-ocean basin in the world.

Coordinates: 71°S 85°W / 71°S 85°W / -71; -85

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Bering Sea
Coordinates: 58°0′N 178°0′W / 58°N 178°W / 58; -178
The Bering Sea is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean. It comprises a deep water basin, which then rises through a narrow slope into the shallower water above the continental shelves.
The Bering Sea is separated from the Gulf of Alaska by the Alaska Peninsula. It covers over two million square kilometers, bordered on the east and northeast by Alaska, on the west by Russia's Siberia and Kamchatka Peninsula, on the south by the Alaska Peninsula and the Aleutian Islands and on the far north by the Bering Strait, which connects the Bering Sea to the Arctic Ocean's Chukchi Sea. Bristol Bay is the portion of the Bering Sea which separates the Alaska Peninsula from mainland Alaska. The Bering Sea is named for Vitus Bering, a Danish navigator in Russian service, who in 1728 was the first European to systematically explore it, sailing from the Pacific Ocean northward to the Arctic Ocean.^{[citation needed]}
The Bering Sea ecosystem includes resources within the jurisdiction of the United States and Russia, as well as international waters in the middle of the sea (known as the "Donut Hole"). The interaction between currents, sea ice, and weather make for a vigorous and productive ecosystem.

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Bering Strait
Coordinates: 66°0′N 169°0′W / 66°N 169°W / 66; -169
The Bering Strait (Russian: Берингов пролив, Beringov proliv, Yupik: Imakpik) is a 53 mile long sea strait between Cape Dezhnev, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia, the easternmost point (169°43'W) of the Asian continent and Cape Prince of Wales, Alaska, USA, the westernmost point (168°05'W) of the North American continent. It lies slightly south of the polar circle at approximately 65°40'N latitude, with the present US-Russia east-west boundary, agreed to only by the USA, at 168°58'37"W.
The Strait has been the subject of scientific speculation that humans migrated from Asia to North America across a land bridge known as Beringia when lower ocean levels–perhaps a result of glaciers locking up vast amounts of water–exposed a ridge beneath the ocean.
The name of the sea containing the strait is sometimes spelled Behring in older books.
The Bering Strait is approximately 53 miles (85 km) wide, with depth varying between 98 feet (30 m) and 160 feet (49 m). It connects the Chukchi Sea (part of the Arctic Ocean) to the north with the Bering Sea (part of the Pacific Ocean) to the south.

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Betwa River
The Betwa is a river in Northern India, and a tributary of the Yamuna. Also known as the Vetravati, the Betwa rises in the Vindhya Range just north of Hoshangabad in Madhya Pradesh and flows north-east through Madhya Pradesh and flow through Orchha to Uttar Pradesh. Nearly one-half of its course, which is not navigable, runs over the Malwa Plateau before it breaks into the upland. A tributary of the Yamuna River, the confluence of the Betwa and the Yamuna Rivers takes place in the Hamirpur town in Uttar Pradesh, in the vicinity of Orchha.
In Sanskrit 'Betwa' is 'Vetravati' which means ‘containing reeds'. This river is mentioned in the epic Mahabharata along with the Charmanwati river. Both are tributaries of Yamuna. Vetravati was also known as Shuktimati. The capital of Chedi Kingdom was on the banks of this river.
In accordance with an inter-state agreement between the states of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh in 1973, Betwa River Board (BRB) was constituted under the Betwa River Board Act, 1976. The Union Minister of Ministry of Water Resources is the Chairman of the Board and the Union Minister of Power, Union Minister of State for Water Resources, Chief Ministers and Ministers in-charge of Finance, Irrigation and Power of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh are its Members.

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Bismarck Sea
The Bismarck Sea lies in the southwestern Pacific Ocean to the north of the island of Papua New Guinea and to the south of the Bismarck Archipelago and Admiralty Islands. Like the Bismarck archipelago, it is named in honour of the German chancellor Otto von Bismarck. The Bismarck archipelago extends round to the east and north of the sea, enclosing the Bismarck Sea and separating it from the Pacific Ocean. To the south it is linked to the Solomon Sea by the Vitiaz Strait.
It was the site of a major Japanese naval defeat in the Battle of the Bismarck Sea during World War II on 3 and 4 March 1943.
The International Hydrographic Organization defines the Bismarck Sea as "that area of the South Pacific Ocean off the Northeast coast of New Guinea", with the following limits:
On the North and East. By the Northern and Northeastern coasts of the islands of New Ireland, New Hanover, the Admiralty Islands, Hermit Island, and the Ninigo Group, through Manu and Aua Islands to Wuvulu Island and thence a line to Baudissin Point in New Guinea (142°02'E).

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Bohai Sea
Coordinates: 38°42′N 119°54′E / 38.7°N 119.9°E / 38.7; 119.9
Bohai Sea (Chinese: 渤海; pinyin: Bó Hǎi; Wade–Giles: Po-hai), also known as Bohai Gulf, Bohai, or Bo Hai, is the innermost gulf of the Yellow Sea on the coast of Northeastern and North China. It is approximately 78,000 km² (30,116 sq. mi) in area and its proximity to Beijing, the capital of the Peoples Republic of China, makes it one of the busiest seaways in the world.
Until the early 20th century, Bo Hai was often called the Gulf of Chihli (直隸海灣 Zhílì Hǎiwān) or the Gulf of Pechihli or Pechili (北直隸海灣 Běizhílì Hǎiwān). Zhili and Beizhili were historic provinces in the area surrounding Beijing.
The Bohai Sea is bounded by the Liaodong and Shandong Peninsulas. It has become one of busiest sea routes in recent times. There are three major bays inside the Bohai Sea: Laizhou Bay to the south, Liaodong Bay to the north, and Bohai Bay to the west. At the easternmost end of the Bohai Sea, between the southernmost end of the Liaodong Peninsula and northernmost end of the Shandong Peninsula, is the Bohai Strait (渤海海峡). A few of the rivers entering the gulf include the Yellow, Hai, Liao, and Luan Rivers. There are a few important oil reserves in the vicinity of the gulf, including the Shengli Field. Important island groups or islands in the gulf include the Changshan Islands (长山列岛), Changxing Island, and Xizhong Island (西中岛). The PRC provincial-level divisions that have a Bohai Sea coastline are, from the south, going clockwise: Shandong Province, Hebei Province, Tianjin Municipality, and Liaoning Province

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Bohol Sea
The Bohol Sea, also called the Mindanao Sea, is located between Visayas and Mindanao in the Philippines. It lies south of Bohol and Leyte and north of Mindanao. Siquijor and Camiguin are its two major islands.
The major cities on the sea are Cagayan de Oro City, Iligan City, Butuan City, Dumaguete City, Ozamis City, and Tagbilaran City.
The sea connects to the Philippine Sea through the Surigao Strait, to the Camotes Sea through the Canigao Channel and Cebu Strait, and to the Sulu Sea through the strait between Negros Island and Zamboanga Peninsula.
The Bohol Sea is home to a large variety of premier scuba diving locations, dive charter boats, and hotels that cater to divers. Around the area of Tagbilaran and Balicasag Island there are numerous wall dives that range from 30 to 100 feet. Water temperatures are very warm and most divers use a standard 3/2 shorty wetsuit to dive the location.
Sea life is abundant and includes such attractions as clownfish, lionfish^{[disambiguation needed ]}, barracuda, dolphins, huge coral formations, and other common tropical sealife.

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Bothnian Bay
The Bothnian Bay or Bay of Bothnia (Swedish: Bottenviken, Finnish: Perämeri) is the northernmost part of the Gulf of Bothnia, the northern part of the Baltic Sea. Its northernmost point is situated in Töre. The bay is bounded by Finland to the east, Sweden to the west, and the Kvarken sound to the south.
Major ports on the Finnish side are the ports in Oulu, Kemi and Raahe.
The maximum depth of the bay is 482 feet (147 m).
The bay has the highest rate of rising of land by post-glacial rebound in the Baltic Sea with an estimated 9 mms a year, this being the area in Northern Europe where the glacier was at its thickest. Today the Bothnian Bay lies around 300 meters higher than it did at the end of the Ice age. Ancient coastlines can be seen at much higher sites than today's sealevel.
Coordinates: 65°0′N 23°0′E / 65°N 23°E / 65; 23

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Bothnian Sea
Coordinates: 61°30′N 19°30′E / 61.5°N 19.5°E / 61.5; 19.5
The Bothnian Sea (Swedish: Bottenhavet, Finnish: Selkämeri) links the Bothnian Bay (called also Bay of Bothnia) with the Baltic proper. Kvarken is situated between the two. Together, the Bothnian Sea and Bay make up a larger geographical entity, the Gulf of Bothnia. The whole Gulf of Bothnia is situated between Sweden, to the West, Finland, to the East, and the Sea of Åland and Archipelago Sea to the South. rr The surface area of Bothnian Sea is approximately 79,000 km². The largest coastal towns, from south to north, are Rauma and Pori in Finland, and Gävle and Sundsvall in Sweden. Umeå (Sweden) and Vaasa (Finland) lie in the extreme north, near Bothnian Bay.

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Bunhar River
Coordinates: 32°46′15″N 73°22′15″E / 32.77083°N 73.37083°E / 32.77083; 73.37083
River Bunhar or Nala Bunhar starts from Saral Chakwal District and then enters Jhelum District and falls in River Jhelum near Darapur. Near Tilla Jogian its width increases up to 3 kilometers. Many waterfalls from Tilla Jogian also fall in Bunhar. Near Pind Sawika and Wagh villages, this river takes the form of a desert.

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Burma
Burma ⁱ/ˈbɜrmə/ BUR-mə, also known as Myanmar ⁱ/ˌmjɑːnˈmɑr/ MYAHN--MAR, is a country in South Asia and Southeast Asia. It is bordered by India, Bangladesh, China, Laos and Thailand. One-third of Burma's total perimeter of 1,930 kilometres (1,200 mi) forms an uninterrupted coastline along the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. At 676,578 km² (261,227 sq mi), it is the 40th largest country in the world and the second largest country in Southeast Asia. Burma is also the 24th most populous country in the world with over 60.28 million people.
Burma is home to some of the early civilizations of Southeast Asia including the Pyu and the Mon. In the 9th century, the Burmans of the Kingdom of Nanzhao, entered the upper Irrawaddy valley and, following the establishment of the Pagan Empire in the 1050s, the Burmese language and culture slowly became dominant in the country. During this period, Theravada Buddhism gradually became the predominant religion of the country. The Pagan Empire fell due to the Mongol invasions (1277–1301), and several warring states emerged. In the second half of the 16th century, the country was reunified by the Taungoo Dynasty which for a brief period was the largest empire in the history of Southeast Asia. The early 19th century Konbaung Dynasty ruled over an area that included modern Burma as well as Manipur and Assam. The country was colonized by Britain following three Anglo-Burmese Wars (1824–1885).

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Camotes Sea
The Camotes Sea is a small sea within the Philippine archipelago, between the Eastern Visayas and the Central Visayas. It is bordered by the islands of Leyte to the north and east, Bohol to the south, and Cebu to the west. The sea is connected to the Visayan Sea to the northwest, and to the Bohol Sea to the south by the Canigao Channel and Cebu Strait. It contains the Camotes Islands and Mactan Island.
The major cities of the area are Ormoc City and Baybay in Leyte province, and Cebu City, Cebu.

Coordinates: 10°30′N 124°20′E / 10.5°N 124.333°E / 10.5; 124.333

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Cape of Good Hope
The Cape of Good Hope (Afrikaans: die Kaap van Goeie Hoop, Dutch: Kaap de Goede Hoop (help·info), Portuguese: Cabo da Boa Esperança) is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula, South Africa.
There is a misconception that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Africa, because it was once believed to be the dividing point between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. In fact, the southernmost point is Cape Agulhas, about 150 kilometres (90 mi) to the east-southeast. The currents of the two oceans meet at the point where the warm-water Agulhas current meets the cold water Benguela current and turns back on itself—a point that fluctuates between Cape Agulhas and Cape Point.
When following the western side of the African coastline from the equator, however, the Cape of Good Hope marks the point where a ship begins to travel more eastward than southward. Thus, the first modern rounding of the cape in 1488 by Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias was a milestone in the attempts by the Portuguese to establish direct trade relations with the Far East (although in his histories Herodotus proves, disbelievingly, that some Phoenicians had done so far earlier than this).^{[citation needed]} Dias called the cape Cabo das Tormentas. "Cape of Storms" was the original name of the "Cape of Good Hope".

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Caribbean
The Caribbean (pronounced /ˌkærɨˈbiːən/ or /kəˈrɪbiən/) is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles (3,200 km) long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north. From the peninsula of Florida on the mainland of the United States, the islands stretch 1,200 miles (1,900 km) southeastward, then 500 miles (800 km) south, then west along the north coast of Venezuela on the South American mainland.
Situated largely on the Caribbean Plate, the region comprises more than 7,000 islands, islets, reefs, and cays. These islands generally form island arcs that delineate the eastern and northern edges of the Caribbean Sea.
The Caribbean islands are part of the somewhat larger West Indies grouping, which consists of the Greater Antilles on the north, the Lesser Antilles on the south and east (including the Leeward Antilles), as well as the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands (the Lucayan Archipelago, which does not border the Caribbean Sea). Due to its proximity to the equator, the sun rises from 3am EST to 5am EST.^{[citation needed]}

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Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles.
The entire area of the Caribbean Sea, the numerous islands of the West Indies, and adjacent coasts, are collectively known as the Caribbean. The Caribbean Sea is one of the largest salt water seas and has an area of about 2,754,000 km² (1,063,000 sq. mi.). The sea's deepest point is the Cayman Trough, between the Cayman Islands and Jamaica, at 7,686 m (25,220 ft) below sea level. The Caribbean coastline has many gulfs and bays: the Gulf of Gonâve, Gulf of Venezuela, Gulf of Darién, Golfo de los Mosquitos, Gulf of Paria and Gulf of Honduras.
The name "Caribbean" is derived from the Caribs, one of the dominant American Indian groups in the region at the time of European contact during the late 15th century. After the discovery of the West Indies by Christopher Columbus in 1492, the Spanish term Antillas was assigned to the lands; stemming from this, "Sea of the Antilles" is a common alternative name for the Caribbean Sea in various European languages. During the first century of development, the Spanish dominance was undisputed.

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Celebes Sea
The Celebes Sea (Indonesian: Laut Sulawesi) of the western Pacific Ocean is bordered on the north by the Sulu Archipelago and Sulu Sea and Mindanao Island of the Philippines, on the east by the Sangihe Islands chain, on the south by Sulawesi, and on the west by Kalimantan in Indonesia. It extends 420 miles (675 km) north-south by 520 miles (837 km) east-west and has a total surface area of 110,000 square miles (280,000 km²), to a maximum depth of 20,300 feet (6,200 m). The sea opens southwest through the Makassar Strait into the Java Sea.
The Celebes Sea is a piece of an ancient ocean basin that formed 42 million years ago in a locale removed from any landmass. By 20,000,000 years ago, earth crust movement had moved the basin close enough to the Indonesian and Philippine volcanoes to receive emitted debris. By 10 million years ago the Celebes Sea was inundated with continental debris, including coal, which was shed from a growing young mountain on Borneo and the basin had docked against Eurasia.

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Celtic Sea
The Celtic Sea (Irish: An Mhuir Cheilteach; Welsh: Y Môr Celtaidd; Cornish: An Mor Keltek; Breton: Ar Mor Keltiek; French: La mer Celtique) is the area of the Atlantic Ocean off the south coast of Ireland bounded to the east by Saint George's Channel; other limits include the Bristol Channel, the English Channel, and the Bay of Biscay, as well as adjacent portions of Wales, Cornwall, Devon, and Brittany. The southern and western boundaries are delimited by the continental shelf, which drops away sharply.
The Celtic heritage of the bounding lands to the north and east gives the sea its name, first proposed by E. W. L. Holt at a 1921 meeting in Dublin of fisheries experts from England, Ireland, Scotland and France. The northern portion of this sea had previously been considered as part of Saint George's Channel and the southern portion as an undifferentiated part of the "Southwest Approaches" to Britain. The need for a common name came to be felt because of the common marine biology, geology and hydrology. It was adopted in France before being common in the English-speaking countries. It was adopted by marine biologists and oceanographers, and later by oil exploration firms. It is named in a 1963 British atlas, but a 1972 article states "what British maps call the western approaches, and what the oil industry calls the Celtic Sea [...] certainly the residents on the western coast [of Great Britain] don't refer to it as such."

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Ceram Sea
The Ceram Sea or Seram Sea (Indonesian = Laut Seram) is one of several small seas between the scattered islands of Indonesia. It is a section of the Pacific Ocean with an area of approximately 12,000 square kilometers located between Buru and Seram, which are two of the islands once called the South Moluccas. These islands are the native habitat of plants long coveted for their use as spices, such as nutmeg, cloves, and black peppercorns, and the seas surrounding them were busy shipping routes. The Ceram Sea is also the habitat of several species of tropical goby and many other fish. Like many other small Indonesian seas, the Ceram Sea is rocky and very tectonically active.
The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) defines the Ceram Sea as being one of the waters of the East Indian Archipelago. The IHO defines its limits as follows:
On the North and Northeast. A line from Tanjong Dehekolano, the Eastern extreme of the Soela [Sula] Islands to the Western extreme of Obi Major, along its Southern coast to Tanjong Seranmaloleo its Eastern extreme, thence through Tobalai, Kekek, Pisang and Kofiau Islands to Tanjong Sele (1°26′S 130°55′E / 1.433°S 130.917°E / -1.433; 130.917), the Western point of New Guinea, down the coast to Karoefa (3°51.5′S 133°27′E / 3.8583°S 133.45°E / -3.8583; 133.45).

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Chagos Archipelago
The Chagos Archipelago ( /ˈtʃɑːɡoʊs/ or /ˈtʃɑːɡəs/; formerly Bassas de Chagas and later also Oil Islands, known as Foalhavahi ފޯޅަވަހި in Dhivehi, as Phehandweep फेहंद्वीप in Hindi and other North Indian languages, and as Paeikaana Theevukal பேகான தீவுகள் in Tamil), is a group of seven atolls comprising more than 60 individual tropical islands in the Indian Ocean; situated some 500 kilometres (310 mi) due south of the Maldives archipelago. This chain of islands are the southernmost archipelago of the Chagos-Laccadive Ridge a long submarine mountain range in the Indian Ocean. The Chagos also form a terrestrial ecoregion together with the Maldives and the Lakshadweep. The islands and their surrounding waters are also a vast oceanic Environment Preservation and Protection Zone (EPPZ) (Fisheries Conservation and Management Zone (FCMZ) of 544,000 square kilometres (210,000 sq mi)), an area twice the size of the UK's land surface.
Officially part of the British Indian Ocean Territory, the Chagos were home to the Chagossians for more than a century and a half until the United Kingdom evicted them in the early 1970s in order to allow the United States to build a military base on Diego Garcia, the largest of the Chagos Islands. Since 1971, only the atoll of Diego Garcia is inhabited, and only by military and civilian contracted personnel.

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Chenab River
The Chenab River ( /tʃəˈnɑːb/, Sanskrit: चंद्रभाग/अक्सिनी, Punjabi: ਚਨਾਬ, canāb, Hindi: चनाब, Urdu: چناب, literally: 'Moon(Chan) چن River(aab)' آب) is a major river of Jammu and Kashmir and the Punjab in Pakistan. It forms in the upper Himalayas in the Lahaul and Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh, India, and flows through the Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir into the plains of the Punjab, Pakistan. The waters of the Chenab are allocated to Pakistan under the terms of the Indus Waters Treaty.
The waters of the Chenab start from snow melt from the Bara Lacha Pass, 32°44′N 77°26′E / 32.733°N 77.433°E / 32.733; 77.433, in Himachal Pradesh. The waters flowing south from the pass are known as the Chandra River and those that flow north are called the Bhaga River. Eventually the Bhaga flows around to the south joining the Chandra at the village of Tandi. A motorable road runs along the Bhaga River, from Khoskhas to Tandi. The Chandra and Bhaga meet to form the Chandrbhaga River at Tandi. It becomes the Chenab when it joins the Marau River at Bhandera Kot, 12 km from Kishtwar Town in Jammu and Kashmir.

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Chennai
Chennai /ˈtʃɛnaɪ/, formerly Madras /məˈdræs/, is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal, it is a major commercial, cultural, and educational centre in South India, while the port of Chennai is the second largest port in India. As of the 2011 census, the city had 4.68 million residents making it the sixth most populous city in India; the urban agglomeration, which comprises the city and its suburbs, was home to approximately 8.9 million, making it the fourth most populous metropolitan area in the country.
Although the area has been part of successive South Indian kingdoms through centuries, the recorded history of the city began in the colonial times, specifically with the arrival of British East India Company and the establishment in 1644 of Fort St George, an English settlement. The British defended several attacks from the French colonial forces, and from the kingdom of Mysore, on Chennai's way to become a major naval port and presidency city by late eighteenth century. Following the independence of India, Chennai became the capital of Tamil Nadu and a hotbed of regional politics that tended to bank on Dravidian identity of the populace. Chennai had become a bustling metropolis with beautiful classical and colonial European styled buildings, lining the city’s thoroughfares.

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Chilean Sea
Coordinates: 23°00′S 70°45′W / 23°S 70.75°W / -23; -70.75
The Chilean Sea is the portion of the Pacific Ocean lying west of the Chilean mainland. The official Chilean usage for Chilean Sea was defined on May 30 of 1974 when the Diario oficial de la Republica de Chile published Supreme Decree #346, which declared that "the waters surrounding or touching the shores of the national territory shall be known as Mar Chileno.^{[citation needed]}

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Chitta Katha Lake
The Chitta Katha Lake is a lake in Azad Jammu and Kashmir in the Shonter Valley. It is located at an altitude of 4,100 meters (13,500 ft).
http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/photo637477.htm

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Christmas Island
Coordinates: 10°29′S 105°38′E / 10.483°S 105.633°E / -10.483; 105.633 The Territory of Christmas Island is a territory of Australia in the Indian Ocean. It is 2,600 kilometres (1,600 mi) northwest of the Western Australian city of Perth, 360 km (220 mi) south of the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, 975 km (606 mi) ENE of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, and 2,748 km (1,708 mi) west of the Territorian city of Darwin.
Christmas Island has a population of 1,403 residents who live in a number of "settlement areas" on the northern tip of the island: Flying Fish Cove (also known as Kampong), Silver City, Poon Saan, and Drumsite.
The island’s geographic isolation and history of minimal human disturbance has led to a high level of endemism among its flora and fauna, which is of significant interest to scientists and naturalists. 63% of its 135 square kilometres (52 sq mi) is an Australian national park. There exist large areas of primary monsoonal forest.
Phosphate, deposited originally as dead marine organisms (not guano as often thought), has been mined on the island for many years.

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Chukchi Sea
Chukchi Sea (Russian: Чуко́тское мо́ре; IPA: [tɕʊˈkotskəjə ˈmorʲə]) is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean. It is bounded on the west by the De Long Strait, off Wrangel Island, and in the east by Point Barrow, Alaska, beyond which lies the Beaufort Sea. The Bering Strait forms its southernmost limit and connects it to the Bering Sea and the Pacific Ocean. The principal port on the Chukchi Sea is Uelen in Russia. The International Date Line crosses the Chukchi Sea from NW to SE. It is displaced eastwards to avoid Wrangel Island as well as the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug on the Russian mainland.
The sea has an approximate area of 595,000 km² (230,000 mi²) and is only navigable about four months of the year. The main geological feature of the Chukchi Sea bottom is the 700 km (435 mi)-long Hope Basin, which is bound to the northeast by the Herald Arch. Depths less than 50 m (164 ft) occupy 56% of the total area.
The Chukchi Sea has very few islands compared to other seas of the Arctic. Wrangel Island lies at the northwestern limit of the sea, Herald Island is located near its northern limit, and a few small islands lie along the Siberian and Alaskan coasts.

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Comoros
The Comoros ⁱ/ˈkɒməroʊz/ (Arabic: جزر القمر‎, Ǧuzur al-Qumur/Qamar), officially the Union of the Comoros (Comorian: Udzima wa Komori, French: Union des Comores, Arabic: الاتحاد القمري‎ al-Ittiḥād al-Qumurī/Qamarī) is a sovereign, archipelago island nation in the Indian Ocean, located off the eastern coast of Africa, on the northern end of the Mozambique Channel, between northeastern Mozambique and northwestern Madagascar. Other countries near to the Comoros are Tanzania to the northwest and the Seychelles to the northeast. The capital is Moroni on Grande Comore.
At 1,862 km² (719 sq mi) (excluding Mayotte), the Comoros is the third-smallest African nation by area. The population (excluding Mayotte) is estimated at 798,000. Its name derives from the Arabic word قمر qamar ("moon"). The archipelago is notable for its diverse culture and history, as a nation formed at the crossroads of many civilizations. It is the southernmost member state of the Arab League. Though in the contested island of Mayotte the sole official language is French, the "Union of the Comoros" has three official languages: Comorian, Arabic, and French.

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Cooperation Sea
Cooperation Sea, also called Commonwealth Sea or Sodruzhestva Sea, is a sea of the Southern Ocean, between Enderby Land (the eastern limit of which is 59°34'E) and West Ice Shelf (85°E), off the coast of MacRobertson Land and Princess Elizabeth Land. It stretches over an area of 258,000 km².
Davis Station is located on the coast of Cooperation Sea.
To the east of Cooperation Sea is Davis Sea, to the west is Cosmonauts Sea.
Coordinates: 65°00′S 72°00′E / 65°S 72°E / -65; 72

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Coral Sea
Coordinates: 18°S 158°E / 18°S 158°E / -18; 158
The Coral Sea is a marginal sea off the northeast coast of Australia. It is bounded in the west by the east coast of Queensland, thereby including the Great Barrier Reef, in the east by Vanuatu (formerly the New Hebrides) and by New Caledonia, and in the northeast approximately by the southern extremity of the Solomon Islands. In the northwest, it reaches to the south coast of eastern New Guinea, thereby including the Gulf of Papua. It merges with the Tasman Sea in the south, with the Solomon Sea in the north and with the Pacific Ocean in the east. On the west, it is bounded by the mainland coast of Queensland, and in the northwest, it connects with the Arafura Sea through the Torres Strait.
The sea is characterised by its warm and stable climate, with frequent rains and tropical cyclones. It contains numerous islands and reefs, as well as the world's largest reef system, the Great Barrier Reef (GBR), which was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1981. All previous oil exploration projects were terminated at the GBR in 1975, and fishing is restricted in many areas. The reefs and islands of the Coral Sea are particularly rich in birds and aquatic life and are a popular tourist destination, both nationally and internationally.

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Cosmonauts Sea
Cosmonauts Sea, sometimes misspelled Cosmonaut Sea, is a sea of the Southern Ocean, off Prince Olav Coast and Enderby Land, Antarctica, between about 30°E and 50°E. It has an area of 699,000 km².
To the east of Cosmonauts Sea is Cooperation Sea, to the west is Riiser-Larsen Sea.
Coordinates: 65°00′S 45°00′E / 65°S 45°E / -65; 45

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Damodar River
Damodar River is a river flowing across the Indian states of Jharkhand and West Bengal. Rich in mineral resources, the valley is home to large scale mining and industrial activity. Earlier known as the "River of Sorrows" because of its ravaging floods in the plains of West Bengal, the Damodar and its tributaries have somewhat been tamed with the construction of several dams.
In some of the local languages of Jharkhand, Damodar River is called Damuda, damu means sacred and da means water.
The Damodar originates in Chandwa (community development block) in Palamau district, on the Chota Nagpur Plateau, and flows eastward for about 592 km through the states of Jharkhand and West Bengal to the estuary of the River Hooghly.Metamorphic rocks form the watershed between the North Koel and the Damodar to the west of the Chandwa-Balumath road. This divide separates the Son and Damodar basins.
The Damodar basin forms a trough between the Ranchi and Hazaribagh plateaux resulting from enormous fractures at their present edges, which caused the land between to sink to a great depth and incidentally preserved from denudation the Karanpura, Ramgarh and Bokaro coalfields. The northern boundary of the Damodar valley is steep as far as the south eastern corner of the Hazaribagh plateau. On the south of the trough the Damodar keeps close to the edge of the Ranchi plateau till it has passed Ramgarh, after which a turn to the north-east leaves on the right hand a wide and level valley on which the Subarnarekha begins to intrude, south of Gola till the Singhpur Hills divert it to the south. Further to the east the Damodar River passes tamely into the Manbhum sector of lowest step of the Chotanagpur plateau.

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Dar es Salaam
Dar es Salaam (Arabic: دار السلام‎ Dār as-Salām, "harbour of peace"), formerly Mzizima, is the largest city in Tanzania. It is also the country's richest city and a regionally important economic centre. Dar es Salaam is actually an administrative province within Tanzania, and consists of three local government areas or administrative districts: Kinondoni to the north, Ilala in the centre of the region, and Temeke to the south. The Dar es Salaam Region had a population of 2,497,940 as of the official 2002 census. Though Dar es Salaam lost its official status as capital city to Dodoma in 1974 (a move which was not complete until 1996), it remains the centre of the permanent central government bureaucracy and continues to serve as the capital for the surrounding Dar es Salaam Region.
On December 20, 2011, the heaviest rains in 57 years resulted in unprecedented flooding that devastated many areas of the city. As of December 23, the flooding had caused 13 casualties and left nearly 5,000 people homeless.

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Davis Sea
Davis Sea is an area of the sea along the coast of East Antarctica between West Ice Shelf in the west and the Shackleton Ice Shelf in the east, or between 82° and 96°E. East of it is Mawson Sea, and in the west is Cooperation Sea.
According to the Great Soviet Encyclopedia, it stretches from 87°E to 98°E, and is up to 1,300 metres deep. Its area is given as only 21,000 km.
It washes the coast of Princess Elizabeth Land (there only Leopold and Astrid Coast), Kaiser Wilhelm II Land, and Queen Mary Land, all sectors of the Australian Antarctic Territory.
About 55 km off the coast of Queen Mary Land is Drygalski Island. Russian Mirny Station was built on the coast of Queen Mary Land in 1956. Roscoe Glacier flows into the eastern part of Davis Sea. Close offshore are Bigelow Rock and the Gillies Islands.
Discovered by Australian Antarctic Expedition (1911–14) from the Aurora. Named by Sir Douglas Mawson for Captain J.K. Davis, master of the Aurora and second in command of the expedition.
Coordinates: 66°S 92°E / 66°S 92°E / -66; 92

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Davis Strait
Davis Strait (French: Détroit de Davis) is a northern arm of the Labrador Sea. It lies between mid-western Greenland and Nunavut, Canada's Baffin Island. The strait was named for the English explorer John Davis (1550–1605), who explored the area while seeking a Northwest Passage.
The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Davis Strait as follows:
On the North. The Southern limit of Baffin Bay [The parallel of 70° North between Greenland and Baffin Land].
On the East. The Southwest coast of Greenland.
On the South. The parallel of 60° North between Greenland and Labrador.
On the West. The Eastern limit of the Northwestern Passages South of 70° North [the East coast of Baffin Island to East Bluff, its Southeastern extremity] and of Hudson Strait [A line from East Bluff, the Southeast extreme of Baffin Island (61°53′N 65°57′W / 61.883°N 65.95°W / 61.883; -65.95), to Point Meridian, the Western extreme of Lower Savage Islands, along the coast to its Southwestern extreme and thence a line across to the Western extreme of Resolution Island, through its Southwestern shore to Hatton Headland, its Southern point, thence a line to Cape Chidley, Labrador (60°24′N 64°26′W / 60.4°N 64.433°W / 60.4; -64.433)].

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Denmark Strait
The Denmark Strait or Greenland Strait (Danish: Danmarksstrædet, Icelandic: Grænlandssund, the latter meaning Greenland Sound) is an oceanic strait between Greenland (to its northwest) and Iceland (to its southeast). The Norwegian island of Jan Mayen lies northeast of the strait.
It connects the Greenland Sea, an extension of the Arctic Ocean, to the Irminger Sea, a part of the Atlantic Ocean, and is 300 miles (480 km) long and 180 miles (290 km) miles wide at its narrowest, from Straumnes, the northwestern headland of the north west Icelandic peninsula of Hornstrandir, und Cape Tupinier on Blosseville Coast in East Greenland). The official IHO delineation between the Arctic and the North Atlantic Oceans, however, runs from Straumness to Cape Nansen, which is 132 km (82 miles) southwest of Cape Tunipier. From Straumnes to Cape Nansen the distance is 336 km (209 miles).
The narrow depth, where the Greenland-Iceland Rise runs on the bottom of the sea, is 625 feet (191 m). The cold East Greenland Current passes through the strait and carries icebergs south into the north Atlantic Ocean. It hosts important fishing grounds.

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Diamantina Deep
Diamantina Deep Is located in the Diamantina Trench south west of Perth, Western Australia. The Diamantina Trench is in the eastern part of the larger Diamantina Fracture Zone which stretches from the Ninety East Ridge to the Naturaliste Plateau which lies of the lower part of Southwest Australia.
A survey in 1961 by the Australian oceanographic survey ship HMAS Diamantina (K377) confirmed the bathymetry as well as conducting a scientific survey. The trench was named after her.
It is located about 1,125 km west-south-west of Perth at 35°S and 104°E. and has been measured at 8,047 metres (26,401 feet) deep. However, current etopo1-data show a maximum depth of only 7299 m at 34°50′S 102°34′E / 34.83°S 102.57°E / -34.83; 102.57.
Coordinates: 35°00′S 104°00′E / 35°S 104°E / -35; 104

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Diego Garcia
Diego Garcia is a tropical, footprint-shaped coral atoll located south of the equator in the central Indian Ocean at 7 degrees, 26 minutes south latitude. It is part of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) and is positioned at 72°23' east longitude.
The atoll is approximately 1,800 nautical miles (3,300 km) east of the coast of Africa and 1,200 nautical miles (2,200 km) south of the southern tip of India. Diego Garcia lies at the southernmost tip of the Chagos-Laccadive Ridge a vast submarine range in the Indian Ocean topped by a long chain of coral reefs, atolls, and islands comprising the Lakshadweep, Maldives, and the Chagos Archipelago, in which Diego Garcia is geographically situated. Local time is GMT + 6 hours year-round (no daylight time change).
The US Navy operates a large naval ship and submarine support base, military air base, communications and space tracking facilities, and an anchorage for pre-positioned military supplies for regional operations aboard Military Sealift Command ships in the lagoon.

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Djibouti
Djibouti (Arabic: جيبوتي‎ Jībūtī, French: Djibouti, Somali: Jabuuti, Afar: Gabuuti), officially the Republic of Djibouti (Arabic: جمهورية جيبوتي‎ Jumhūriyyat Jībūtī, French: République de Djibouti, Afar: Gabuutih Ummuuno, Somali: Jamhuuriyadda Jabuuti), is a country in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Eritrea in the north, Ethiopia in the west and south, and Somalia in the southeast. The remainder of the border is formed by the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden at the east. Djibouti, which had a population of 818,159 at the 2009 census, is one of the least populous countries in Africa.Islam is the largest religion in the country, practiced by 94% of the population. The land was known as Obock and French Somaliland (Côte française des Somalis) in the 19th century; in 1967, it changed its name to Afars and Issas after new treaties with France. The territory was declared an independent nation in 1977 and changed its name to the "Republic of Djibouti" after its principal city. Djibouti joined the United Nations on September 20, 1977. While Djibouti is an independent sovereign state, it maintains deep French relations, and through various military and economic agreements with France, it receives continued security and economic assistance.

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Dori River
The Dori, also called Lora and Kadanai is a river of Afghanistan and Pakistan. It is a tributary of the Arghandab River and sub tributary of the Helmand River and runs for 320 kilometres through Kandahar Province in Afghanistan and Balochistan in Pakistan.
The Dori begins north of the city of Quetta. It is called Lora in its headwaters in Pakistan. The name changes to Kadanai upon its entry into Afghanistan, and the name Dori is given below the town of Spin Baldak.
In Afghanistan, Dori first runs westward and soon faces the sandy desert of Rigestan. It then takes a northerly direction and along the desert passes east and northeast past Takht-e Pol, bordering southeast of the Kandahar Valley. Shortly after, it receives the Arghastan River and then the Tarnak River, both on the left bank, some thirty kilometers south of the city of Kandahar.
The Dori receives most of its flow from melting snow in spring, especially in March.
Irrigation greatly reduces its speed. At Takht-e Pol it amounts to more or less than 1 m per second.

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Durban
Durban (Zulu: eThekwini, from itheku meaning 'bay / lagoon') is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism because of the city's warm subtropical climate and extensive beaches. The municipality, which includes neighbouring towns, has a population of almost 3.5 million, making the combined municipality the biggest city on the east coast of the African continent. The metropolitan land area of 2,292 square kilometres (885 sq mi) is comparatively larger than other South African cities, resulting in a somewhat lower population density of 1,513 /km² (3,920 /sq mi).
Archaeological evidence from the Drakensberg mountains suggests that the Durban area has been inhabited by communities of hunter-gatherers since 100,000 BC. These people lived throughout the area of present day KwaZulu-Natal until the expansion of Bantu farmers and pastoralists from the north saw their gradual displacement,incorporation or extermination.

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East China Sea
Coordinates: 30°N 125°E / 30°N 125°E / 30; 125
The East China Sea is a marginal sea east of China. It is a part of the Pacific Ocean and covers an area of 1,249,000 square kilometres (482,000 sq mi).
The East China Sea is bounded on the east by Kyūshū and the Ryukyu Islands of Japan, on the south by the island of Taiwan, and on the west by mainland China and the Asian continent. It is connected with the South China Sea by the Taiwan Strait and with the Sea of Japan by the Korea Strait; it opens in the north to the Yellow Sea.
States with borders on the sea (clockwise from north) include: South Korea, Japan, Republic of China (Taiwan) and the People's Republic of China.
The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the "Eastern China Sea (Tung Hai)" as follows:
On the South.
On the East.
On the North.
On the West.
The Yangtze River (Chang Jiang) is the largest river flowing into the East China Sea.
There is a cluster of submerged reefs in the northern East China Sea. These include:

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East Siberian Sea
The East Siberian Sea (Russian: Восто́чно-Сиби́рское мо́ре) is a marginal sea in the Arctic Ocean. It is located between the Arctic Cape to the north, the coast of Siberia to the south, the New Siberian Islands to the west and Cape Billings, close to Chukotka, and Wrangel Island to the east. This sea borders on the Laptev Sea to the west and the Chukchi Sea to the east.
This sea is one of the least studied in the Arctic area. It is characterized by severe climate, low water salinity, and a scarcity of flora, fauna and human population, as well as shallow depths (mostly less than 50 meters), slow sea currents, low tides (below 25 cm), frequent fogs, especially in summer, and an abundance of ice fields which fully melt only in August–September. The sea shores were inhabited for thousands of years by indigenous tribes of Yukaghirs, Chukchi and then Evens and Evenks, which were engaged in fishing, hunting and reindeer husbandry. They were then absorbed by Yakuts and later by Russians.
Major industrial activities in the area are mining and navigation within the Northern Sea Route; commercial fishing is poorly developed. The largest city and port is Pevek, the northernmost city of mainland Russia.

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East Timor
The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste (tiˈmɔr ˈlɛʃteɪ), commonly known as East Timor ⁱ/ˌiːst ˈtiːmɔr/ (Tetum: Timór Lorosa'e, Portuguese: Timor-Leste), is a sovereign state in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor. The small country of 15,410 km² (5,400 sq mi) is located about 640 km (400 mi) northwest of Darwin, Australia.
East Timor was colonized by Portugal in the 16th century, and was known as Portuguese Timor until Portugal's decolonization of the country. In late 1975, East Timor declared its independence, but later that year was invaded and occupied by Indonesia and was declared Indonesia's 27th province the following year. In 1999, following the United Nations-sponsored act of self-determination, Indonesia relinquished control of the territory and East Timor became the first new sovereign state of the 21st century on May 20, 2002. East Timor is one of only two predominantly Roman Catholic countries in Asia, the other being the Philippines.

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Egypt
Egypt ⁱ/ˈiːdʒɪpt/ (Arabic: مصر, Miṣr, Egyptian Arabic: [mɑsˤɾ] ; Coptic: Ⲭⲏⲙⲓ, Kīmi ; Sahidic Coptic: ⲕⲏⲙⲉ, Kēme), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: جمهوريّة مصر العربيّة (help·info), is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world. Covering an area of about 1,010,000 square kilometers (390,000 sq mi), Egypt is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south and Libya to the west.
Egypt is one of the most populous countries in Africa and the Middle East. The great majority of its over 81 million people live near the banks of the Nile River, in an area of about 40,000 square kilometers (15,000 sq mi), where the only arable land is found. The large areas of the Sahara Desert are sparsely inhabited. About half of Egypt's residents live in urban areas, with most spread across the densely populated centres of greater Cairo, Alexandria and other major cities in the Nile Delta.

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Elam
Elam was an ancient civilization centered in the far west and southwest of modern-day Iran, stretching from the lowlands of what is now Khuzestan and Ilam Province, as well as a small part of southern Iraq. The modern name Elam is a transcription from Biblical Hebrew, corresponding to the Sumerian elam(a), the Akkadian elamtu, and the Elamite haltamti. Elamite states were among the leading political forces of the ancient near east. In classical literature, Elam was more often referred to as Susiana, a name derived from its capital, Susa.
Situated just to the east of Mesopotamia, Elam was part of the early urbanization during the Chalcolithic period (Copper Age). The emergence of written records from around 3000 BC also parallels Mesopotamian history where writing was used slightly earlier. In the Old Elamite period (Middle Bronze Age), Elam consisted of kingdoms on the Iranian plateau, centered in Anshan, and from the mid-2nd millennium BC, it was centered in Susa in the Khuzestan lowlands. Its culture played a crucial role in the Gutian Empire, especially during the Achaemenid dynasty that succeeded it, when the Elamite language remained among those in official use. Elamite is generally treated as an isolate language.

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English Channel
The English Channel (French: la Manche, Breton: Mor Breizh, Cornish: Mor Bretannek), often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about 560 km (350 mi) long and varies in width from 240 km (150 mi) at its widest to 34 km (21 mi) in the Strait of Dover. It is the smallest of the shallow seas around the continental shelf of Europe, covering an area of some 75,000 km² (29,000 sq mi).
The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the English Channel as follows:
On the West. A line joining Isle Vierge (48°38′23″N 4°34′13″W / 48.63972°N 4.57028°W / 48.63972; -4.57028) to Lands End (50°04′N 5°43′W / 50.067°N 5.717°W / 50.067; -5.717).
On the East. The Southwestern limit of the North Sea.
The IHO defines the southwestern limit of the North Sea as "a line joining the Walde Lighthouse (France, 1°55'E) and Leathercoat Point (England, 51°10'N)". The Walde Lighthouse is 6 km east of Calais (50°59′06″N 1°55′00″E / 50.985°N 1.9166667°E / 50.985; 1.9166667), and Leathercoat Point is at the north end of St Margaret's Bay, Kent (51°10′00″N 1°24′00″E / 51.1666667°N 1.4°E / 51.1666667; 1.4).

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Ennore
Ennore is a suburb in Chennai, India. Ennore is situated on a peninsula and is bounded by the Korttalaiyar River, Ennore creek and the Bay of Bengal. The creek separates Ennore from the Ennore Port.
Metropolitan Transport Corporation, Chennai (MTC) runs passenger buses to Ennore from other major parts of Chennai city.
Route number 56N is available frequently from Broadway Bus Terminus (Parrys), 56A, 56 from Vallalar Nagar (Mint), 159E, 121C from CMBT, 1D, 1C from Thiruvanmiyur, 1E to Triplicane, 28B from Egmore Railway Station.
Ennore has been featured in many of the Tamil and other language movies. The climax fight in the popular Tamil movie "Kaaka Kaaka" was filmed in a place called dedcher in Ennore.

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Eritrea
Eritrea ( /ˌɛrɨˈtreɪ.ə/ or /ˌɛrɨˈtriːə/;Ge'ez: ኤርትራ ʾErtrā, Arabic: إرتريا Iritrīyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. Eritrea is the Italian form of the Greek name Ἐρυθραίᾱ (Erythraíā), meaning "red [land]". The capital is Asmara. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast. The northeast and east of the country has an extensive coastline on the Red Sea, directly across from Saudi Arabia and Yemen. The Dahlak Archipelago and several of the Hanish Islands are part of Eritrea. Eritrea's size is approximately 117,600 km² (45,406 sq mi) with an estimated population of 6 million.
Together with northern Somalia, Ethiopia, Djibouti, and the Red Sea coast of Sudan, Eritrea is considered the most likely location of the land known to the ancient Egyptians as Punt (or "Ta Netjeru", meaning "God's Land"), whose first mention dates to the 25th century BC. The ancient Puntites were a nation of people that had close relations with Pharaonic Egypt during the times of Pharaoh Sahure and Queen Hatshepsut.

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Flores Sea
The Flores Sea covers 93,000 square miles (240,000 square kilometres) of water in Indonesia.
The seas that border the Flores Sea are the Bali Sea (to the west), Java Sea (to the northwest), and the Banda Sea (to the east and northeast).
The Indian Ocean and Savu Sea lie to the south, but are separated from the Flores Sea by various Islands.
Islands that border this sea are the Lesser Sunda Islands and Celebes (Sulawesi).
The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) defines the Flores Sea as being one of the waters of the East Indian Archipelago. The IHO defines its limits as follows:
On the North. The South coast of Celedes [sic] [Sulawesi] from the West point of Laikang Bay (5°37′S 119°30′E / 5.617°S 119.5°E / -5.617; 119.5) to Tanjong Lassa (120°28'E).
On the East. The Western limit of the Banda Sea between Flores and Celebes [a line from Flores' Northern point (8°04′S 122°52′E / 8.067°S 122.867°E / -8.067; 122.867) to Kalaotoa Island (7°24′S 121°52′E / 7.4°S 121.867°E / -7.4; 121.867) and through the chain of islands lying between it and the South point of Pulo Salayar, through this island and across the Strait to Tanjong Lassa, Celebes (5°37′S 120°28′E / 5.617°S 120.467°E / -5.617; 120.467)].

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Foxe Basin
Not to be confused with Fox Bay, Falkland Islands
Foxe Basin is a shallow oceanic basin north of Hudson Bay, in Nunavut, Canada, located between Baffin Island and the Melville Peninsula. For most of the year, it is blocked by ice floes.
The nutrient-rich cold waters found in the basin are known to be especially favorable to phytoplankton and the numerous islands within it are important bird habitats, including Sabine's Gulls and many types of shorebirds. Bowhead whales migrate to the northern part of the basin each summer.
The basin takes its name from the English explorer Luke Foxe.
Foxe Basin is a broad, predominantly shallow depression, generally less than 100 metres (330 ft) in depth, while to the south, depths of up to 400 metres (1,300 ft) occur. The tidal range decreases from 5 m (16 ft) in the southeast to less than 1 m (3 ft 3 in) in the northwest. During much of the year, landfast ice dominates in the north, while pack ice prevails towards the south. Foxe Basin itself is rarely ice-free until September, open pack ice being common throughout the summer. Vigorous tidal currents and strong winds keep the ice pack in constant motion and contribute to the numerous polynyas and shore leads which are found throughout the region. This same motion, combined with the high sediment content of the water makes the sea ice of Foxe Basin dark and rough, easily distinguishable from other ice in the Canadian Arctic.

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Fram Strait
The Fram Strait is a passage from the Arctic Ocean to the Greenland Sea and Norwegian Sea, between Greenland and Spitsbergen. It is named after the Norwegian ship Fram. The Fram Strait is the major connection between the Arctic Ocean and the world ocean.
The Fram strait plays a central role in whether the north ice cap will survive future summers. Most of the ice pack appears over the winter, freezing up to 1 m deep, but then melts back to open water by August. The area covered by multi-year ice, however, is thought to have remained relatively stable, an equilibrium between creation (first-year ice that persists into its second winter, becoming multi-year ice) and destruction (flow of sea ice through the Fram Strait and southward along the eastern coast of Greenland). Approximately 90% of sea ice exported from the Arctic is transported by the Eastern Greenland Current, joining the current as it passes through the Fram Strait.
The amount of sea ice passing through the Fram Strait varies from year to year, as seen in this animation.

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France
France (English ⁱ/ˈfræns/ FRANSS or /ˈfrɑːns/ FRAHNSS; French: [fʁɑ̃s] ( listen)), officially the French Republic (French: République française [ʁepyblik fʁɑ̃sɛz]), is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. It is often referred to as l’Hexagone ("The Hexagon") because of the geometric shape of its territory. It is the largest western European country and it possesses the second-largest exclusive economic zone in the world, covering 11,035,000 km² (4,260,000 sq mi), just behind that of the United States (11,351,000 km² / 4,383,000 sq mi).
Over the past 500 years, France has been a major power with strong cultural, economic, military and political influence in Europe and around the world. During the 17th and 18th centuries, France colonised great parts of North America and Southeast Asia; during the 19th and early 20th centuries, France built the second largest colonial empire of the time, including large portions of North, West and Central Africa, Southeast Asia, and many Caribbean and Pacific Islands.

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Galle
Galle (Sinhala: ගාල්ල;Tamil: காலி) (pronounced as one syllable in English, /ˈɡɔːl/ "Gaul", and as two in Sinhalese, [ɡaːlːə]) is a city situated on the southwestern tip of Sri Lanka, 119 km from Colombo. Galle is the capital city of Southern Province of Sri Lanka and it lies in Galle District.
Galle was known as Gimhathiththa (although Ibn Batuta in the 14th century refers to it as Qali^{[verification needed]}) before the arrival of the Portuguese in the 16th century, when it was the main port on the island. Galle reached the height of its development in the 18th century, during the Dutch colonial period. The major river is Gin River (Gin Ganga) which starts from Gongala Kanda and passing villages such as Neluwa, Nagoda, Baddegama, Thelikada, and Wakwella, reaches the sea at Ginthota. In Wakwella over the river there is Wakwella Bridge, which is the longest bridge in Sri Lanka.
Galle is the best example of a fortified city built by Europeans in south and southeast Asia, showing the interaction between European architectural styles and south Asian traditions. The Galle fort is a world heritage site and the largest remaining fortress in Asia built by European occupiers. Other prominent landmarks in Galle include the natural harbor, the National Maritime Museum, St. Mary's Cathedral founded by Jesuit priests, one of the main Shiva temples on the island, and Amangalla the historic luxury hotel.

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Gambila River
The Gambila River (Urdu: دریائے گمبیلا), also called the Tochi river (Urdu: دریائے توچی), is located in Bannu District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the former North-West Frontier Province, northern Pakistan.
Its source are the hills six miles south of the Sufed Koh, the source of the Kurram River, to which it runs parallel and finally joins. It borders North Waziristan while the Gomal River borders South Waziristan.
The Gambila is an important river for the inhabitants of the Dawar valley, as it serves to irrigate a large area of land that it runs through, particularly that belonging to the Takhti khel Marwats ,Bakkakhel Wazirs, and Miri and Barakzai Bannuchis.
Geography of Bannu and Environs - Kyber.org
Coordinates: 32°37′N 71°00′E / 32.617°N 71°E / 32.617; 71

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Ganges Delta
The Ganges Delta (also known as the Ganges–Brahmaputra Delta, the Sunderbans Delta, or the Bengalla Delta) is a river delta in the South Asia region of Bengal, consisting of Bangladesh and the state of West Bengal, India. It is the world's largest delta, and empties into the Bay of Bengal. It is also one of the most fertile regions in the world, thus earning the nickname The Green Delta. The delta stretches from the Hooghly River on the west to the Meghna River on the east. It is approximately 350 km (220 mi) across at the Bay of Bengal.Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) and Haldia in India and Mongla and Chittagong in Bangladesh are the principal seaports on the delta.
A number of large rivers flow through the Ganges Delta, including the Padma (main distributary of the Ganges) and the Jamuna (main distributary of the Brahmaputra), which merge and then join the Meghna before entering the sea.
The Ganges delta has the shape of a triangle, and is considered to be an "arcuate" delta (arc-shaped). It covers more than 105,000 km² (41,000 sq mi), and although the delta lies mostly in Bangladesh and India, rivers from Bhutan, China, India, and Nepal drain into it from the north. Approximately two-thirds of the delta is in Bangladesh. Most of the delta is composed of alluvial soils made up by small sediment particles that finally settle down as river currents slow down in the estuary. Rivers carry these fine particles with them, even from their sources at glaciers as Fluvio-glacial. Red and red-yellow laterite soils are found as one heads farther east. The soil has large amounts of minerals and nutrients, which is good for agriculture.

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Gilgit River
Gilgit River (Urdu: دریائے گلگت) is a tributary of the Indus River, and flows past the town of Gilgit. It is located in the Northern Areas of Gilgit–Baltistan, Pakistan. The Gilgit starts from Shandur lake. The Gilgit River is also referred to as the Ghizar River.
Shandur is a place where an annual polo game is played between teams representing Chitral and Gilgit. Shandur is the route to Chitral from Gilgit in the Hindukush mountain range and has a height of about 12,000 ft (3,700 m).
Coordinates: 36°04′44″N 72°32′07″E / 36.07889°N 72.53528°E / 36.07889; 72.53528

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Gomal River
Gomal River (Urdu: دریائے گومل, Pashto: ګومل سیند، ګومل دریاب)((SARAIKI daryae gumal)) is a river in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The Gomal River's headwaters are located south-east of Ghazni.
The springs which form the headwaters of the Gomal's main branch emerge above the fort at Babakarkol in Katawaz, a district inhabited by Ghilzai Pashtuns from the Kharoti and Suleiman Khel clans, in Paktika Province. The Gomal's other branch, the "Second Gomal", joins the main channel about 14 miles below its source. The Gomal flows southeast through eastern Ghilzai country for approximately 110 miles before it merges with the Zhob River, its major tributary, near Khajuri Kach. It is about 100 miles from the Zhob River to the Indus River.
Within Pakistan, the Gomal river surrounds the South Waziristan agency and forms the boundary between Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. From South Waziristan , the river enters the Gomal Valley in the district of Tank, Pakistan at a place known as Girdavi, Murtuza which is inhabited by the Miani tribe. It is mainly here that the water of Gomal is used to cultivate the lands in Gomal Valley through Zam System (Rod Kohi). The river passes then through the Damaan plain in Kulachi Tehsil and later on through Dera Ismail Khan Tehsil, It then joins the Indus River 20 miles south of Dera Ismail Khan.

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Greece
Greece ⁱ/ˈɡriːs/ (Greek: Ελλάδα, Ellada, IPA: [eˈlaða] ( listen) historically in Katharevousa and Ancient Greek: Ἑλλάς, Hellas, IPA: [eˈlas] and [helːás] respectively), officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία, Elliniki Dimokratia, IPA: [eliniˈci ðimokraˈtia]), is a country in Southern Europe, politically considered part of Western Europe.Athens is the capital and the largest city in the country (its urban area also including Piraeus). The population of the country is around 11 million.
Greece has land borders with Albania, the Republic of Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to the east. The Aegean Sea lies to the east of mainland Greece, the Ionian Sea to the west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. Greece has the 11th longest coastline in the world at 13,676 km (8,498 mi) in length, featuring a vast number of islands (approximately 1,400, of which 227 are inhabited), including Crete, the Dodecanese, the Cyclades, and the Ionian Islands among others. Eighty percent of Greece consists of mountains, of which Mount Olympus is the highest at 2,917 m (9,570 ft).

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Greenland Sea
The Greenland Sea is a body of water that borders Greenland to the west, the Svalbard archipelago to the east, Fram Strait and the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Norwegian Sea and Iceland to the south. The Greenland Sea is often defined as part of the Arctic Ocean, sometimes as part of the Atlantic Ocean. However, definitions of the Arctic Ocean and its seas tend to be imprecise or arbitrary. In general usage the term "Arctic Ocean" would exclude the Greenland Sea. In oceanographic studies the Greenland Sea is considered part of the Nordic Seas, along with the Norwegian Sea and Iceland Sea. The Nordic Seas are the main connection between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans and, as such, could be of great significance in a possible shutdown of thermohaline circulation. In oceanography the Arctic Ocean and Nordic Seas are often referred to collectively as the "Arctic Mediterranean Sea", a marginal sea of the Atlantic.
The sea has Arctic climate with regular northern winds and temperatures rarely rising above 0 °C. It previously contained the Odden ice tongue (or Odden) area, which extended eastward from the main East Greenland ice edge in the vicinity of 72–74°N during the winter and acted as a key winter ice formation area in the Arctic. The West Ice forms in winter in the Greenland Sea, north of Iceland, between Greenland and Jan Mayen island. It is a major breeding ground of harp seal and hooded seal that has been used for seal hunting for more than 200 years.

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Gulf of Aden
The Gulf of Aden (Arabic: خليج عدن‎ Ḫalīǧ ʻAdan, Somali: Gacanka Cadmeed) is a gulf located in the Arabian Sea between Yemen, on the south coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and Somalia in the Horn of Africa. In the northwest, it connects with the Red Sea through the Bab-el-Mandeb strait, which is about 20 miles wide.
The waterway is part of the important Suez canal shipping route between the Mediterranean Sea and the Arabian Sea in the Indian Ocean with 21,000 ships crossing the gulf annually. The gulf is known by the nickname "Pirate Alley" due to the large amount of pirate activity in the area.
The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Gulf of Aden as follows:
On the Northwest. The Southern limit of the Red Sea [A line joining Husn Murad (12°40′N 43°30′E / 12.667°N 43.5°E / 12.667; 43.5) and Ras Siyan (12°29′N 43°20′E / 12.483°N 43.333°E / 12.483; 43.333)].
On the East. The meridian of Cape Guardafui (Ras Asir, 51°16'E).
The temperature of the Gulf of Aden varies between 15 °C (59 °F) and 28 °C (82 °F), depending on the season and the appearance of monsoons. The salinity of the gulf at 10 metres (33 ft) depth varies from 35.3 ‰ along the eastern Somali coast to as high as 37.3 ‰ in the gulf's center, while the oxygen content in the Gulf of Aden at the same depth is typically between 4.0 and 5.0 mg/L.

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Gulf of Alaska
The Gulf of Alaska is an arm of the Pacific Ocean defined by the curve of the southern coast of Alaska, stretching from the Alaska Peninsula and Kodiak Island in the west to the Alexander Archipelago in the east, where Glacier Bay and the Inside Passage are found.
The entire shoreline of the Gulf is a rugged combination of forest, mountain, and a number of tidewater glaciers. Alaska's largest glaciers, the Malaspina Glacier and Bering Glacier spill out onto the coastal plain along the Gulf of Alaska. The coast is also heavily indented, with Cook Inlet and Prince William Sound the two largest connected bodies of water, but also including Yakutat Bay and Cross Sound. Lituya Bay is the site of the largest recorded tsunami in history and is a popular sheltered anchorage for fishing boats.
The Gulf of Alaska is considered a Class I, highly productive ecosystem (more than 300 grams of carbon per square meter per year).
Meteorologically, the Gulf is a great generator of storms. In addition to dumping vast quantities of snow and ice on southern Alaska, resulting in some of the largest concentrations south of the Arctic Circle, many of the storms move south along the coasts of British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and as far south as Southern California (primarily during El Nino events). Much of the seasonal rainfall and snowfall in the Pacific Northwest and Southwestern United States comes from the Gulf of Alaska.

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Gulf of Aqaba
The Gulf of Aqaba (Arabic: خليج العقبة‎; transliterated: Khalyj al-'Aqabah) is a large gulf located at the northern tip of the Red Sea, east of the Sinai Peninsula and west of the Arabian mainland. Its coastline is divided between four countries: Egypt, Israel, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. In Israel, it is often referred to as the Gulf of Eilat, after Eilat, the predominant Israeli city at its northern end (Hebrew: מפרץ אילת, transliterated: Mifratz Eilat).
The Gulf is located to the east of the Sinai Peninsula and west of the Arabian mainland. This and the Gulf of Suez are the two gulfs extending from the northern portion of the Red Sea; the Gulf of Aqaba is east of the Gulf of Suez. Egypt, Israel, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia all have coastlines on the Gulf. It reaches a maximum depth of 1,850 m in its central area (the Gulf of Suez is significantly wider but less than 100 m deep).
The Gulf of Aqaba measures 24 kilometres (15 mi) at its widest point and stretches some 160 kilometres (99 mi) north from the Straits of Tiran to a point where the border of Israel meets the borders of Egypt and Jordan.

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Gulf of Boothia
The Gulf of Boothia is a body of water in Nunavut, Canada, the western side being within Kitikmeot Region while the eastern side is in Qikiqtaaluk Region. It is situated between Baffin Island and the Boothia Peninsula. It is bounded by the Melville Peninsula and the Canadian mainland to the south; to the north it leads into Prince Regent Inlet and Lancaster Sound.
It was named by the Scottish explorer John Ross for Englishman Sir Felix Booth, the patron of his second expedition in search of the Northwest Passage.
Coordinates: 70°40′N 91°00′W / 70.667°N 91°W / 70.667; -91 (Gulf of Boothia)

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Gulf of Bothnia
The Gulf of Bothnia (Finnish: Pohjanlahti; Swedish: Bottniska viken, i.e. Bottenviken + Bottenhavet) is the northernmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It is situated between Finland's west coast and Sweden's east coast. In the south of the gulf lie the Åland Islands, between the Sea of Åland and the Archipelago Sea.
Bothnia is a Latinization. "Botten" in the Swedish name "Bottenviken" originally meant "gulf" or "bay" ; hence "Bottenviken" means "the Gulf-gulf".
The name botn was applied to the Gulf of Bothnia as Helsingjabotn in Old Norse, after Hälsingland, which at the time referred to the coastland west of the gulf. Later, botten was applied to the regions Västerbotten on the western side and Österbotten the eastern side ("East Bottom" and "West Bottom"). The Finnish name of Österbotten, Pohjanmaa, or "Pohja"-land, gives a hint as to the meaning in both languages: pohja means both "bottom" and "north."^{[citation needed]}
Botn/botten is cognate with the English word bottom, and it might be part of a general north European distinction of lowlands, as opposed to highlands, such as the Netherlandic region, Samogitia (Lithuanian), and Sambia (Russia).^{[clarification needed]}^{[citation needed]}

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Gulf of Fonseca
The Gulf of Fonseca (Spanish: Golfo de Fonseca), part of the Pacific Ocean, a gulf in Central America, bordering El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua.
Fonseca Bay was discovered in 1522 by Gil Gonzalez de Avila, and named by him after his patron, Archbishop Juan Fonseca, the implacable enemy of Columbus^{[citation needed]}.
In 1849, E. G. Squier negotiated a treaty for the United States to build a canal across Honduras from the Caribbean Sea to the Gulf. Frederick Chatfield, the British commander in Central America, was afraid that American presence in Honduras would destabilize the British Mosquito Coast, and sent his fleet to occupy El Tigre Island at the entrance to the Gulf. Shortly thereafter, however, Squier demanded the British leave, since he had anticipated the occupation and negotiated the island's temporary cession to the United States. Chatfield could only comply.
All three countries—Honduras, El Salvador, and Nicaragua—with coastline along the Gulf have been involved in a lengthy dispute over the rights to the Gulf and the islands located within. In 1992, a chamber of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) decided the Land, Island and Maritime Frontier Dispute, of which the Gulf dispute was a part. The ICJ determined that El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua were to share control of the Gulf of Fonseca. El Salvador was awarded the islands of Meanguera and Meanguerita, while Honduras was awarded El Tigre island.

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Gulf of Guinea
Coordinates: 1°0′N 4°0′E / 1°N 4°E / 1; 4
The Gulf of Guinea is the northeasternmost part of the tropical Atlantic Ocean between Cape Lopez in Gabon, north and west to Cape Palmas in Liberia. The intersection of the Equator and Prime Meridian (zero degrees latitude and longitude) is in the gulf.
Among the many rivers that drain into the Gulf of Guinea are the Niger and the Volta. The coastline on the gulf includes the Bight of Benin and the Bight of Bonny.
The Niger River in particular deposited organic sediments out to sea over millions of years which became crude oil.^{[citation needed]} The Gulf of Guinea region, along with the Congo River delta and Angola further south, are expected to provide around a quarter of the United States' oil imports by 2015.^{[citation needed]} This region is now regarded as one of the world's top oil and gas exploration hotspots.^{[citation needed]}
The origin of the name Guinea is thought to be an area in the region, although the specifics are disputed. Bovill (1995) gives a thorough description:

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Gulf of Khambhat
The Gulf of Khambhat (formerly known as the Gulf of Cambay) is an inlet of the Arabian Sea along the west coast of India, in the state of Gujarat. It is about 80 miles in length, and divides the Kathiawar peninsula to the west from the eastern part of Gujarat state on the east.
The Narmada and Tapti rivers empty into the Gulf. The Gulf is shallow and abounds in shoals and sandbanks including the Mal Bank at the river mouths and the Malacca Banks at the gulf's entrance to the Arabian Sea. The Gulf is known for its extreme tides, which vary greatly in height and run into it with amazing speed. At low tide the bottom is left nearly dry for some distance below the town of Khambhat.
The Alang Ship Recycling Yard takes advantage of the extreme high tides of the gulf. Large ships are beached during the twice-monthly highest tides, and are dismantled when the tide recedes.
The Gulf of Khambhat has been an important centre of trade since ancient times; its ports connect central India to the maritime trade routes of the Indian Ocean. Bharuch (Broach), Surat, Khambhat, Bhavnagar, and Daman are historically important seaports. Bharuch has been important since ancient times; Khambhat was the gulf's chief port in the Middle Ages, but after the silting of its harbour, Surat rose to prominence as the most important harbour of the Mughal empire.

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Gulf of Kutch
The Gulf of Kutch is an inlet of the Arabian Sea along the west coast of India, in the state of Gujarat, and renowned for extreme daily tides [1].
The maximum depth of Gulf of Kutch is 401 feet (122 m).
It is about 99 miles in length, and divides Kutch and the Kathiawar peninsula regions of Gujarat. The Rukmavati River empties into the Arabian Sea nearby.

Coordinates: 22°36′N 69°30′E / 22.6°N 69.5°E / 22.6; 69.5

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Gulf of Lion
The Gulf of Lion (French: golfe du Lion, Spanish: golfo de León, Occitan: golf del/dau Leon, Catalan: golf del Lleó, Medieval Latin: sinus Leonis, mare Leonis, Classical Latin: sinus Gallicus) is a wide embayment of the Mediterranean coastline of Languedoc-Roussillon and Provence in France, reaching from the border with Catalonia in the west to Toulon.
The chief port on the gulf is Marseille. Toulon is another important port. The fishing industry in the gulf is based on hake (Merluccius merluccius), being bottom-trawled, long-lined and gill-netted and currently declining from over-fishing.
Rivers that empty into the gulf include the Tech, Têt, Aude, Orb, Hérault, Vidourle, and the Rhône.
The continental shelf is exposed here as a wide coastal plain, and the offshore terrain slopes rapidly to the Mediterranean's abyssal plain. Much of the coastline is composed of lagoons and salt marsh.
This is the area of the famous cold, blustery winds called the Mistral and the Tramontane.
The current name of the Gulf appeared at least during the 13th century (in medieval Latin sinus Leonis, mare Leonis) and could come from comparison with a lion: it would simply suggest that this part of the sea is as dangerous as a lion because it has very violent, surprising winds that threaten boats (sailors and fishermen know these dangers very well). This comparison with a lion is suggested by various converging sources: Deroy and Mulon's dictionary of French place names, Mistral's comprehensive Occitan dictionary, Diderot and D'Alembert's famous French encyclopedia and several texts in Latin since the 13th century.

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Gulf of Maine
The Gulf of Maine is a large gulf of the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast of North America.
It is delineated by Cape Cod at the eastern tip of Massachusetts in the southwest and Cape Sable at the southern tip of Nova Scotia in the northeast. It includes the entire coastlines of the U.S. states of New Hampshire and Maine, as well as Massachusetts north of Cape Cod, and the southern and western coastlines of the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia respectively.
Both Massachusetts Bay and the Bay of Fundy are included within the Gulf of Maine system. As such, the Gulf of Maine is also home to the highest tidal variations on the planet (see Bay of Fundy for further information).
The coastline of the Gulf of Maine is predominantly rocky and scenic; the only significant coastal developments are located in the Boston, Portsmouth, Portland and Saint John metropolitan areas. The effects of glaciation are responsible for stripping sedimentary soil away from the coastline, therefore the gulf lacks the sandy beaches found to the south along the Eastern Seaboard. The underwater features of the seabed sculptured during the lower sea levels of the ice ages make the gulf a semi-enclosed sea bounded to the south and east by underwater banks. Georges Bank in particular, on its southern end, protects the Gulf of Maine waters from the Gulf Stream. Gulf of Maine waters are more strongly influenced by the Labrador Current, making the gulf waters significantly colder and more nutrient-rich than those found to the south. Undersea valleys in the central basin can reach depths of 1,500 feet (500 m) while undersea mountains rise up 800 feet (266 m) from the sea floor, almost reaching the surface in some locations, or even exceeding it, creating islands.

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Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico (Spanish: Golfo de México) is an ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In Texas and Louisiana it is often called the "Third Coast," in comparison with the U.S. Atlantic and Pacific coasts. The shape of its basin is roughly oval and is approximately 810 nautical miles (1,500 km) wide and filled with sedimentary rocks and debris. It is connected to the Atlantic Ocean through the Florida Straits between the U.S. and Cuba, and with the Caribbean Sea (with which it forms the American Mediterranean Sea) via the Yucatan Channel between Mexico and Cuba. With this narrow connection to the Atlantic, the Gulf experiences very small tidal ranges. The size of the Gulf basin is approximately 615,000 mi² (1.6 million km²). Almost half of the basin is shallow continental shelf waters. At its deepest it is 14,383 ft (4,384 m) at the Sigsbee Deep, an irregular trough more than 300 nautical miles (560 km) (550 km) long. The basin contains a volume of roughly 660 quadrillion gallons (2.5 × 10⁶ km³). It was formed approximately 300 million years ago as a result of plate tectonics.

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Gulf of Oman
The Gulf of Oman or Sea of Oman (Arabic: خليج عُمان‎—Ḫalīdj ʾUmān; alternatively known as خليج مکران—, Ḫalīdj Makrān; in Persian: دریای عمان Daryā-ye Ommān, or دریای پارس Daryā-ye Pārs) is a strait (and not an actual gulf) that connects the Arabian Sea with the Strait of Hormuz, which then runs to the Persian Gulf. It is generally included as a branch of the Persian Gulf, not as an arm of the Arabian Sea. The gulf borders Pakistan and Iran on the north, Oman on the south, and the United Arab Emirates on the west.
The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Gulf of Oman as follows:
On the Northwest. A line joining Ràs Limah (25°57'N) on the coast of Arabia and Ràs al Kuh (25°48'N) on the coast of Iran (Persia)
On the Southeast. The Northern limit of the Arabian Sea [A line joining Ràs al Hadd, East point of Arabia (22°32'N) and Ràs Jiyùni (61°43'E) on the coast of Pakistan].
Coordinates: 25°N 58°E / 25°N 58°E / 25; 58

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Gulf of Thailand
The Gulf of Thailand (Thai: อ่าวไทย, RTGS: Ao Thai, Thai pronunciation: [ʔàːw tʰaj]), also known to Malays as Teluk Siam, literally meaning Gulf of Siam, and Boeung Tonle Siem in Khmer is a shallow arm of the South China Sea.
The Gulf of Thailand is bordered by Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam. The northern tip of the gulf is the Bay of Bangkok at the mouth of the Chao Phraya River. The gulf covers roughly 320,000 km². The boundary of the gulf is defined by the line from Cape Bai Bung in southern Vietnam (just south of the mouth of the Mekong river) to the city Kota Baru on the Malaysian coast. At the height of the last ice age the Gulf of Thailand did not exist, due to the lower sea level, the location being part of the Chao Phraya river valley.
The Gulf of Thailand is relatively shallow: its mean depth is 45 m, and the maximum depth only 80 m. This makes water exchange slow, and the strong water inflow from the rivers make the Gulf low in salinity (3.05-3.25%) and rich in sediments. Only at the greater depths does water with a higher salinity (3.4%) flow into the gulf from the South China sea and fills the central depression below a depth of 50 m. The main rivers which empty into the gulf are the Chao Phraya (including its distributary Tha Chin River), Mae Klong and Bang Pakong Rivers at the Bay of Bangkok, and to a lesser degree the Tapi River into Bandon Bay in the southwest of the gulf.

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Gulf of Tonkin
The Gulf of Tonkin (Vietnamese: Vịnh Bắc Bộ, simplified Chinese: 北部湾; traditional Chinese: 北部灣; pinyin: Běibù Wān) is a body of water located off of northern Vietnam and southern China. It is a northern arm of the South China Sea. The Gulf is defined in the west by the northern coastline of Vietnam, in the north by China's Guangxi province, and to the east by China's Leizhou Peninsula and Hainan Island.
The bay's Vietnamese and Chinese names – Vịnh Bắc Bộ and Běibù Wān, respectively – both mean "Northern Bay". The name Tonkin, written "東京" in Hán tự characters and Đông Kinh in romanised Vietnamese, means "Eastern Capital", and is the former toponym for Hanoi, the present capital of Vietnam. Incidentally, the same Chinese characters – known as kanji when used in Japanese – are used to write "Tokyo"; "Gulf of Tonkin" is written identically to "Tokyo Bay" (東京灣/湾) in Japanese.
On 4 August 1964, United States President Lyndon B. Johnson erroneously claimed that North Vietnamese forces had twice attacked American destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin. Known today as the Gulf of Tonkin Incident, this event spawned the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution of 7 August 1964, ultimately leading to open war between North Vietnam and the United States. It furthermore foreshadowed the major escalation of the Vietnam War in South Vietnam, which began with the landing of US regular combat troops at Da Nang in 1965.

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Gulf of Venezuela
Coordinates: 11°30′N 71°0′W / 11.5°N 71°W / 11.5; -71
The Gulf of Venezuela is a gulf of the Caribbean Sea bounded by the Venezuelan states of Zulia and Falcón and by Guajira Department, Colombia. A 54 km (34 mi) strait connects it with Maracaibo Lake to the south.
The Gulf is located in the north of South America, between Paraguaná Peninsula of the Falcón State in Venezuela and Guajira Peninsula in Colombia and is connected to Maracaibo Lake through an artificial navigation canal. There is currently a dispute between Colombia and Venezuela over the gulf that has not been resolved, despite the decades-long negotiations conducted by a bilateral commission.
It was discovered by westerners in 1499 when an expedition commanded by Alonso de Ojeda in which he was accompanied by Amerigo Vespucci, explored the Venezuelan coasts compiling information and naming the new lands, said expedition arrived to the gulf after passing through the Netherlands Antilles and the Peninsula of Paraguaná.
Territorial waters are also in dispute over the gulf. The border dispute surged after the independence of Colombia and Venezuela from Spain in the 19th Century. The Spanish empire did not delimit the area because the Wayuu indigenous group posed resistance in the area. The land boundary was finally settled in 1941, but not the maritime.

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Haleji Lake
Haleji Lake (Urdu: ہالیجی جھیل) is located in Thatta District, Sindh, Pakistan. It is the Asia's largest bird sanctuary.
Originally, Haleji Lake was small. During World War II the then-British Government of Sindh decided to increase the capacity of the lake by introducing a feeder canal from the River Sindh. The work was placed on a war footing and was completed within 24 months. During the war, thousands of American and British troops were stationed in Karachi; the water supply was provided by Haleji Lake..... Haleji originally was a salt-water lake which was formed by seasonal water, collecting in a depression. During World War II, additional water was required for troops stationed at Karachi. Salt water was drained out and an embankment was constructed around the lake which was fed by fresh water through a canal. Resultantly, Haleji became one of the major sources of water supply to the increasing population of Karachi as well as an exquisite refuge for waterfowl.
A water reservoir, home to Siberian migratory birds from November till February - birds lover paradise in these months. Some crocodiles as well, and fishing.

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Halmahera Sea
Halmahera Sea is a regional sea located in the central eastern part of the Australasian Mediterranean Sea. It is centered at about 1°S and 129°E and is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the north, Halmahera to the west, Waigeo and Irian Jaya to the east, and the Seram Sea to the south. It covers about 95,000 km and its topography comprises a number of separate basins and ridges, the chief of which is the Halmahera Basin reaching a depth of 2039 m.
The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) defines the Halmahera Sea as being one of the waters of the East Indian Archipelago. The IHO defines its limits as follows:
On the North A line from Wajaboela (Morotai) to Tg. Djodjefa, the Northern point of Halmahera.
On the East. A line from Tg. Gorango, the Northeastern point of Morotai Island, through Sajang and Kawé Islands to the Western extremes of Waigeo and Batanta Islands across to the Northwest point of Samawati Island, down the coast to Tg. Menonket its Southwest point, and thence to Tg. Sele, New Guinea (1°26′S 130°56′E / 1.433°S 130.933°E / -1.433; 130.933).

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Haro River
Haro is the name of a river that flows through parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab its valley in Abbottabad District in the North West Frontier Province of northern Pakistan, identified with the Rigvedic Arjikiya. Famous Khanpur Dam has been built across this river at Khanpur in the Haripur District.
It is fed by four major tributaries:
Minor tributaries include the following rivulets.
This river joins Indus River near Ghazi Barotha Dam.
Coordinates: 33°46′N 72°15′E / 33.767°N 72.25°E / 33.767; 72.25

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Hingol River
Hingol River or Hungol River (Urdu: دریائے ہنگول) is located in Makran, Balochistan, Pakistan.
The river is 350 miles long and is the longest in Balochistan.It winds through the Hungol valley between high cliffs.
The river flows all year long, unlike most other streams in Balochistan which only flow during rare rains.
The river and valley are located in Hingol National Park.
Coordinates: 25°23′N 65°28′E / 25.383°N 65.467°E / 25.383; 65.467

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Hispar River
The Hispar River forms from the melt water of the Hispar Glacier - a 49 kilometer-long glacier in the Northern Areas of Pakistan's Karakoram Mountains. The Hispar Glacier and river both flow northwest, passing through Hispar, Hopar and Nagar (Nagir) villages until the confluence with the Hunza River in the Hunza Valley. Road conditions are spectacular at best, treacherous at worst. In August 2006, a bridge below Hispar village was condemned, and the Hunza River washed the road away at the confluence, eliminating all vehicular access to the entire valley for some months.
Coordinates: 36°18′N 74°39′E / 36.3°N 74.65°E / 36.3; 74.65

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Hunza River
Hunza River (Urdu: دریائے ہنزہ) is the principal river of Hunza, in the Northern Areas of Pakistan. It is formed by the confluence of the Kilik and Khunjerab nalas (gorges) which are fed by glaciers. It is joined by the Gilgit River and the Naltar River before it flows into the Indus River.
The river cuts through the Karakoram range, flowing from north to south. The Karakoram Highway crosses the Hunza River near Hunza and Nagar valleys.
It has a mean annual flow of almost 320 cubic meters per second (740mm). The drainage area of Hunza river is almost 13733 square kilometres.
Thousands are fleeing their homes amidst fears of flooding as a breach of the Attabad Lake in northern Pakistan looks imminent.
An estimated 13,935 people (1,747 families) from 39 villages have been displaced following an avalanche which blocked the Hunza River forming a 19km by 80-metres deep artificial lake in Attabad, Hunza, located 130 km north of Gilgit in the Northern Areas of Pakistan.
A large number of cattle and standing crops on hundreds of acres of land were also buried under tonnes of earth that blocked the flow of the once fast-flowing river and a 22 km stretch of the Karakorum Highway.

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India
India (ⁱ/ˈɪndiə/), officially the Republic of India (Bhārat Gaṇarājya), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the south-west, and the Bay of Bengal on the south-east, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west;China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north-east; and Burma and Bangladesh to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives; in addition, India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand and Indonesia.
Home to the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation and a region of historic trade routes and vast empires, the Indian subcontinent was identified with its commercial and cultural wealth for much of its long history. Four of the world's major religions—Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism—originated here, whereas Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam arrived in the 1st millennium CE and also helped shape the region's diverse culture. Gradually annexed by and brought under the administration of the British East India Company from the early 18th century and administered directly by the United Kingdom from the mid-19th century, India became an independent nation in 1947 after a struggle for independence that was marked by non-violent resistance led by Mahatma Gandhi.

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Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula (or, more generally, by southern and western Asia); on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and Australia; and on the south by the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, by Antarctica). The ocean is named after the geographic location of India.
As one component of the interconnected global ocean, the Indian Ocean is delineated from the Atlantic Ocean by the 20° east meridian running south from Cape Agulhas, and from the Pacific by the meridian of 146°55' east. The northernmost extent of the Indian Ocean is approximately 30° north in the Persian Gulf. This ocean is nearly 10,000 kilometres (6,200 mi) wide at the southern tips of Africa and Australia; its area is 73,556,000 square kilometres (28,350,000 sq mi), including the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf.

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Indonesia
Indonesia (ⁱ/ˌɪndəˈniːʒə/ IN-də-NEE-zhə or /ˌɪndoʊˈniːziə/ IN-doh-NEE-zee-ə), officially the Republic of Indonesia (Indonesian: Republik Indonesia Indonesian pronunciation: [rɛpʊblɪk ɪndɔnɛsɪa]), is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 17,508 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an elected legislature and president. The nation's capital city is Jakarta. The country shares land borders with Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and Malaysia. Other neighboring countries include Singapore, Philippines, Australia, and the Indian territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Indonesia is a founding member of ASEAN and a member of the G-20 major economies. The Indonesian economy is the world's 17th largest economy by nominal GDP.
The Indonesian archipelago has been an important trade region since at least the 7th century, when Srivijaya and then later Majapahit traded with China and India. Local rulers gradually absorbed foreign cultural, religious and political models from the early centuries CE, and Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms flourished. Indonesian history has been influenced by foreign powers drawn to its natural resources. Muslim traders brought Islam, and European powers brought Christianity and fought one another to monopolize trade in the Spice Islands of Maluku during the Age of Discovery. Following three and a half centuries of Dutch colonialism, Indonesia secured its independence after World War II. Indonesia's history has since been turbulent, with challenges posed by natural disasters, corruption, separatism, a democratization process, and periods of rapid economic change.

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Indus River
The Indus River (Sanskrit: सिन्धु Sindhu; Urdu: دریائے سندھ Daryā-e Sindh; Hindi: सिन्धु नदी Sindhu; Sindhi: سنڌو Sindhu; Punjabi: سندھ Sindh; Gujarati: સિંધુ નદી Sindhu; Pashto: اباسين Abāsin "Father of Rivers"; Persian: رود سند Rūd-e Sind‎; Arabic: السند Al-Sind‎; Tibetan: སེང་གེ།་གཙང་པོ Sênggê Zangbo "Lion River"; Greek: Ινδός Indós; Turki: Nilab) is a major river which flows through Pakistan. It has courses through western Tibet (in China) and Northern India.
Originating in the Tibetan plateau in the vicinity of Lake Mansarovar, the river runs a course through the Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir, Gilgit, Baltistan and flows through Pakistan in a southerly direction along the entire length of Pakistan to merge into the Arabian Sea near the port city of Karachi in Sindh. The total length of the river is 3,180 km (1,980 mi). It is Pakistan's longest river.
The river has a total drainage area exceeding 1,165,000 km² (450,000 sq mi). Its estimated annual flow stands at around 207 km³ (50 cu mi), making it the twenty-first largest river in the world in terms of annual flow. Zanskar is its left bank tributary in Ladakh. In the plains, its left bank tributary is Chenab which itself has four major tributaries, namely, Jhelum, Ravi, Beas and Satluj. Its principal right bank tributaries are Shyok, Gilgit, Kabul, Gomal and Kurram. Beginning at the heights of the world in a spring and fed with glaciers and rivers in the Himalayas, the river supports ecosystems of temperate forests, plains and arid countryside.

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Ionian Sea
The Ionian Sea (Greek: Ιόνιο Πέλαγος, Greek pronunciation: [iˈonio ˈpelaɣos], Italian: Mar Ionio, Italian pronunciation: [maɾ ˈjɔːnio], Albanian: Deti Jon), is an arm of the Mediterranean Sea, south of the Adriatic Sea. It is bounded by southern Italy including Calabria, Sicily and the Salento peninsula to the west, southern Albania to the north, and west coast of Greece.
All major islands in the sea belong to Greece. They are collectively referred to as the Ionian Islands, the major ones being Corfu, Zante, Kephalonia, Ithaka, and Lefkas.
There are ferry routes between Patras and Igoumenitsa, Greece, and Brindisi and Ancona, Italy, that cross the east and north of the Ionian Sea, and from Piraeus westward. Calypso Deep, the deepest point in the Mediterranean at −5,267 m (−17,280.2 ft), is located in the Ionian Sea, at 36°34′N 21°8′E / 36.567°N 21.133°E / 36.567; 21.133. The sea is one of the most seismically active areas in the world.
The name Ionian comes from Greek Ἰόνιον (πέλαγος). In Ancient Greek the adjective Ionios (Ἰόνιος) was used as an epithet for the sea because Io swam across it. Its etymology is unknown. Ancient Greek writers, especially Aeschylus, linked it to the myth of Io. There were also narratives about other eponymic legendary figures; according to one version, Ionius was a son of Adrias (eponymic for the Adriatic Sea); according to another, Ionius was a son of Dyrrhachus, eponymic for the ancient Greek city of Dyrrhachium (modern Durrës in Albania). When Dyrrhachus was attacked by his own brothers, Heracles, who was passing through the area, came to his aid, but in the fight the hero killed his ally's son by mistake. The corpse was cast into the sea, which thereafter was called the Ionian Sea.

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Iran
Coordinates: 32°N 53°E / 32°N 53°E / 32; 53
Iran (ⁱ/ɪˈrɑːn/ or /aɪˈræn/;Persian: ایران‎ [ʔiˈɾɒn] ( listen)), officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (Persian: جمهوری اسلامی ایران‎ Jomhuri-ye Eslāmi-ye Irān), is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran", which in Persian means "Land of the Aryans", has been in use natively since the Sassanian era. It came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia ( /ˈpɜrʒə/ or /ˈpɜrʃə/). Both "Persia" and "Iran" are used interchangeably in cultural contexts; however, "Iran" is the name used officially in political contexts.
The 18th-largest country in the world in terms of area at 1,648,195 km² (636,372 sq mi), Iran has a population of around 79 million. It is a country of particular geopolitical significance owing to its location in the Middle East and central Eurasia. Iran is bordered on the north by Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan. As Iran is a littoral state of the Caspian Sea, which is an inland sea, Kazakhstan and Russia are also Iran's direct neighbors to the north. Iran is bordered on the east by Afghanistan and Pakistan, on the south by the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, on the west by Iraq and on the northwest by Turkey. Tehran is the capital, the country's largest city and the political, cultural, commercial and industrial center of the nation. Iran is a regional power, and holds an important position in international energy security and world economy as a result of its large reserves of petroleum and natural gas. Iran has the second largest proven natural gas reserves in the world and the fourth largest proven petroleum reserves.

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Iraq
Iraq (/ɪˈræk/ or ⁱ/ɪˈrɑːk/; Arabic: العراق‎ al-‘Irāq); officially the Republic of Iraq (Arabic: جمهورية العراق (help·info) Jumhūriyyat al-‘Irāq), is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert.
Iraq borders Syria to the northwest, Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, Jordan to the southwest and Kuwait and Saudi Arabia to the south. Iraq has a narrow section of coastline measuring 58 km (36 mi) on the northern Persian Gulf. The capital city, Baghdad is in the center-east of the country.
Two major rivers, the Tigris and Euphrates, run through the center of Iraq, flowing from northwest to southeast. These provide Iraq with agriculturally capable land and contrast with the steppe and desert landscape that covers most of Western Asia.
Historically, Iraq was the center of the Abbasid Arabic Islamic Empire. Iraq has been known to the west by the Greek toponym 'Mesopotamia' (Land between the rivers) and has been home to continuous successive civilizations since the 6th millennium BC. The region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers is often referred to as the cradle of civilization and the birthplace of writing, law and the wheel. At different periods in its history, Iraq was the center of the indigenous Akkadian, Sumerian, Assyrian, Babylonian, and Abbasid empires. It was also part of the Achaemenid, Hellenistic, Parthian, Sassanid, Roman, Rashidun, Umayyad, Mongol, Safavid, Afsharid, and Ottoman empires, and under British control as a League of Nations mandate.

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Irish Sea
The Irish Sea (Irish: Muir Éireann or Muir Meann,Scottish Gaelic: Muir Èireann or Muir Mhanainn,Manx: Mooir Vannin or Y Keayn Yernagh,Welsh: Môr Iwerddon, Scots: Erse Sea) separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is connected to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel, and to the Atlantic Ocean in the north by the North Channel. Anglesey is the largest island within the Irish Sea, followed by the Isle of Man. The sea is occasionally, but rarely, referred to as the Manx Sea.
The sea is of significant economic importance to regional trade, shipping and transport, fishing, and power generation in the form of wind power and nuclear plants. Annual traffic between Great Britain and Ireland amounts to over 12 million passengers and 17 million tonnes of traded goods.
The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Irish Sea (with St George's Channel) as follows:
On the North. The Southern limit of the Scottish Seas [or Inner Seas off the West Coast of Scotland, defined as "a line joining the South extreme of the Mull of Galloway (54°38'N) in Scotland and Ballyquintin Point (54°20'N) in Ireland"].

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Irminger Sea
The Irminger Sea is a marginal sea of the North Atlantic Ocean. It is 480 km long and 290 km wide at its narrowest. The northern limit is the Greenland-Iceland Rise on the bottom of Denmark Strait between Iceland and East Greenland, which connects to Greenland Sea. To the southwest, it reaches to Cape Farvel, the southern tip of Greenland, and meets the Labrador Sea at this point. South of this point is the open North Atlantic Ocean. The sea floor of the Irminger Sea is largely part of the Irminger Basin, a north-eastern continuation of the maximally 4600 m deep Labrador Basin, which on the east is bordered by the Reykjanes Ridge. This delineation is oceanographic only and does not represent any official borders. The Irminger Sea is one of the main fishing areas of the Rose fish.
The Irminger Sea was named after Danish vice-admiral Carl Ludvig Christian Irminger (1802–1888), after whom also the Irminger Stream was named.
Coordinates: 62°N 35°W / 62°N 35°W / 62; -35

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Israel
Coordinates: 31°N 35°E / 31°N 35°E / 31; 35
Israel, officially the State of Israel ( /ˈɪzriːəl/ or /ˈɪzreɪəl/; Hebrew: מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל‎, Medīnat Yisrā'el, IPA: [me̞diˈnät jisʁäˈʔe̞l] ( listen); Arabic: دَوْلَة إِسْرَائِيل‎, Dawlat Isrāʼīl, IPA: [dawlat ʔisraːˈʔiːl]), is a parliamentary republic in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan and the West Bank in the east, Egypt and the Gaza Strip on the southwest, and the Gulf of Aqaba in the Red Sea to the south, and it contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area. Israel is defined as a Jewish and Democratic State in its Basic Laws and is the world's only Jewish-majority state.
Following the adoption of a resolution by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 29 November 1947 recommending the adoption and implementation of the United Nations plan to partition Palestine, on 14 May 1948 David Ben-Gurion, the Executive Head of the World Zionist Organization and president of the Jewish Agency for Palestine, declared the establishment of a Jewish state in Eretz Israel, to be known as the State of Israel, a state independent from the British Mandate for Palestine. Neighboring Arab states invaded the next day in support of the Palestinian Arabs. Israel has since fought several wars with neighboring Arab states, in the course of which it has occupied the West Bank, Sinai Peninsula, Gaza Strip and the Golan Heights. Portions of these territories, including east Jerusalem, have been annexed by Israel, but the border with the neighboring West Bank has not yet been permanently defined.^{[neutrality is disputed]} Israel has signed peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan, but efforts to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict have so far not resulted in peace.

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Jakarta
Jakarta ( /dʒəˈkɑrtə/), officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta (Indonesian: Daerah Khusus Ibu Kota Jakarta), is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Located on the northwest coast of Java, Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre, and with a population of 10,187,595 as of November 2011, it is the most populous city in Indonesia and in Southeast Asia, and is the twelfth-largest city in the world. The official metropolitan area, known as Jabodetabekjur, is the second largest in the world, yet the city's suburbs still continue beyond it. Jakarta is listed as a global city in the 2008 Globalization and World Cities Study Group and Network (GaWC) research. and has an area of 661 square kilometres (255 sq mi)
Based on Brooking Institute survey about growth, in 2011 Jakarta ranked 17th among the world's 200 largest cities, a significant jumps from 2007 when Jakarta ranked 171st. Jakarta has seen more rapid growth than Kuala Lumpur, Beijing and Bangkok.

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Japan
Japan ⁱ/dʒəˈpæn/ (Japanese: 日本 Nihon or Nippon; formally 日本国 Nippon-koku or Nihon-koku, literally the State of Japan) is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south. The characters that make up Japan's name mean "sun-origin", which is why Japan is sometimes referred to as the "Land of the Rising Sun".
Japan is an archipelago of 6,852 islands. The four largest islands are Honshū, Hokkaidō, Kyūshū and Shikoku, together accounting for ninety-seven percent of Japan's land area. Japan has the world's tenth-largest population, with over 127 million people. The Greater Tokyo Area, which includes the de facto capital city of Tokyo and several surrounding prefectures, is the largest metropolitan area in the world, with over 30 million residents.
Archaeological research indicates that people lived in Japan as early as the Upper Paleolithic period. The first written mention of Japan is in Chinese history texts from the 1st century AD. Influence from other nations followed by long periods of isolation has characterized Japan's history. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, victory in the First Sino-Japanese War, the Russo-Japanese War and World War I allowed Japan to expand its empire during a period of increasing militarism. The Second Sino-Japanese War of 1937 expanded into part of World War II in 1941, which came to an end in 1945 following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Since adopting its revised constitution in 1947, Japan has maintained a unitary constitutional monarchy with an emperor and an elected parliament called the Diet.

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Java Sea
The Java Sea (Indonesian: Laut Jawa) is a large (320,000 km²) shallow sea on the Sunda Shelf. It was formed as sea levels rose at the end of the last ice age. The Java Sea lies between the Indonesian islands of Borneo to the north, Java to the south; Sumatra to the west, and Sulawesi to the east. Karimata Strait to its northwest, links it to the South China Sea.
Fishing is an important economic activity in the Java Sea. There are over 3,000 species of marine life in the area. A number of national parks exist in the area such as Karimunjawa. The Thousand Islands are located north of the mainland Jakarta. The area around the Java Sea is a popular tourist destination. Scuba diving offers a chance to explore and photograph underwater caverns, wrecks, coral, sponges, and other marine life.
The Battle of the Java Sea, during February and March 1942, was one of the costliest naval battles of World War II. The naval forces of the Netherlands, Britain, Australia, and the U.S. were nearly completely destroyed trying to defend Java from Japanese attack.

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Jhelum River
Jehlum River or Jhelum River ( /ˈdʒeɪləm/) (Sanskrit: वितस्ता, Kashmiri: Vyeth, Hindi: झेलम, Punjabi: ਜੇਹਲਮ (Gurmukhi), Urdu: دریاۓ جہلم (Nastaliq)) is a river that flows in India and Pakistan. It is the largest and most western of the five rivers of Punjab, and passes through Jhelum District. It is a tributary of the Chenab River and has a total length of about 505 miles (813 kilometers).
The river Jhelum is called Vitastā in the Rigveda and Hydaspes by the ancient Greeks. The Vitasta (Sanskrit: वितस्ता, fem., also, Vetastā) is mentioned as one of the major rivers by the holy scriptures of the Indo-Aryans — the Rigveda. It has been speculated that the Vitastā must have been one of the seven rivers (sapta-sindhu) mentioned so many times in the Rigveda. The name survives in the Kashmiri name for this river as Vyeth. According to the major religious work Srimad Bhagavatam, the Vitastā is one of the many transcendental rivers flowing through land of Bharata, or ancient India.

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Jordan
Jordan ( /ˈdʒɔr.dən/;Arabic: اَلأُرْدُنّ, Al-'Urdunn), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (Arabic: اَلمَمْلَكَة اَلأُرْدُنِيَّة اَلهَاشِمِيَّة), Al-Mamlakah Al-Urdaniyyah Al-Hashimiyyah) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing control of the Dead Sea with the latter. Jordan's only port is at its south-western tip, at the Gulf of Aqaba, which is shared with Israel, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia. Over half of Jordan is covered by the Arabian Desert. However, the western part of Jordan is arable land and forests. Jordan is part of the Fertile Crescent. The capital city is Amman. According to the CIA World Factbook, Jordan has the second highest life expectancy in the Middle East, after Israel. The average life expectancy is one position behind the United Kingdom, although the age remains exactly the same (80.05 years).
The precursor to modern Jordan was founded in 1921 as the Hashemite Emirate, and it was recognized by the League of Nations as a state under the British mandate in 1922 known as The Emirate of Transjordan. In 1946, Jordan became an independent sovereign state officially known as the Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan. After capturing the West Bank area of Cisjordan during the 1948–49 war with Israel, Abdullah I took the title King of Jordan and Palestine, and he officially changed the country's name to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in April 1949.

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Kabul River
Kabul River (Persian: دریای کابل‎; Pashto: کابل سیند; Urdu: دریای کابل), the classical Cophes ( /ˈkoʊfiːz/), is a 700 km long river that starts in the Sanglakh Range of the Hindu Kush Mountains in Afghanistan and ends in the Indus River near Attock, Pakistan. It is the main river in eastern Afghanistan and is separated from the watershed of the Helmand by the Unai Pass. It passes through the cities of Kabul, Chaharbagh and Jalalabad in Afghanistan before flowing into Pakistan some 25 km north of the Pak-Afghan Border crossing at Torkham. The major tributaries of the Kabul River are the Logar, Panjshir, Kunar, Alingar, Bara and Swat rivers.
The Kabul River is little more than a trickle for most of the year, but swells in summer due to melting snows in the Hindu Kush Range. Its largest tributary is the Kunar River, which starts out as the Mastuj River, flowing from the Chiantar glacier in Chitral, Pakistan and after flowing south into Afghanistan it is met by the Bashgal river flowing from Nurestan. The Kunar meets the Kabul near Jalalabad. In spite of the Kunar carrying more water than the Kabul, the river continues as the Kabul River after this confluence, mainly for the political and historical significance of the name.

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Kara Sea
Coordinates: 77°N 77°E / 77°N 77°E / 77; 77
The Kara Sea (Russian: Ка́рское мо́ре, Karskoe More) is part of the Arctic Ocean north of Siberia. It is separated from the Barents Sea to the west by the Kara Strait and Novaya Zemlya, and the Laptev Sea to the east by the Severnaya Zemlya archipelago. It is named for the Kara River (flowing into Baydaratskaya Bay), which is now relatively insignificant but which played an important role in the Russian conquest of northern Siberia.
The Kara Sea's northern limit is marked geographically by a line running from Cape Kohlsaat in Graham Bell Island, Franz Josef Land, to Cape Molotov (Arctic Cape), the northernmost point of Komsomolets Island in Severnaya Zemlya.
The Kara Sea is roughly 1,450 kilometres long and 970 kilometres wide with an area of around 880,000 km² and a mean depth of 110 metres (360 ft).
Compared to the Barents Sea, which receives relatively warm currents from the Atlantic, the Kara Sea is much colder, remaining frozen for over nine months a year.

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Kara Strait
Coordinates: 70°30′N 58°0′E / 70.5°N 58°E / 70.5; 58
The Kara Strait or Kara Gates (Russian: Пролив Карские Ворота; Proliv Karskiye Vorota) is a 56 km (35 mi) wide channel of water between the southern end of Novaya Zemlya and the northern tip of Vaygach Island. This strait connects the Kara Sea and the Barents Sea in northern Russia.
The Kara Strait was an important waterway in the early exploration of the Northern Sea Route.

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Karachi
Karachi ( Karācī (help·info), Urdu: کراچی; Sindhi: ڪراچي) is the largest city, main seaport and financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 13 million. Results in April 2012 of Pakistan's latest census initial tabulations show that the district is home to over 21 million people, at a density of nearly 6,000 people per square kilometer (15,500 per square mile). Karachi is the most populous city in the country, one of the world's largest cities in terms of population and also the 10th largest urban agglomeration in the world. It is Pakistan's premier centre of banking, industry, economic activity and trade and is home to Pakistan's largest corporations, including those involved in textiles, shipping, automotive industry, entertainment, the arts, fashion, advertising, publishing, software development and medical research. The city is a major hub of higher education in South Asia and the wider Muslim world.

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Kaveri
The Kaveri, also spelled Cauvery in English, is a large Indian river. The origin of the river is traditionally placed at Talakaveri, Kodagu in the Western Ghats in Karnataka, flows generally south and east through Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and across the southern Deccan plateau through the southeastern lowlands, emptying into the Bay of Bengal through two principal mouths.
The Kaveri basin is estimated to be 27,700 square miles (72,000 km²) with many tributaries including the Shimsha, the Hemavati, the Arkavati, Honnuhole, Lakshmana Tirtha, Kabini, Bhavani River, the Lokapavani, the Noyyal and the Amaravati River. Rising in southwestern Karnataka, it flows southeast some 475 mi (765 km) to enter the Bay of Bengal. East of Mysore it forms the island of Shivanasamudra, on either side of which are the scenic Shivanasamudra Falls that descend about 320 ft (100 m). The river is the source for an extensive irrigation system and for hydroelectric power. The river has supported irrigated agriculture for centuries and served as the lifeblood of the ancient kingdoms and modern cities of South India.

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Kech River
The Kech River is a tributary of the Dasht River which flows from Iran into Balochistan, Pakistan. The city of Turbat is located along this river and is used to irrigate the orchards and in vegetable farming. However the area is prone to flooding - in June 2007 the flood waters entered Turbat city after the river burst it banks, thousands were affected.
Coordinates: 25°59′N 62°44′E / 25.983°N 62.733°E / 25.983; 62.733

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Kenya
Kenya ( /ˈkɛnjə/ or /ˈkiːnjə/), officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator. With the Indian Ocean to its south-east, it is bordered by Tanzania to the south, Uganda to the west, South Sudan to the north-west, Ethiopia to the north and Somalia to the north-east. Kenya has a land area of 580,000 km² and a population of nearly 41 million, representing 42 different peoples and cultures. The country is named after Mount Kenya, a significant landmark and second among Africa's highest mountain peaks. Kenya's capital and largest city is Nairobi.
Kenya has a warm and humid climate along its coastline on the Indian Ocean which changes to wildlife-rich savannah grasslands moving inland towards the capital Nairobi. Nairobi has a cool climate that gets colder approaching Mount Kenya, which has three permanently snow-capped peaks. The warm and humid tropical climate reappears further inland towards lake Victoria, before giving way to temperate forested and hilly areas in the western region. The North Eastern regions along the border with Somalia and Ethiopia are arid and semi-arid areas with near-desert landscapes. Lake Victoria, the world's second largest fresh-water lake (after Lake Superior in the US and Canada) and the world's largest tropical lake, is situated to the southwest and is shared with Uganda and Tanzania. Kenya is famous for its safaris and diverse world-famous wildlife reserves such as Tsavo National Park, the Maasai Mara, Nakuru National Park, and Aberdares National Park.

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Kerala Backwaters
The Kerala backwaters are a chain of brackish lagoons and lakes lying parallel to the Arabian Sea coast (known as the Malabar Coast) of Kerala state in southern India. The network includes five large lakes linked by canals, both manmade and natural, fed by 38 rivers, and extending virtually half the length of Kerala state. The backwaters were formed by the action of waves and shore currents creating low barrier islands across the mouths of the many rivers flowing down from the Western Ghats range.
The Kerala Backwaters are a network of interconnected canals, rivers, lakes and inlets, a labyrinthine system formed by more than 900 km of waterways, and sometimes compared to the American Bayou. In the midst of this landscape there are a number of towns and cities, which serve as the starting and end points of backwater cruises. National Waterway No. 3 from Kollam to Kottapuram, covers a distance of 205 km and runs almost parallel to the coast line of southern Kerala facilitating both cargo movement and backwater tourism.

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Kerala backwaters
The Kerala backwaters are a chain of brackish lagoons and lakes lying parallel to the Arabian Sea coast (known as the Malabar Coast) of Kerala state in southern India. The network includes five large lakes linked by canals, both manmade and natural, fed by 38 rivers, and extending virtually half the length of Kerala state. The backwaters were formed by the action of waves and shore currents creating low barrier islands across the mouths of the many rivers flowing down from the Western Ghats range.
The Kerala Backwaters are a network of interconnected canals, rivers, lakes and inlets, a labyrinthine system formed by more than 900 km of waterways, and sometimes compared to the American Bayou. In the midst of this landscape there are a number of towns and cities, which serve as the starting and end points of backwater cruises. National Waterway No. 3 from Kollam to Kottapuram, covers a distance of 205 km and runs almost parallel to the coast line of southern Kerala facilitating both cargo movement and backwater tourism.

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Kerguelen Plateau
The Kerguelen Plateau ( /ˈkɜrɡələn/, /kərˈɡeɪlən/) is an underwater volcanic large igneous province (LIP), also the microcontinent and submerged continent in the southern Indian Ocean. It lies about 3,000 km to the southwest of Australia and is nearly three times the size of Japan. The plateau extends for more than 2,200 km in a northwest-southeast direction and lies in deep water.
The plateau was produced by the Kerguelen hotspot, starting with or following the breakup of Gondwana about 130 million years ago. There is a small portion of the plateau that breaks sea level, forming the Kerguelen Islands, Heard Island and McDonald Islands. Intermittent volcanism continues on Heard and McDonald islands.
Symmetrically located across the Indian Ocean ridge and due west of Australia, is the Broken Ridge underwater volcanic plateau which was at one time contiguous with the Kerguelen Plateau prior to rifting by the mid-ocean ridge.
To the north of Broken Ridge lies the linear Ninety East Ridge which continues almost due north into the Bay of Bengal and is considered to be a hotspot track.

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King Haakon VII Sea
Coordinates: 67°00′S 20°00′E / 67°S 20°E / -67; 20
King Haakon VII Sea (Norwegian: Kong Haakon VII Hav) is an arm of the Southern Ocean on the coast of East Antarctica.
From the international point of view, King Haakon VII Sea lies between Weddell Sea and Lazarev Sea, and thus stretches only along Kronprinsesse Märtha Kyst from Cape Norvegia at 12°18'W, the easternmost point of the Weddell Sea, to Fimbul Ice Shelf close to the Prime Meridian at 0°0', which is recognized as the western border of Lazarev Sea.^{[citation needed]}
From the Norwegian point of view, which does not recognize Lazarev Sea, King Haakon VII Sea is situated along the entire coast of Dronning Maud Land between 20°W and 45°E and stretches for about 10 090 km (6 270 miles) from the Stancomb-Wills Glacier at 19°W on Kronprinsesse Märtha Kyst in the west to Shinnan Glacier at 44°38'E on the eastern border of Kronprins Olav Kyst in the east.
The sea covered by ice most of the year. During autum Pack ice forms which does not break up until spring. The rough coordinates of the sea area are 67°00′S 20°00′E / 67°S 20°E / -67; 20.

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Kochi
Kochi (Malayalam: കൊച്ചി, Kocci ^?[koˈtʃːi] ( listen)), formerly Cochin, is a major port city on the west coast of India by the Arabian Sea. Kochi is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of Kerala.
Kochi is often called by the name Ernakulam, which refers to the eastern part of the mainland Kochi. The civic body that governs the city is the Corporation of Cochin, which was constituted in the year 1967, and the statutory bodies that oversee its development are the Greater Cochin Development Authority and the Goshree Islands Development Authority.
The city of Kochi (pop. 601,574) is Kerala's largest city and is part of an extended metropolitan region (pop. 2.1 million), which is the largest urban agglomeration in Kerala. It is the most densely populated city in the state. Kochi city is also a part of Greater Cochin region and is classified as a B-1 grade city by the Government of India, making it the highest graded city in the state. Kochi ranks first in the total number of international and domestic tourists in Kerala. Kochi has been ranked the sixth best tourist destination in India according to a survey conducted by the Nielsen Company on behalf of the Outlook Traveller magazine.

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Koro Sea
The Koro Sea or Sea of Koro is a sea in the Pacific Ocean between Viti Levu island, Fiji to the west and the Lau Islands to the east, surrounded by the islands of the Fijian archipelago.
It is named after Koro Island.
Coordinates: 18°S 180°E / 18°S 180°E / -18; 180

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Kuwait
Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait ⁱ/kuːˈweɪt/ (Arabic: دولة الكويت‎, Dawlat al-Kuwayt) is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the Arabic أكوات ākwāt, the plural of كوت kūt, meaning a fortress built near water. The country covers an area of 17,820 square kilometers (6,880 sq mi) and has a population of about 3.5 million.
Historically, the region was the site of Characene, a major Parthian port for trade between Mesopotamia and India. The Bani Utbah tribe were the first permanent Arab settlers in the region, and laid the foundation of the modern emirate. By the 19th century, Kuwait came under the influence of the Ottoman Empire, and after World War I, it emerged as an independent sheikhdom under the protection of the British Empire. Kuwait's large oil fields were discovered in the late 1930s.

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Laccadive Sea
The Laccadive Sea or Lakshadweep Sea (Malayalam: ലക്ഷദ്വീപ കടല്‍) is a body of water bordering India (including its Lakshadweep islands), the Maldives, and Sri Lanka. It is located to the west of Kerala. This warm sea has a stable water temperature through the year and is rich in marine life, with the Gulf of Mannar alone hosting about 3,600 species.
The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Laccadive Sea as follows:

On the West. A line running from Sadashivgad Lt. on West Coast of India (14°48′N 74°07′E / 14.8°N 74.117°E / 14.8; 74.117) to Corah Divh (13°42′N 72°10′E / 13.7°N 72.167°E / 13.7; 72.167) and thence down the West side of the Laccadive [Lakshadweep] and Maldive Archipelagos to the most Southerly point of Addu Atoll in the Maldives.
On the South. A line running from Dondra Head in Ceylon [Sri Lanka] to the most Southerly point of Addu Atoll.
On the East. The West coasts of Ceylon and India.
On the Northeast. Adams Bridge (between India and Ceylon).

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Lakshadweep
Lakshadweep /ləkˈʃɑːdwiːp/ (Malayalam: ലക്ഷദ്വീപ് Lakṣadvīp (help·info), Mahl: ލަކްޝަދީބު Lakshadīb), formerly known as the Laccadive, Minicoy, and Amindivi Islands /ˌlækədaɪv ˌmɪnɨkɔɪ/ & /ˌæmɨnˈdiːvi/, is a group of islands in the Laccadive Sea, 200 to 440 km off the coast of the South West Indian state of Kerala. They were also known as Laccadive Islands, although geographically this is only the name of the central subgroup of the group.
The islands form the smallest Union Territory of India. The total surface area of the islands is just 11 sq mi or 32 km². However, the lagoon area is about 4,200 square kilometres (1,600 sq mi), the territorial waters area is 20,000 square kilometres (7,700 sq mi) and the exclusive economic zone area is 400,000 square kilometres (150,000 sq mi).
Lakshadweep is the northern part of the erstwhile Lakshadweepa.^{[clarification needed]} The islands are the northernmost among the Lakshadweep-Maldives-Chagos group of islands, which are actually the tops of a vast undersea mountain range, in the Indian Ocean, the Chagos-Laccadive Ridge.

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Lazarev Sea
The Lazarev Sea is a marginal sea of the Southern Ocean. It is located between the King Haakon VII Sea to the west and the Riiser-Larsen Sea to the east, or between the Prime Meridian of 0°0' and 14°E. The prevailing depth is 3000 meters, and the maximum depth exceeds 4500 meters. It stretches over an area of 929,000 km².
To the south of Lazarev Sea lies Princess Astrid Coast of Queen Maud Land.
The Lazarev Sea is named after Russian Admiral and Explorer Mikhail Lazarev (1788-1851).
Coordinates: 68°00′S 7°00′E / 68°S 7°E / -68; 7

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Libyan Sea
The Libyan Sea (Greek Λιβυκόν πέλαγος, Latin Libycum Mare) is the portion of the Mediterranean Sea, north of the African coast of ancient Libya, i.e. Cyrenaica and Marmarica (the coast of what is now eastern Libya and western Egypt, between Tobruk and Alexandria). This designation was used by ancient geographers describing the southern Mediterranean, but the term is also used by modern travel writers and cartographers. The southern coastline of Crete which borders the Libyan Sea includes the Asterousia Mountains and Mesara Plain; this area is the locus of considerable ancient Bronze Age settlement including the sites of Kommos, Hagia Triada and Phaistos.
To the east is the Levantine Sea, to the north the Ionian Sea, and to the west the Strait of Sicily.
Coordinates: 34°00′N 24°24′E / 34°N 24.4°E / 34; 24.4

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Ligurian Sea
The Ligurian Sea (Italian: Mar Ligure; French: Mer Ligurienne) is an arm of the Mediterranean Sea, between the Italian Riviera (Liguria and Tuscany) and the island of Corsica. The sea is probably named after the ancient Ligures people.
The sea borders the countries Italy, France, and Monaco. In the east the sea borders the Tyrrhenian Sea, while in the west it borders the Mediterranean Sea proper. Genoa is the most prominent city in the area. The northwest coast is noted for its scenic beauty and favourable climate.
The Gulf of Genoa is its northernmost part. The sea receives the Arno River from the east and many other rivers that originate in the Apennines. The ports of Genoa, La Spezia, and Livorno are on its rocky coast. It reaches a maximum depth of more than 9,300 feet (2,850 m) northwest of Corsica.
The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Ligurian Sea as follows:
On the Southwest. A line joining Cape Corse (Cape Grosso, 9°23'E) the Northern point of Corsica to the frontier between France and Italy (7°31'E).

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Lincoln Sea
Lincoln Sea is a body of water in the Arctic Ocean, stretching from Cape Columbia, Canada, in the west to Cape Morris Jesup, Greenland, in the east. The northern limit is defined as the great circle line between those two headlands. It is covered with sea ice throughout the year, the thickest sea ice in the Arctic Ocean, which can be up to 15 m (49 ft) thick. Water depths range from 100 m (330 ft) to 300 m (980 ft). Water and ice from Lincoln Sea empty into Robeson Channel, the northernmost part of Nares Strait, most of the time.
The sea was named after Robert Todd Lincoln, then United States Secretary of War, on Adolphus W. Greely's 1881–1884 Arctic expedition into Lady Franklin Bay.
Alert, the northernmost station of Canada, is the only populated place on the shore of Lincoln Sea.
The body of water to the east of Lincoln Sea (east of Cape Morris Jesup) is Wandel Sea.
The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Lincoln Sea as follows:
On the North. Cape Columbia to Cape Morris Jesup (Greenland).

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Lombok Strait
The Lombok Strait (Indonesian: Selat Lombok), a strait connecting the Java Sea to the Indian Ocean, is located between the islands of Bali and Lombok in Indonesia. The Gili Islands are on the Lombok side.
Its narrowest point is at its southern opening, with a width of about 20 km between the islands of Lombok and Nusa Penida in the middle of the strait. At the northern opening it is 40 km across. Total length is about 60 km. Because it is 250 m deep — much deeper than the Strait of Malacca — ships that draw too much water to pass through Malacca (so-called "post Malaccamax" vessels) often use the Lombok Strait, instead.
The Lombok Strait is notable as one of the main passages for the Indonesian Throughflow that exchanges water between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean.
It is also part of the biogeographical boundary between the fauna of Indomalaya ecozone and the distinctly different fauna of Australasia. The boundary is known as the Wallace Line, for Alfred Russel Wallace, who first remarked upon the striking difference between animals of Indo-Malaysia from those of Australasia and how abrupt the boundary was between the two biomes.

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Luni River
The Luni is a river of western Rajasthan state, India. It originates in the Pushkar valley of the Aravalli Range, near Ajmer and ends in the marshy lands of Rann of Kutch in Gujarat, after travelling a distance of 530 km. It is first known as Sagarmati, then after passing Govindgarh, it meets its tributary Sarsuti, which originates from Pushkar Lake, and from then on it gets its name Luni .
In 1892, Maharaja Jaswant Singh of Jodhpur constructed Jaswant Sagar in Pichiyak village between Bilara and Bhavi of Jodhpur district. It is one of the largest artificial lakes in India, and irrigates more than 12,000 acres (49 km²).
It is also known as Lavanavari river. It means "Salt River" in Sanskrit, due high salinity of its water.
The Luni flows ts37,363 km², which includes all or part of Ajmer, Barmer, Jalor, Jodhpur, Nagaur, Pali, and Sirohi districts Mithavirana, Jordiyali, Mavsari Vav, Radhanpur region of Banaskantha North Gujarat. Its major tributaries are the Sukri, Mithri, Bandi, Khari, Jawai, Guhiya and Sagi from the left, and the Jojari River from the right.

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Madagascar
Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar (older name Malagasy Republic, Malagasy: Repoblikan'i Madagasikara [republiˈkʲan madaɡasˈkʲarə̥], French: République de Madagascar) is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa. The nation comprises the island of Madagascar (the fourth-largest island in the world), as well as numerous smaller peripheral islands. Following the prehistoric breakup of the supercontinent Gondwana, Madagascar split from India around 88 million years ago, allowing plants and animals on the island to evolve in complete isolation. Consequently, Madagascar is a biodiversity hotspot in which over 90% of its wildlife is found nowhere else on Earth. The island's diverse ecosystems and unique wildlife are threatened by human settlement.
Initial human settlement of Madagascar occurred from 350 BCE and 550 CE by Austronesian peoples arriving on outrigger canoes from Borneo who were later joined around 1000 CE by Bantu migrants crossing the Mozambique Channel. Other groups continued to settle on Madagascar over time, each one making lasting contributions to Malagasy cultural life. The Malagasy ethnic group is often divided into eighteen or more sub-groups of which the largest are the Merina of the central highlands.

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Mahodand Lake
Mahudand Lake (Pashto: د ماهو ډنډ - "Lake of Fishes") is a lake about 40 km from Kalam, in Pakistan's upper Ushu Valley. The lake is close to Lake Saifullah and Naseerullah. It is accessible with a four-wheel drive vehicle, and is a good location for fishing.

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Makassar Strait
Makassar Strait is a strait between the islands of Borneo and Sulawesi in Indonesia. To the north it joins the Celebes Sea, while to the south it meets the Java Sea. The Mahakam River of Borneo empties into the strait.
Ports along the strait include Balikpapan in Borneo, and Makassar and Palu in Sulawesi. The city of Samarinda is 48 km (30 mi) from the strait, along the Mahakam.
The strait is a common shipping route for ocean going ships too big to fit through the Straits of Malacca.
The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) defines the Makassar Strait as being one of the waters of the East Indian Archipelago. The IHO defines its limits as follows:
The channel between the East coast of Borneo and the West coast of Celebes [Sulawesi], is bounded:
On the North. By a line joining Tanjong Mangkalihat, Borneo (1°02′N 118°57′E / 1.033°N 118.95°E / 1.033; 118.95) and Stroomen Kaap (Cape Rivers), Celebes (1°20′N 120°52′E / 1.333°N 120.867°E / 1.333; 120.867).
On the South. By a line from the Southwestern extreme of Celebes (5°37′S 119°27′E / 5.617°S 119.45°E / -5.617; 119.45), through the Southern point of Tana Keke, to the Southern extreme of Laoet (4°06′S 116°06′E / 4.1°S 116.1°E / -4.1; 116.1) thence up the West coast of that island to Tanjong Kiwi and thence across to Tanjong Petang, Borneo (3°37′S 115°57′E / 3.617°S 115.95°E / -3.617; 115.95) at the Southern end of Laoet Strait.

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Malampuzha

Malampuzha is a mini hydoro-electric project built across Malampuzha river (a tributary of Bharathapuzha) in Palakkad district of Kerala, South India. It is also the biggest irrigation project in Kerala with a large network of canal systems. It is also one of Kerala's major tourist spots. Malampuzha dam, the biggest irrigation reservoir in Kerala, is celebrating its Golden Jubilee year in October, starting with Tourism Week and Onam celebrations in September.
Malampuzha Dam has brought prosperity to the district, making Palakkad the `rice bowl of Kerala'. Paddy is cultivated in 50,000 acres (200 km²) in two seasons each using waters from the Malampuzha dam.
The Malampuzha Garden and reservoir have a scenic setting with the forested hills of Western Ghats forming the backdrop, making it one of the foremost tourism centres in the State.
The dam across Malampuzha river has a total length of 2,069 metres. Of this, masonry dam has a length of 1,849 metres while the earthen dam covers the length of 220 metres. The catchment area of the dam is 147.63 km². Its storage capacity is 236.69 cubic metres. The full reservoir level of the dam is 115.06 m (375.15 ft)and Gross Storage at FRL is 226 mm3.

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Malaysia
Malaysia (ⁱ/məˈleɪʒə/ mə-LAY-zhə or ⁱ/məˈleɪsiə/ mə-LAY-see-ə) is a federal constitutional monarchy in Southeast Asia. It consists of thirteen states and three federal territories and has a total landmass of 329,847 square kilometres (127,350 sq mi) separated by the South China Sea into two similarly sized regions, Peninsular Malaysia and Malaysian Borneo. Land borders are shared with Thailand, Indonesia, and Brunei, and maritime borders exist with Singapore, Vietnam, and the Philippines. The capital city is Kuala Lumpur, while Putrajaya is the seat of the federal government. In 2010 the population exceeded 27.5 million, with over 20 million living on the Peninsula.
Malaysia has its origins in the Malay Kingdoms present in the area which, from the 18th century, became subject to the British Empire. The first British territories were known as the Straits Settlements, whose establishment was followed by the Malay kingdoms becoming British protectorates. The territories on Peninsular Malaysia were first unified as the Malayan Union in 1946. Malaya was restructured as the Federation of Malaya in 1948, and achieved independence on 31 August 1957. Malaya united with Sabah, Sarawak, and Singapore on 16 September 1963, with si being added to give the new country the name Malaysia. However, less than two years later in 1965, Singapore was expelled from the federation. Since independence, Malaysia has had one of the best economic records in Asia, with GDP growing an average 6.5% for almost 50 years. The economy has traditionally been fuelled by its natural resources, but is expanding in the sectors of science, tourism, commerce and medical tourism.

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Maldives
Maldives (ⁱ/ˈmɒldaɪvz/ or /ˈmɒldiːvz/), (Dhivehi: ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, Dhivehi Raa'je), officially Republic of Maldives (Dhivehi: ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, Dhivehi Raa'jeyge Jumhooriyya), also referred to as the Maldive Islands, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean formed by a double chain of twenty-six atolls oriented north-south off India's Lakshadweep Islands, between Minicoy Island and Chagos Archipelago. It stands in the Laccadive Sea, about 700 kilometres (430 mi) south-west of Sri Lanka and 400 kilometres (250 mi) south-west of India. During the colonial era, the Dutch referred to the country as "Maldivische Eilanden" in their documentation, while "Maldive Islands" is the anglicised version of the local name used by the British, which later came to be written "Maldives".
The archipelago is located on top of the Chagos-Maldives-Laccadive Ridge, a vast submarine mountain range in the Indian Ocean. Maldives also form a terrestrial ecoregion together with the Chagos and the Lakshadweep. The atolls of Maldives encompass a territory spread over roughly 90,000 square kilometres (35,000 sq mi), making it one of the world's most geographically dispersed countries. Its population of 328,536 (2012) inhabits 200 of its 1,192 islands. Maldives' capital and largest city Malé had a population of 103,693 in 2006. It is located at the southern edge of North Malé Atoll, in the Kaafu Atoll. It is also one of the Administrative divisions of the Maldives. Traditionally it was the King's Island where the ancient Maldive Royal dynasties were enthroned.

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Mascarene Plateau
The Mascarene Plateau is an submarine plateau in the Indian Ocean, north and east of Madagascar. The plateau extends approximately 2000 km, from the Seychelles in the north to Réunion in the south. The plateau covers an area of over 115,000 km² of shallow water, with depths ranging from 8 – 150 meters, plunging to 4000 meters to the abyssal plain at its edges. It is the largest undersea plateau in the Indian Ocean.
The northern part of the Mascarene plateau includes the Seychelles and Agalega Islands. The southern part of the Mascarene plateau includes the Mascarene Islands, Saya de Malha Bank, Nazareth Bank, Soudan Banks, and Hawkins Bank. The Mascarene Islands are the mountainous islands of Mauritius, Réunion, Rodrigues, and the Cargados Carajos Shoals.
The Indian subcontinent was at one time next to the east coast of the Seychelles, but seafloor spreading has moved the landmass to its current position, where it has collided and fused with the continent of Asia.
The northern part of the Mascarene plateau is formed of granite, and is a fragment of the ancient supercontinent of Gondwana. The granite is topped with deposits of limestone and basalt. The basalt deposits in the Seychelles are from the Deccan Traps eruption, which occurred in the central part of the Indian subcontinent 65 million years ago, at the end of the Cretaceous period.

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Mauritius
Coordinates: 20°12′S 57°30′E / 20.2°S 57.5°E / -20.2; 57.5
Mauritius ⁱ/məˈrɪʃəs/ (Mauritian Creole: Moris; French: Maurice, pronounced: [mɔˈʁis]), officially the Republic of Mauritius (Mauritian Creole: Republik Moris; French: République de Maurice) is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about 870 kilometres (540 mi) east of Madagascar. In addition to the island of Mauritius, the Republic includes the islands of Cargados Carajos, Rodrigues, Tromelin and the Agalega Islands. Mauritius Island is part of the Mascarene Islands, with the French island of Réunion 170 km (110 mi) to the southwest and the island of Rodrigues 570 km (350 mi) to the east. The area of Mauritius is 2040 km²; its capital city is Port Louis.
The United Kingdom took control of the islands in 1810, from France during the Napoleonic Wars, and Mauritius became independent from the UK in 1968. It is a parliamentary republic and is a member of the Southern African Development Community, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, the African Union, La Francophonie and the Commonwealth of Nations.

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Mawson Sea
Mawson Sea is an area of the sea along the Queen Mary Land coast of East Antarctica between the Shackleton Ice Shelf in the west and Vincennes Bay in the east. West of it, on the western side of Shackleton Ice Shelf, is the Davis Sea. To the east is Bowman Island and Vincennes Bay.
Two important glacier debouche into the Mawson Sea: Scott Glacier, and Denman Glacier. Calving of Denman Glacier into the Mawson Sea gives rise to the periodically appearing Pobeda Ice Island.
It was named in honor of Australian Antarctic explorer Douglas Mawson.
"Mawson Sea". Geographic Names Information System, U.S. Geological Survey. http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=gnispq:5:::NO::P5_ANTAR_ID:9591. Retrieved 31 May 2010.
Coordinates: 65°00′S 105°00′E / 65°S 105°E / -65; 105

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Mayotte
Mayotte (French: Mayotte, pronounced: [majɔt]; Shimaore: Maore, IPA: [maˈore]; Malagasy: Mahori) is an overseas department and region of France consisting of a main island, Grande-Terre (or Mahoré), a smaller island, Petite-Terre (or Pamanzi), and several islets around these two. The archipelago is located in the northern Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean, namely between northwestern Madagascar and northeastern Mozambique. Mayotte's area is 374 square kilometres (144 sq mi), and with its estimated 194,000 people is very densely populated (520 /km² or 1,300 /sq mi). Its biggest city and prefecture is Mamoudzou. The territory is geographically part of the Comoro Islands, but has been politically separate since a 1974 referendum in which it elected to remain under French rule. The territory is also known as Mahoré, the native name of its main island, especially by advocates of its inclusion in the Union of Comoros. In a 2009 referendum, the population overwhelmingly approved accession to status of department (95.2% voted in favour of departmental status). On March 31, 2011, Mayotte became an overseas department.

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Medan
Medan (Indonesian: Kota Medan; pronounced [meˈdan]) is the capital of the North Sumatra province in Indonesia. Located on the northern coast, Medan is the fourth largest city in Indonesia (behind Jakarta, Surabaya, and Bandung), and the largest Indonesian city outside Java. The city is bordered by the Deli Serdang Regency to the east, south and west, and the Strait of Malacca to the north. It is close to the volcano Sinabung, which erupted in August 2010 after a 400 year dormant state.
From 2005 Medan was governed by a mayor, Dr. H. Abdillah Ak, MBA (appointed for the period 2005-2010). However, Abdillah and his vice mayor were caught by Indonesian Corruption Eradication Commission in 2008. Syamsul Arifin, the Governor of North Sumatra Province, then appointed Affifudin Lubis to become the acting mayor. In 2009, Affifudin Lubis resigned as mayor, and the Governor then appointed Rahudman Harahap to become the mayor. Because Rahudman wanted to be a candidate in the 2010 mayor election, he resigned as mayor. Then Syamsul Arifin became the acting mayor. In the 2010 mayor election, Rahudman Harahap is elected mayor. Medan is divided into 21 districts (kecamatan) and 151 subdistricts (kelurahan).

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Meghna River
The Meghna River (Bengali: মেঘনা নদী) is an important river in Bangladesh, one of the three that forms the Ganges Delta, the largest on earth fanning out to the Bay of Bengal. Being a part of the Surma-Meghna River System, Meghna is formed inside Bangladesh by the joining of different rivers originating from the hilly regions of eastern India. The river meets Padma River in Chandpur District. The river ultimately flows into the Bay of Bengal in Bhola District.
Major tributaries of the Meghna include the Dhaleshwari River, Gumti River, and Feni River. The Meghna empties into the Bay of Bengal via four principal mouths, named Tetulia, Shahbazpur, Hatia, and Bamni.
The Meghna is the widest river among those that flow completely inside the boundaries of Bangladesh. At one point near Bhola, Meghna is 12 km wide. In its lower reaches this river follows almost a straight line in its path. Despite its very calm and quiet look, this river is the cause of many deaths every year. Several ferry sinkings in the past have killed hundreds, like the MV Salahuddin-2 and the MV Nasrin-1. Near Chandpur it is very dangerous.

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Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China for 276 years (1368–1644) following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, described by some as "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic Han Chinese. Although the Ming capital Beijing fell in 1644 to a rebellion led by Li Zicheng (who established the Shun Dynasty, soon replaced by the Manchu-led Qing Dynasty), regimes loyal to the Ming throne—collectively called the Southern Ming—survived until 1662.
Ming rule saw the construction of a vast navy and a standing army of one million troops. Although private maritime trade and official tribute missions from China had taken place in previous dynasties, the tributary fleet under the Muslim eunuch admiral Zheng He in the 15th century far surpassed all others in size. There were enormous construction projects, including the restoration of the Grand Canal and the Great Wall and the establishment of the Forbidden City in Beijing during the first quarter of the 15th century. Estimates for the late-Ming population vary from 160 to 200 million.

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Molucca Sea
Coordinates: 0°25′S 125°25′E / 0.417°S 125.417°E / -0.417; 125.417
The Molucca Sea (Indonesian: Laut Maluku) is located in the western Pacific Ocean, within the country of Indonesia. The region is rich in coral and has many diving sites.
The Molucca Sea borders the Banda Sea to the south and the Celebes Sea to the north.
The islands bordering the Molucca Sea include Halmahera to the north east, Buru and Ceram in the centre, and Sulawesi to the west. The Talaud Islands to the north are the general limit of the sea, though the Molucca Sea Plate, the tectonic plate named after the sea, extends further north.
The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) defines the "Molukka Sea" [sic] as being one of the waters of the East Indian Archipelago. The IHO defines its limits as follows:
On the North. By a line from the Northeast extreme of Celebes [Sulawesi] through the Siau Islands to the South point of Sangi (3°21′N 125°37′E / 3.35°N 125.617°E / 3.35; 125.617) thence to the Southern extreme of the Talaud Group, through these islands to their Northeastern extreme (4°29′N 126°52′E / 4.483°N 126.867°E / 4.483; 126.867) and thence a line to Tanjong Sopi, the Northern point of Morotai Island.

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Mombasa
Mombasa is the second-largest city in Kenya. Lying next to the Indian Ocean, it has a major port and an international airport. The city also serves as the centre of the coastal tourism industry.
Also known as Mombas in colonial times, its name derives from Manbasa. This was the Arabic name of the former sultanate of Mvita, which had its capital here. In modern times the town is the headquarters of Mombasa District, which, like most other districts in Kenya, is named after its chief town.
The city has a population of 939,370, as per the 2009 census,^{[citation needed]} and is located on Mombasa Island, which is separated from the mainland by two creeks: Tudor Creek and Kilindini Harbour. The island is connected to the mainland to the north by the Nyali Bridge, to the south by the Likoni Ferry and to the west by the Makupa Causeway, alongside which runs the Kenya-Uganda Railway. The port serves both Kenya and countries of the interior, linking them to the Ocean. The city is served by Moi International Airport located in the northwest mainland suburb of Chaani, northwest of Changamwe area.

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Moro Gulf
The Moro Gulf is a sea in Mindanao in the Philippines. It is part of Celebes Sea and is surrounded by the Zamboanga Peninsula and the central part of Mindanao. Sibuguey Bay and Illana Bay are its major branches. Zamboanga City is the most important port city on its coast. Cotabato City, on the eastern coast, is another major port.
The Moro Gulf is also an area of significant tectonic activity with several fault zones in the region capable of producing major earthquakes and destructive local tsunamis, such as the devastating 1976 Moro Gulf Earthquake which killed over 5,000 people and left over 90,000 people homeless as it hit the coast of Mindanao.
On July 23, 2010 at 22:08, a 7.3 magnitude earthquake with an epicenter of Moro Gulf hit Mindanao. This was quickly followed by two earthquakes of magnitudes 7.6 and 7.4.
Coordinates: 7°N 123°E / 7°N 123°E / 7; 123

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Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique (Portuguese: Moçambique or República de Moçambique, pronounced: [ʁɛˈpublikɐ di musɐ̃ˈbiki]), is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest. The capital city is Maputo, formerly known as Lourenço Marques.
Between the 1st and 5th centuries AD, Bantu-speaking peoples migrated from farther north and west. Swahili, and later also Arab, commercial ports existed along the coasts until the arrival of Europeans. The area was explored by Vasco da Gama in 1498 and colonized by Portugal in 1505. Mozambique became independent in 1975, and became the People's Republic of Mozambique shortly thereafter. It was the scene of an intense civil war lasting from 1977 to 1992.
Mozambique is endowed with rich and extensive natural resources. The country's economy is based largely on agriculture, but with industry, mainly food and beverages, chemical manufacturing, aluminium and petroleum production, is growing fast. The country's tourism sector is also growing. South Africa is Mozambique's main trading partner and source of foreign direct investment. Portugal, Spain, and Belgium are also among the country's most important partners. Since 2001 Mozambique is one of the world's top ten for annual average GDP growth. However, Mozambique still has one of the lowest GDP per capita, one of the worst human development index and one of the highest inequality in the world, as well as having the world's lowest life expectancy.

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Mozambique Channel
The Mozambique Channel is a portion of the Indian Ocean located between the island nation of Madagascar and southeast Africa, primarily the country of Mozambique. It was a World War II clashpoint during the Battle of Madagascar. The channel is approximately 460 km across at its narrowest point between Angoche, Mozambique, and Tambohorano, Madagascar.
The channel reaches a depth of 3,292 m (10,800 feet) about 230 km off the coast of Mozambique. A warm current flows in a southward direction in the channel, leading into the Agulhas Current off the east coast of South Africa. It is around 1000 miles (1600 km) long and the width of it varies from 250-600 miles (400-950 km).
The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) defines the limits of the Mozambique Channel as follows:
On the North. A line from the estuary of the River Rovuma (10°28′S 40°26′E / 10.467°S 40.433°E / -10.467; 40.433) to Ras Habu, the Northern point of Ile Grande Comore, the Northern of the Comore (Comoro) Islands, to Cap d'Ambre (Amber) the Northern extremity of Madagascar (11°57′S 49°17′E / 11.95°S 49.283°E / -11.95; 49.283).

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Mumbai
Mumbai /mʊmˈbaɪ/, also known as Bombay /bɒmˈbeɪ/, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million. Along with the neighbouring urban areas, including the cities of Navi Mumbai and Thane, it is one of the most populous urban regions in the world. Mumbai lies on the west coast of India and has a deep natural harbour. In 2009, Mumbai was named an Alpha world city. Mumbai is also the richest city in India, and has the highest GDP of any city in South, West or Central Asia.
The seven islands that came to constitute Mumbai were home to communities of fishing colonies. For centuries, the islands were under the control of successive indigenous empires before being ceded to the Portuguese and subsequently to the British East India Company. During the mid-18th century, Mumbai was reshaped by the Hornby Vellard project, which undertook the reclamation of the area between the seven constituent islands from the sea. Completed by 1845, the project along with construction of major roads and railways transformed Bombay into a major seaport on the Arabian Sea. Economic and educational development characterised the city during the 19th century. It became a strong base for the Indian independence movement during the early 20th century. When India became independent in 1947, the city was incorporated into Bombay State. In 1960, following the Samyukta Maharashtra movement, a new state of Maharashtra was created with Bombay as capital. The city was renamed Mumbai in 1996.

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Myrtoan Sea
The Myrtoan (Mirtoan) Sea (Greek: Mυρτώο Πέλαγος, Myrtöo Pelagos) is a subdivision of the Mediterranean Sea that lies between the Cyclades and the Peloponnesos. It is described as the part of the Aegean Sea south of Euboea, Attica, and Argolis. [1] Some of the water mass of the Black Sea reaches the Myrtoan Sea, via transport through the Aegean Sea. (Saundry, Hogan & Baum. 2011)
The Saronic Gulf, the gulf of Athens, lies between the Corinth Canal and the Myrtoan Sea.
It is said to have been named after the mythical hero Myrtilus, who was thrown into this sea by an enraged Pelops. The name has also been connected with that of the maiden Myrto. It is also said to have derived its name from a small island named Myrtus.

Coordinates: 37°N 24°E / 37°N 24°E / 37; 24

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Nagapattinam
Nagapattinam Tamil: நாகப்பட்டினம் (nākappaṭṭinam) (previously spelt Nagapatnam or Negapatam) is a town in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Nagapattinam District. It is a prominent seaport on the east coast of India and an important centre of trade and commerce.
The town of Nagapattinam dates back to the Sangam period. The Chudamani Vihara in Nagapattinam was constructed by the Medieval Cholas. Nagapattinam was settled by the Portuguese and later, the Dutch under whom it served as the capital of Dutch Coromandel from 1660 to 1781. In November 1781, Nagapattinam was conquered by the British East India Company. It served as the capital of Tanjore district from 1799 to 1845. In 1991, it became the capital of the newly-created Nagapattinam District. The town was severely damaged by the Indian Ocean Tsunami of 2004.
Sea-borne trade and fishing are the major sources of income for the town. There are also a number of pilgrimage sites and tourist destinations, notable amongst them being Sikkal Singaravelan Temple, Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health, the Nagore Dargah and Puhar.

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Ninety East Ridge
The Ninety East Ridge (also rendered as Ninetyeast Ridge, 90E Ridge or 90°E Ridge) is a linear, aseismic, age-progressive seamount chain in the Indian Ocean and is named for its near-parallel strike along the 90th meridian. It is approximately 5,000 kilometres (3,100 mi) in length and can be traced topographically from the Bay of Bengal southward towards the Southeast Indian Ridge (SEIR), though the feature continues to the north where it is hidden beneath the sediments of the Bengal Fan. The ridge extends between latitudes 33°S and 17°N and has an average width of 200 km.
The ridge dissects the Indian Ocean into the West and East Indian Ocean. The northeastern side is named the Wharton Basin and ceases at the western end of the Diamantina Fracture Zone which passes to the east and almost to the Australian continent.
The ridge is primarily composed of Ocean Island Tholeiites (OIT), a subset of basalt which increase in age from approximately 43.2 ± 0.5 Ma in the south to 81.8 ± 2.6 Ma in the north though a more recent analysis using modern Ar-Ar techniques is currently pending publication. This age progression has led geologists to theorize that a hotspot in the mantle beneath the Indo-Australian Plate created the ridge as the plate has moved northward in the late Mesozoic and Cenozoic. This theory is supported by a detailed analysis of the chemistry of the Kerguelen Plateau and Rajmahal Traps, which together, geologists believe, represent the flood basalts erupted at the initiation of volcanism at the Kerguelen hotspot which was then sheared in two as the Indian subcontinent moved northward. However, the existence of so-called deep mantle hotspots is currently a topic of debate in the geologic community, with a few geochemists favoring an alternative hypothesis which postulates a much shallower origin for hotspot volcanism.

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Norwegian Sea
The Norwegian Sea (Norwegian: Norskehavet) is a marginal sea in the North Atlantic Ocean, northwest of Norway. It is located between the North Sea (i.e. north of Scotland) and the Greenland Sea and adjoins the North Atlantic Ocean to the west and the Barents Sea to the northeast. In the southwest, it is separated from the Atlantic Ocean by a submarine ridge running between Iceland and the Faroe Islands. To the North, the Jan Mayen Ridge separates it from the Greenland Sea.
Unlike many other seas, most of the bottom of the Norwegian Sea is not part of a continental shelf and therefore lies at a great depth of about two kilometres on average. Rich deposits of oil and natural gas are found under the sea bottom and are being explored commercially, in the areas with sea depths of up to about one kilometre. The coastal zones are rich in fish that visit the Norwegian Sea from the North Atlantic for spawning. The warm North Atlantic Current ensures relatively stable and high water temperatures, so that unlike the Arctic seas, the Norwegian Sea is ice-free throughout the year.

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Oman
Oman (ⁱ/oʊˈmɑːn/ oh-MAAN; Arabic: عمان‎ ʻUmān), officially called the Sultanate of Oman (Arabic: سلطنة عُمان‎ Salṭanat ʻUmān), is an Arab state in southwest Asia on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the west, and Yemen to the southwest. The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea on the southeast and the Gulf of Oman on the northeast. The Madha and Musandam enclaves are surrounded by the UAE on their land borders, with the Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman forming Musandam's coastal boundaries.
For a period, Oman was a moderate regional power, formerly having a sultanate extending across the Strait of Hormuz to Iran, and modern day Pakistan, and far south to Zanzibar on the coat of south-east Africa. Over time, as its power declined, the sultanate came under heavy influence from the United Kingdom, though Oman was never formally part of the British Empire, or a British protectorate. The Omani royal family claim that Oman has been ruled by the Al Said dynasty since 1744, although without substantial proof. Oman has long-standing military and political ties with the United Kingdom and the United States, although it maintains an independent foreign policy.

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Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.
At 165.2 million square kilometres (64.1 million square miles) in area, this largest division of the World Ocean – and, in turn, the hydrosphere – covers about 46% of the Earth's water surface and about one-third of its total surface area, making it larger than all of the Earth's land area combined. The equator subdivides it into the North Pacific Ocean and South Pacific Ocean, with two exceptions: the Galápagos and Gilbert Islands, while straddling the equator, are deemed wholly within the South Pacific. The Mariana Trench in the western North Pacific is the deepest point in the world, reaching a depth of 10,911 metres (35,797 ft).
The eastern Pacific Ocean was first sighted by Europeans early in the 16th century. Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa crossed the Isthmus of Panama in 1513 and named it Mar del Sur (South Sea). The ocean's current name was given by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan during the Spanish expedition of world circumnavigation in 1521, who encountered favourable winds as he reached the ocean and called it Mar Pacifico in Portuguese, meaning "peaceful sea".

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Padma River
The Padma (Bengali: পদ্মা Pôdda) is a major trans-boundary river in Bangladesh. It is the main distributary of the Ganges (Bengali: গঙ্গা Gôngga),^{[dubious – discuss]} which originates in the Himalayas. The Padma enters Bangladesh from India near Chapai Nababganj. It meets the Jamuna (Bengali: যমুনা Jomuna) near Aricha and retains its name, but finally meets with the Meghna (Bengali: মেঘনা) near Chandpur and adopts the name 'Meghna' before flowing into the Bay of Bengal.
Rajshahi, a major city in western Bangladesh, is situated on the north bank of the Padma. Its maximum depth is 1,571 feet (479 m) and average depth is 968 feet (295 m).
Originated in the Gangotri Glacier of the Himalaya, the Ganges runs to the Bay of Bengal through India, entering Bangladesh at Shibganj in the district of Chapai Nababganj. Just west of Shibganj, the distributary Bhagirathi emerges and flows southwards as the Hooghly. After the point where the Bhagirathi branches off, the Ganges is officially referred to as the Padma and the river Bhagirathi uses the name of Ganga. Later the British started calling it the Hoogly river.

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Pakistan
Pakistan (ⁱ/ˈpækɨstæn/ or ⁱ/pɑːkiˈstɑːn/; Urdu: پاکستان) (Urdu pronunciation: [paːkɪˈst̪aːn] ( listen)), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan (Urdu: اسلامی جمہوریۂ پاکستان), is a sovereign country in South Asia. It sits at the crossroads of the strategically important regions of South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. It has a 1,046-kilometre (650 mi) coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by India to the east, Afghanistan to the west and north, Iran to the southwest and China in the far northeast. It is separated from Tajikistan by Afghanistan's narrow Wakhan Corridor in the north, and it shares a marine border with Oman.
The territory of modern Pakistan was the site of several ancient cultures, including the Neolithic Mehrgarh and the Bronze Age Indus Valley Civilisation, and has undergone invasions or settlements by Hindu, Persian, Indo-Greek, Islamic, Turco-Mongol, Afghan and Sikh cultures. Thus the area has been ruled by numerous empires and dynasties, including the Indian Mauryan Empire, the Persian Achaemenid Empire, the Arab Umayyad Caliphate, the Mongol Empire, the Mughal Empire, the Durrani Empire, the Sikh Empire and the British Empire. As a result of the Pakistan Movement led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah and India's struggle for independence, Pakistan was created in 1947 as an independent nation for Muslims from the regions in the east and west of India where there was a Muslim majority. Initially a dominion, Pakistan adopted a new constitution in 1956, becoming an Islamic republic. A civil war in 1971 resulted in the secession of East Pakistan as the new country of Bangladesh.

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Palk Strait
Palk Strait (Tamil: பாக் சலசந்தி) is a strait between the Tamil Nadu state of India and the Mannar district of the Northern Province of the island nation of Sri Lanka. It connects the Bay of Bengal in the northeast with the Palk Bay and thence with the Gulf of Mannar in the southwest. The strait is 33 to 50 miles (53 to 80 km) wide. Several rivers flow into it, including the Vaigai River of Tamil Nadu. The strait is named after Robert Palk, who was a governor of Madras Presidency (1755-1763) during the Company Raj period.
It is studded at its southern end with a chain of low islands and reef shoals that are collectively called Adam's Bridge. This chain extends between Dhanushkodi on Pamban Island (also known as Rameswaram Island) in Tamil Nadu and Mannar Island in Sri Lanka. The island of Rameswaram is linked to the Indian mainland by the Pamban Bridge.
As from 1914, there used to be regular trains from Madras/Chennai to Dhanushkodi, a ferry to Talaimannar on Mannar Island, and thence a train to Colombo. In 1964, a cyclone destroyed Dhanushkodi and the railway and caused severe damage along the shores of Palk Strait and Palk Bay. Dhanushkodi was not rebuilt and the railway from Talaimannar to Mahawilachchiya in Sri Lanka was given up. There was a ferry between small piers in Rameswaram and Talaimannar, but this was discontinued till date.

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Panambur
Panambur (Tulu, Kannada: ಪಣಂಬೂರು) is the site of New Mangalore Port. It is located in Dakshina Kannada (formerly South Canara ) district of Karnataka state, India, north of the Gurupura river. The name Panambur is derived from 'Panam' which means Money and 'Ur' which means place or village in Tulu language.
There is a Nandaneshwara temple in Panambur. The sea port is near to Surathkal railway station on the Mumbai-Mangalore railway route. There is a beautiful beach on the shore of the Arabian Sea at Tanniru Bhavi to the south of sea port at Panambur. Gurupur river is to the south of Panambur.
Many factories are located at Panambur including Mangalore Chemicals and Fertilizers and Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Limited.
New Mangalore Port Trust operates the deep-water, all-weather port at Panambur, Mangalore in Karanataka state. It is the only major port of Karnataka and is currently the ninth largest port in India.
It was formally inaugurated on May 4, 1974 by the then prime minister Indira Gandhi. The construction began in 1962. The port is situated at Panambur, Mangalore on the west coast of India. It is situated to north of confluence of Gurupura( Phalguni ) river to Arabian sea .It is 170 nautical miles (310 km) south of Mormugao Port & 191 nautical miles (354 km) north of Kochi Port. The port situated in Panambur is called New Mangalore Port, as there is an old harbour or port located in Mangalore city which is called by Mangalore bunder or Hale bunder. The old harbour is located to south of New mangalore port. Old port is now being used for fishing and for ferrying small goods.

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Panjkora River
The Panjkora River (Sanskrit: गौरी) is a river in northern Pakistan. It rises rises high in the Hindu Kush at lat. 35.45, flows south through Upper Dir and Lower Dir Districts and joins the Swat River near Chakdara, Malakand, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Its name is derived from the Persian for 'panj' (meaning 'five') and 'kora' (meaning 'river').
Coordinates: 34°40′N 71°46′E / 34.667°N 71.767°E / 34.667; 71.767

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Panjnad River
Panjnad River (Urdu/Punjabi Shahmukhi: پنجند, Punjabi Gurmukhi ਪੰਜਨਦ) (panj = five, nadi = river) is a river at the extreme end of Bahawalpur district in Punjab, Pakistan. Panjnad River is formed by successive confluence of the five rivers of Punjab, namely Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas and Sutlej. Jhelum and Ravi join Chenab, Beas joins Sutlej, and then Sutlej and Chenab join to form Panjnad 10 miles north of Uch Sharif in Bahawalpur district. The combined stream runs southwest for approximately 45 miles and joins Indus River at Mithankot. The Indus continues into the Arabian Sea. A dam on Panjnad has been erected; it provides irrigation channels for Punjab and Sindh provinces south of the Sutlej and east of the Indus rivers.
Beyond the confluence of Indus and Panjnad rivers, the Indus river was known as Satnad (Sat = seven) carrying the waters of seven rivers including Indus river, which is believed to be in ealrlier times the Saraswati/Ghaggar/Hakra river which eventually dried and became a seasonal river due to seismic shifts in the glacial region of Himachal Pradesh where it originated and later on Kabul river and the five rivers of Punjab.

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Payee Lake
Payee Lake is situated near Shogran in the Kaghan Valley in Pakistan. It is situated at the height of almost 3,000 m (10,000 feet).
It is surrounded by Makra Peak, Malka Parbat, Moosa da Musalla and the mountains of Kashmir.
The lake is accessible via Kiwai passing through Shogran through a jeep track.
A stamp has been issued on this lake.^{[citation needed]}

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Pechora Sea
Pechora Sea (Russian: Печо́рское мо́ре, or Pechorskoye More), is a sea at the northwest of Russia, the southeastern part of the Barents Sea. The western border of the sea is off Kolguyev Island, while the eastern border is the western coasts of Vaygach Island and the Yugorsky Peninsula, and the northern border the southern end of Novaya Zemlya.
The Pechora Sea is quite shallow, its average depth being only 6 m. The deepest point reaches 210 m. In the southern part of the sea runs the eastward-flowing Kolguyev Current. There are a few islands close to the coast, the largest of which is Dolgiy Island.
The Pechora Sea is blocked by floating ice from November to June. The main river entering the sea is the Pechora.
Historically, before the adjacent Barents Sea was named as such, the Pechora Sea's own name was already established. The rest of the present-day Barents Sea was known then as "Sea of Murmansk" (Murmanskoye Morye).
The Pechora Sea was used as a starting point of the exploration of the hitherto unknown icy seas lying to the east. The earliest recorded voyage across the Pechora Sea through the Yugorsky Strait was made by early Russian explorer Uleb, from Nizhny Novgorod. Uleb's passing into the Kara Sea was recorded in 1032.

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Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf is located in Western Asia between Iran (Persia) and the Arabian Peninsula. It is an extension of the Indian Ocean.
The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers. In 1991, the Persian Gulf again was the background for what was called the "Persian Gulf War" or the "Gulf War" when Iraq invaded Kuwait and was subsequently pushed back, despite the fact that this conflict was primarily a land conflict.
The Persian Gulf has many good fishing grounds, extensive coral reefs, and abundant pearl oysters, but its ecology has come under pressure from industrialization, and in particular, oil and petroleum spillages during wars in the region.
Historically and internationally known as the Persian Gulf, this body of water is sometimes controversially referred to as the Arabian Gulf or simply The Gulf by most Arab states, although neither of the latter two terms are recognized internationally. The name Gulf of Iran (Persian Gulf) is used by the International Hydrographic Organization.

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Philippine Sea
The Philippine Sea is a marginal sea east and north of the Philippines occupying an estimated surface area of 2 million mi² (5 million km²) on the western part of the North Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by the Philippine archipelago (Luzon, Samar, Leyte and Mindanao) on the southwest; Palau, Yap, and Ulithi (of the Carolines) on the southeast; the Marianas, including Guam, Saipan, and Tinian, on the east; the Bonin and Iwo Jima on the northeast; the Japanese islands of Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyūshū on the north; the Ryukyu Islands on the northwest; and Taiwan in the west.
The sea has a complex and diverse undersea relief. The floor is formed into a structural basin by a series of geologic faults and fracture zones. Island arcs, which are actually extended ridges protruding above the ocean surface due to plate tectonic activity in the area, enclose the Philippine Sea to the north, east and south. The Philippine archipelago, Ryukyu Islands, and the Marianas are examples. Another prominent feature of the Philippine Sea is the presence of deep sea trench, among them the Philippine Trench and the Mariana Trench, containing the deepest point on the planet.

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Philippines
The Philippines ⁱ/ˈfɪlɨpiːnz/ FI-lə-peenz (Filipino: Pilipinas [ˌpɪlɪˈpinɐs]), officially known as the Republic of the Philippines (Filipino: Republika ng Pilipinas) is a sovereign country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam. The Sulu Sea to the southwest lies between the country and the island of Borneo, and to the south the Celebes Sea separates it from other islands of Indonesia. It is bounded on the east by the Philippine Sea. Its location on the Pacific Ring of Fire and its tropical climate make the Philippines prone to earthquakes and typhoons but have also endowed the country with natural resources and made it one of the richest areas of biodiversity in the world. An archipelago comprising 7,107 islands, the Philippines is categorized broadly into three main geographical divisions: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. Its capital city is Manila.
With an estimated population of about 98 million people, the Philippines is the 7th most populated Asian country and the 12th most populated country in the world. An additional 12.5 million Filipinos live overseas. Multiple ethnicities and cultures are found throughout the islands. In prehistoric times, Negritos were some of the archipelago's earliest inhabitants. They were followed by successive waves of Austronesian peoples who brought with them influences from Malay, Hindu, and Islamic societies. Trade introduced Chinese cultural influences which remain to this day.

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Phoenicia
Phoenicia (UK /fɨˈnɪʃə/, US /fəˈniːʃə/; from the Greek: Φοινίκη: Phoiníkē), was an ancient Semitic Canaanite civilization situated on the western, coastal part of the Fertile Crescent. The major Phoenician cities were on the coastline of the Mediterranean. It was an enterprising maritime trading culture that spread across the Mediterranean from 1550 BC to 300 BC. The Phoenicians used the galley, a man-powered sailing vessel, and are credited with the invention of the bireme. They were famed in Classical Greece and Rome as 'traders in purple', referring to their monopoly on the precious purple dye of the Murex snail, used, among other things, for royal clothing, and for their spread of the alphabet (or abjad), upon which all major modern phonetic alphabets are derived.
In the Amarna tablets of the 14th century BC, people from the region called themselves Kenaani or Kinaani (Canaanites), although these letters predate the invasion of the Sea Peoples by over a century. Much later, in the 6th century BC, Hecataeus of Miletus writes that Phoenicia was formerly called χνα, a name Philo of Byblos later adopted into his mythology as his eponym for the Phoenicians: "Khna who was afterwards called Phoinix". Egyptian seafaring expeditions had already been made to Byblos to bring back "cedars of Lebanon" as early as the third millennium BC.

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Pookode Lake
Pookode Lake is a scenic freshwater lake in Wayanad district, Kerala, South India. The lake is surrounded by forests, and boating is allowed. Recent commercial modernisations have removed some of its wilderness charms. Panamaram, the rivulet which ultimately becomes Kabani River, originates from the Pookode lake.
There is a Sree Narayana Ashram near the lake, surrounded by flowering trees and their shades. There was a gallery of painting and sculptures.Now there is only a building there.There is a handicrafts shop near the lake owned by 'Uravu'.From there you can buy variety of household items made of natural materials. cost is a little bit high but the products have good quality.Of them, you can see a rain instrument made of bamboo when tilted raining sound is produced.There are lot of curious items made of bamboo and coconut husk.Herbal medicines, Tribal medicines and spices are also available.
There are groups of Blue water lilly flowers scattered here and there in the lake. Boats are available for rent but visitors are not allowed to touch lilly flowers while boating. Visitors may walk around the lake. There is a children's park and garden nearby.

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Port Louis
Port Louis (French pronunciation: [pɔʁlwi]) is the capital of Mauritius. It is the largest city of the country and main port, which borders the Indian Ocean. It is located in the Port Louis District. The population of the administrative district was estimated at 128,483, and the urban area at 148,416 in December 2010^[update].
Port Louis was already in use as a harbor in 1638. In 1735, under French government, it became the administrative center of Mauritius and a major reprovisioning halt for French ships travelling around the Cape of Good Hope. The Port is named in honour of King Louis XV. The first Governor was Count Bertrand-François Mahé de La Bourdonnais.
The population of the city is now largely made up of the descendants of laborers who were hired for labour from India in the 19th century. Slaves were previously introduced by the British and French who colonized the island in the 18th century. After the abolition of slavery in 1835, many Indian and Chinese workers were brought to work the land, and cultivate sugar cane, at that time used to produce rum. The Immigration Depot in Port Louis is a World Heritage Site commemorating this great migration.

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Portugal
Portugal ⁱ/ˈpɔrtʃʉɡəl/ (Portuguese: Portugal, IPA: [puɾtuˈɣaɫ]), officially the Portuguese Republic (Portuguese: República Portuguesa) is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula . Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira are part of Portugal. The country is named after its second largest city, Porto, whose Latin name was Portus Cale.
The land within the borders of the current Portuguese Republic has been continuously settled since prehistoric times: occupied by Celts like the Gallaeci and the Lusitanians, integrated into the Roman Republic and later settled by Germanic peoples such as the Suebi, Swabians, Vandals and the Visigoths. In the 8th century most of the Iberian Peninsula was conquered by Moorish invaders professing Islam, which were later expelled by the Knights Templar under the Order of Christ. During the Christian Reconquista, Portugal established itself as an independent kingdom from León in 1139, claiming to be the oldest European nation state.

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Qatar
Qatar (ⁱ/ˈkɑːtɑr/ or ⁱ/kəˈtɑr/;Arabic: قطر‎ [ˈqɑtˤɑr]; local vernacular pronunciation: [ɡɪtˤɑr]), also known as the country or State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in Western Asia, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its territory surrounded by the Persian Gulf. A strait of the Persian Gulf separates Qatar from the nearby island state of Bahrain.
Qatar has been ruled as an absolute monarchy by Al Thani family since the mid-19th century. Formerly a British protectorate noted mainly for pearling, it became independent in 1971, and has become one of the region's wealthiest states due to its enormous oil and natural gas revenues. In 1995, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani became Emir when he seized power from his father, Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani, in a peaceful coup d'état. The most important positions in Qatar are held by the members of the Al Thani family, or close confidants of the al-Thani family. Beginning in 1992, Qatar has built intimate military ties with the United States, and is now the location of U.S. Central Command’s Forward Headquarters and the Combined Air Operations Center.

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Rakshan River
The Rakshan River rises at the Nidoki pass, south-west of Shireza, district Washuk, Balochistan, Pakistan. Under the name of Nag, and running south-westward, it unites with the lop stream at a point to west of Nag-e-Kalat. It then flows west-south-west through the centre of the long valley comprising the Panjgur District, Makran, and parallel with the Siahan Range on the north and Zangi Lak hills on the south. In Rakshan it possesses little or no water, in Panjgur, however, it expands into a series of bright clear pools (kor joh) connected with each other by small water channels running over a pebbly bed. The banks are here bordered with numerous date palms and most of the water is used for irrigation. To the west of Kallag, the last village in Panjgur is Dabbag, where there are more pools and much long grass, tamarisk and kahur trees in which wild pigs were to be found in the early 20th century.
The only considerable tributaries joining the river west of Panjgur are the Mazan Dashtuk from the west, the Askani from the east, and the Gwargo from the south. After traversing Panjgur, the main stream turns northward and joins the Mashkel River from Kuhak on the Iranian side just south of the point where it bursts through the Koh-e-Sabz range by the Tank-e-Grawag or Grawag defile.

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Ravi River
Coordinates: 30°35′N 71°49′E / 30.583°N 71.817°E / 30.583; 71.817 The Ravi (Sanskrit: इरावती, परुष्णि, Hindi: रावी, Punjabi: ਰਾਵੀ, Urdu: راوی) is a trans-boundary river flowing through Northwestern India and eastern Pakistan. It is one of the six rivers of the Indus System in Punjab region (name of Punjab means "Five Rivers").
After the partition of India in August 1947, the waters of the Ravi River, along with five other rivers of the Indus system (Beas, Sutlej, Chenab, Jhelum and Indus), divided India and Pakistan under the Indus Water Treaty, which was facilitated by the World Bank. Subsequently, Indus Basin Project has been developed in Pakistan and many Inter Basin Water Transfers, Irrigation, Hydropower and multipurpose projects have been built in India.
According to ancient history traced to Vedas, the Ravi River was known as Iravati (also spelt Airavati). Another Vedic name was Purushni.
Part of the battle of the ten kings was fought on the Parushni River, which according to Yaska (Nirukta 9.26) refers to the Iravati River (Ravi River) in the Punjab.

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Rawal Lake
Rawal Lake in Pakistan is an artificial reservoir that provides the water needs for the cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad. Korang River along with some other small streams coming from Margalla Hills have been set to form this artificial lake which covers an area of 8.8 km². Korang River is the outlet stream of Rawal Dam. Rawal Lake is located within an isolated section of the Margalla Hills National Park.
The area around the lake has been planted with flowering trees and laid out with gardens, picnic spots, and secluded paths. The terraced garden and the lake are used for picnics, fishing and boating. The highest point in the garden offers a panoramic view of the lake, Margalla and Murree hills, Rawalpindi and Islamabad.
Boating, sailing, water skating and diving facilities are organized by private clubs.
To the west of the lake is the Islamabad Club, which offers different sporting facilities.
The reservoir is of considerable importance for wintering waterfowl, especially Anas platyrhynchos.

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River Jindi
The River Jindi, also known as Kot and Manzari Baba, begins in the hills of Malakand Agency, in the northern district of Charsadda, in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. During the early months of each year, the River Jindi has a very limited water supply, but the summer months bring with them much needed rain to water the area. As the river proceeds downstream, the local people use dams, similar to the Warsak Dam on the Kabul River, to take out water for irrigation; therefore, the amount of water flowing downstream decreases. The area surrounding the Kabul and Jindi rivers is one of the largest irrigated areas within Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. This coupled with an exponentially growing population alludes to problems in the future. The River Jindi used to have enough water to sustain the surrounding area, but over the last few years, due the environmental changes including massive droughts and rising global temperatures, the river does not. This, coupled with growing pollution of the water, is making the ability to acquire fresh clean water detrimental to the area and its surrounding population.

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Roopkund
Roopkund (Skeleton Lake) is a glacial lake in Uttarakhand state of India famous due to more than five hundred human skeletons found at the edge of the lake. The location is uninhabited and is located in Himalaya at an altitude of about 5,029 metres (16,499 feet).
The human skeletons were rediscovered in 1942 by a Nanda Devi game reserve ranger H K Madhwal, although there are reports about these bones from late 19th century. Earlier it was believed by specialists that the people died from an epidemic, landslide or blizzard. The carbon dating from samples collected in the 1960s vaguely indicated that the people were from the 12th century to the 15th century.
In 2004, a team of Indian and European scientists visited the location to gain more information on the skeletons. The team uncovered vital clues including jewellery, skulls, bones and preserved tissue of bodies.DNA tests on the bodies revealed that there were several groups of people including a group of short people (probably local porters) and a taller group who were closely related - with DNA mutations characteristic for Kokanastha Bramins in Maharashtra. Though the numbers were not ascertained, remnants belonging to more than 500 people have been found and it is believed that even more than six hundred people perished. Radiocarbon dating of the bones at Oxford University Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit determined the time period to be AD 850 ±30 years.

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Ross Sea
The Ross Sea is a deep bay of the Southern Ocean in Antarctica between Victoria Land and Marie Byrd Land.
The Ross Sea was discovered by James Ross in 1841. In the west of the Ross Sea is Ross Island with the Mt. Erebus volcano, in the east Roosevelt Island. The southern part is covered by the Ross Ice Shelf.Roald Amundsen started his South Pole expedition in 1911 from the Bay of Whales, which was located at the shelf. In the west of the Ross sea, McMurdo Sound is a port which is usually free of ice during the summer. The southernmost part of the Ross Sea is Gould Coast, which is approximately two hundred miles from the Geographic South Pole.
All land masses in the Ross Sea are claimed by New Zealand to fall under the jurisdiction of the Ross Dependency, but few non-Commonwealth nations recognise this claim.
A 10 metre (32.8 feet) long colossal squid weighing 495 kilograms (1,091 lb) was captured in the Ross Sea on February 22, 2007.
The flora and fauna are considered similar to other southern Antarctic marine regions. Particularly in Summer, the nutrient-rich sea water supports an abundant planktonic life in turn providing food for larger species, such as fish, seals, whales, and sea- and shore-birds.

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Russia
Russia ⁱ/ˈrʌʃə/ or /ˈrʊʃə/ (Russian: Россия, tr. Rossiya; IPA: [rɐˈsʲijə] ( listen)), also officially known as the Russian Federation (Russian: Российская Федерация, tr. Rossiyskaya Federatsiya; IPA: [rɐˈsʲijskəjə fʲɪdʲɪˈratsɨjə] ( listen)), is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects. From northwest to southeast, Russia shares borders with Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland (both via Kaliningrad Oblast), Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia, and North Korea. It also has maritime borders with Japan by the Sea of Okhotsk, and the US state of Alaska by the Bering Strait. At 17,075,400 square kilometres (6,592,800 sq mi), Russia is the largest country in the world, covering more than one eighth of the Earth's inhabited land area. Russia is also the eighth most populous nation with 143 million people. It extends across the whole of northern Asia and 40% of Europe, spanning nine time zones and incorporating a wide range of environments and landforms. Russia has the world's largest reserves of mineral and energy resources and is the largest producer of oil and natural gas globally. Russia has the world's largest forest reserves and its lakes contain approximately one-quarter of the world's fresh water.

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Réunion
Réunion (French: La Réunion, IPA: [la 'ʁeynjɔ̃] ( listen); previously Île Bourbon) is a French island with a population of about 800,000 located in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, about 200 kilometres (120 mi) south west of Mauritius, the nearest island.
Administratively, Réunion is one of the overseas departments of France. Like the other overseas departments, Réunion is also one of the 27 regions of France (being an overseas region) and an integral part of the Republic with the same status as those situated on the European mainland.
Réunion is an outermost region of the European Union and, as an overseas department of France, is part of the Eurozone.
Before the arrival of the Portuguese in the early sixteenth century, there is little to Réunion's recorded history. Arab traders were familiar with it by the name Dina Morgabin,. The island possibly features on a map from 1153 AD by Al Sharif el-Edrisi. The island may also have been visited by Swahili or Malay sailors.
The first European discovery of the area was made around 1507 by Portuguese explorers, but the specifics are unclear. The uninhabited island may have been first sighted by the expedition led by Don Pedro Mascarenhas, who gave his name to the island group around Réunion, the Mascarenes. Réunion itself was dubbed Santa Apolonia after a favorite saint, which suggests that the date of the Portuguese discovery may have been February 9, her saint day. Diego Lopes de Sequeira is claimed to have landed on the island in 1509.

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Salish Sea
The Salish Sea is the intricate network of coastal waterways located between the south-western tip of the Canadian province of British Columbia, and the north-western tip the U.S. state of Washington. Its major bodies of water are the Strait of Georgia, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and Puget Sound. It reaches from Desolation Sound at the north end of the Strait of Georgia to Oakland Bay at the head of Hammersley Inlet at the south end of Puget Sound. The inland waterways of the Salish Sea are partially separated from the open Pacific Ocean (a pelagic zone) by Vancouver Island and the Olympic Peninsula, and are thus partially shielded from Pacific Ocean storms. Major port cities on the Salish Sea include Seattle, Vancouver, Tacoma, Bellingham, and Victoria.
The Salish Sea includes the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Strait of Georgia, and Puget Sound, and all their connecting channels and adjoining waters, such as Haro Strait, Rosario Strait, Bellingham Bay, and the waters around and between the San Juan Islands in the U.S. state of Washington and the Gulf Islands in British Columbia, Canada. The western boundary is the entrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca, defined as a line between Cape Flattery and Carmanah Point. The southern boundary is the southern end of Puget Sound. The northern boundary reaches just beyond the northern end of the Strait of Georgia to include waters that experience the floodstream or tidal surge from the south: Discovery Passage south of Seymour Narrows, Sutil Channel south of Penn Islands, Lewis Channel (between Cortes and West Redonda Island), Waddington Channel (between West Redonda and East Redonda Island), and Pendrell Sound, Desolation Sound, and the southern portion of Homfray Channel (between East Redonda Island and the mainland). These boundaries were based on the 2002 "Georgia Basin–Puget Sound Ecosystem Indicators Report". The total extent of the Salish Sea is about 18,000 square kilometres (6,900 sq mi).

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Sargasso Sea
The Sargasso Sea is a region in the gyre in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean. It is bounded on the west by the Gulf Stream; on the north, by the North Atlantic Current; on the east, by the Canary Current; and on the south, by the North Atlantic Equatorial Current. This system of ocean currents forms the North Atlantic Gyre. All the currents deposit the marine plants and garbage they carry into this sea.
The Sargasso Sea is 700 statute miles wide and 2,000 statute miles long (1,100 km wide and 3,200 km long). It stretches from roughly 70 degrees west to 40 degrees west, and from 20 degrees north to 35 degrees north. Bermuda is near the western fringes of the sea. The Sargasso Sea is the only "sea" without shores. The ocean water in the Sargasso Sea is distinctive for its deep blue color and exceptional clarity, with underwater visibility of up to 200 feet (61 m).
Portuguese sailors were among the first to discover this region in the 15th century, naming it after the Sargassum seaweed growing there (sargaço / sargasso in Portuguese). However, the sea may have been known to earlier mariners, as a poem by the late 4th century AD author, Rufus Festus Avienus, describes a portion of the Atlantic as being covered with seaweed, citing a now-lost account by the 5th-century BC Carthaginian explorer Himilco the Navigator. Christopher Columbus and his men also noted the Saragasso Sea, and brought reports of the masses of seaweed on the surface.

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Satpara Lake
Satpara Lake is a natural lake near Skardu, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan, which supplies water to Skardu Valley. It is fed by the Satpara Stream.
Satpara Lake is situated at an elevation of 2,636 meters (8,650 ft) above sea level and is spread over an area of 2.5 km².
Since 2003, Satpara Dam is being constructed downstream of the lake and, upon completion, will enlarge the size of Satpara Lake.

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Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia (ⁱ/ˌsaʊdi əˈreɪbi.ə/ or ⁱ/ˌsɔːdiː əˈreɪbi.ə/; Arabic: السعودية‎ as-Su‘ūdīyah^{[citation needed]} or incorrectly as-Sa‘ūdīyah, officially known as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (Arabic: المملكة العربية السعودية‎ al-Mamlakah al-‘Arabīyah as-Su‘ūdīyah Arabic pronunciation (help·info)), is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab world, after Algeria. It is bordered by Jordan, and Iraq on the north and northeast, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates on the east, Oman on the southeast, and Yemen on the south. The Red Sea lies to its west, and the Persian Gulf lies to the east. Saudi Arabia has an area of approximately 2,250,000 km² (870,000 sq mi), and it has an estimated population of 27 million, of which 9 million are registered foreign expatriates and an estimated 2 million are illegal immigrants. Saudi nationals comprise an estimated 16 million people.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was founded by Abdul-Aziz bin Saud (known for most of his career as Ibn Saud) in 1932, although the conquests which eventually led to the creation of the Kingdom began in 1902 when he captured Riyadh, the ancestral home of his family, the House of Saud, referred to in Arabic as the Al Saud. The Saudi Arabian government, which has been an absolute monarchy since its inception, refers to its system of government as being Islamic, though this is contested by many due to its strong basis in Salafism, a minority school of thought in Islam. The kingdom is sometimes called "The Land of the Two Holy Mosques" in reference to Al-Masjid al-Haram (in Mecca), and Al-Masjid al-Nabawi (in Medina), the two holiest places in Islam.

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Savu Sea
The Savu Sea (or the Sawu Sea) is a small sea within Indonesia named for the island of Savu (Sawu) on its southern boundary. It is bounded by Savu and Rai Jua to the south, the islands of Rote and Timor (split between East Timor and Indonesia) to the east, Flores and the Alor archipelago to the north/northwest, and the island of Sumba to the west/northwest. Between these islands, it flows into the Indian Ocean to the south and west, the Flores Sea to the north, and the Banda Sea to the northeast.
The Savu Sea reaches about 3500 m in depth. It spans about 600 km from west to east, and 200 km from north to south. The largest city on the sea is Kupang, the capital of East Nusa Tenggara province on the island of Timor, with about 450,000 inhabitants.
The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) defines the Savu Sea as being one of the waters of the East Indian Archipelago. The IHO defines its limits as follows:
On the North. By the Southern limits of Flores Sea [The North coasts of Flores, Komodo, Banta and a line to Tanjong Naroe the Northeast point of Soembawa, thence along its North coast to Tanjong Sarokaja (8°22′S 117°10′E / 8.367°S 117.167°E / -8.367; 117.167)] and Banda Sea [A line from Tanjong Aro Oesoe, through Sermata to Tanjong Njadora the Southeast point of Lakov (8°16′S 128°14′E / 8.267°S 128.233°E / -8.267; 128.233) along the South coasts of Lakov, Moa and Leti Islands to Tanjong Toet Pateh, the West point of Leti, thence a line to Tanjong Sewirawa the Eastern extremity of Timor and along the North coast as far as longitude 125° East].

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Sea of Crete
The Sea of Crete (Greek: Κρητικό Πέλαγος, Kritiko Pelagos) is the sea south of the Aegean Sea, north of the island Crete, and south of the Cyclades. The sea also stretches from Kythera east to the Dodecanese islands of Karpathos and Kassos. The bounding seas to the west are the Ionian Sea as well as the rest of the Mediterranean Sea. Ferry routes to and from Piraeus, as well as the southern islands of the Aegean and the Dodecanese, run in this area.
Coordinates: 36°N 25°E / 36°N 25°E / 36; 25

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Sea of Japan

The Sea of Japan is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean, between the Asian mainland, the Japanese archipelago and Sakhalin. It is bordered by Japan, North Korea, Russia and South Korea. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it has almost no tides due to its nearly complete enclosure from the Pacific Ocean. This isolation also reflects in the fauna species and in the water salinity, which is lower than in the ocean. The sea has no large islands, bays or capes. Its water balance is mostly determined by the inflow and outflow through the straits connecting it to the neighboring seas and Pacific Ocean. Few rivers discharge into the sea and their total contribution to the water exchange is within 1%.
The seawater is characterized by the elevated concentration of dissolved oxygen that results in high biological productivity. Therefore, fishing is the dominant economic activity in the region. The intensity of shipments across the sea has been moderate owing to political issues, but it is steadily increasing as a result of the growth of East Asian economies. A controversy exists about the sea name, with South Korea promoting the appellation East Sea.

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Sea of Marmara
The Sea of Marmara /ˈmɑrmərə/ (Greek: Θάλασσα του Μαρμαρά, Turkish: Marmara Denizi), also known as the Sea of Marmora or the Marmara Sea, and in the context of classical antiquity as the Propontis (Greek: Προποντίς), is the inland sea that connects the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea, thus separating Turkey's Asian and European parts. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Black Sea and the Dardanelles strait to the Aegean. The former also separates Istanbul into its Asian and European sides. The Sea has an area of 11,350 km² (280 km x 80 km) with the greatest depth reaching 1,370 m.
The salinity of the sea averages about 22 parts per thousand, which is slightly greater than that of the Black Sea but only about two-thirds that of most oceans. However, the water is much more saline at the sea-bottom, averaging salinities of around 38 parts per thousand — similar to that of the Mediterranean Sea. This high-density saline water, like that of the Black Sea itself, does not migrate to the surface. Water from the Susurluk, Biga (Granicus) and Gonen Rivers also reduces the salinity of the sea, though with less influence than on the Black Sea. With little land in Thrace draining southward, almost all of these rivers flow from Anatolia.

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Sea of Okhotsk
Coordinates: 55°N 150°E / 55°N 150°E / 55; 150
The Sea of Okhotsk (Russian: Охо́тское мо́ре, tr. Okhotskoye More; IPA: [ɐˈxotskəjə ˈmorʲə]) is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean, lying between the Kamchatka Peninsula on the east, the Kuril Islands on the southeast, the island of Hokkaidō to the south, the island of Sakhalin along the west, and a long stretch of eastern Siberian coast (including the Shantar Islands) along the west and north. The northeast corner is Shelikhov Gulf. It is named after Okhotsk, the first Russian settlement in the Far East.
The Sea of Okhotsk covers 611,000 sq.mi. (1,583,000 km²), with a mean depth of 2,818 feet (859 metres). Its maximum depth is 11,063 feet (3,372 metres). It is connected to the Sea of Japan on either side of Sakhalin: on the west through the Sakhalin Gulf and the Gulf of Tartary; on the south, through the La Pérouse Strait.
In winter, navigation on the Sea of Okhotsk becomes difficult, or even impossible, due to the formation of large ice floes, because the large amount of freshwater from the Amur River lowers the salinity and raises the freezing point of the sea. The distribution and thickness of ice floes depends on many factors: the location, the time of year, water currents, and the sea temperatures.

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Sea of the Hebrides
The Sea of the Hebrides is a portion of the North Atlantic Ocean, located off the coast of western Scotland, separating the mainland and the northern Inner Hebrides islands (to the east) from the southern Outer Hebrides islands (to the west). To the north, the Sea of the Hebrides joins The Minch.
The Sea of the Hebrides forms part of the Inner Seas off the West Coast of Scotland, as defined by the International Hydrographic Organization, and part of the Seas west of Scotland as far as fisheries management is concerned.
Coordinates: 57°N 7°W / 57°N 7°W / 57; -7

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Sea of Åland
The Sea of Åland is the waters located in the southern Gulf of Bothnia, between the Åland islands and the Swedish mainland. The sea connects Kvarken and the Bothnian Sea with the Baltic Sea proper. The seas are often choppy here. The narrowest part is named Södra Kvarken or South Kvarken.
Coordinates: 60°10′59.92″N 19°06′31.48″E / 60.1833111°N 19.1087444°E / 60.1833111; 19.1087444

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Seto Inland Sea
The Seto Inland Sea (瀬戸内海, Seto Naikai^?), often shortened to Inland Sea, is the body of water separating Honshū, Shikoku, and Kyūshū, three of the main islands of Japan. It serves as an international waterway, connecting the Pacific Ocean to the Sea of Japan. It connects to Osaka Bay and provides a sea transport link to industrial centers in the Kansai region, including Osaka and Kobe. Before the construction of the Sanyō Main Line, it was the main transportation link between Kansai and Kyūshū.
Yamaguchi, Hiroshima, Okayama, Hyōgo, Osaka, Kagawa, Ehime, Fukuoka, and Ōita prefectures all have coastlines on the Inland Sea; the cities of Hiroshima, Iwakuni, Takamatsu, and Matsuyama are also located on it.
The Inland Sea region is known for its moderate climate, with a stable year-round temperature and relatively low rainfall levels: The area is often called "the land of fair weather" (晴れの国, hare no kuni^?). The sea is also famous for its periodic red tides (赤潮, akashio^?) caused by dense groupings of certain phytoplankton that result in the death of large numbers of fish.

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Seychelles
Seychelles (ⁱ/seɪˈʃɛlz/ say-SHELZ; French: [sɛʃɛl]), officially the Republic of Seychelles (French: République des Seychelles; Creole: Repiblik Sesel), is an island country spanning an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, some 1,500 kilometres (932 mi) east of mainland Africa, northeast of the island of Madagascar.
Other nearby island countries and territories include Zanzibar to the west, Mauritius, Rodrigues, Agalega and Réunion to the south, Comoros and Mayotte to the southwest. Seychelles, with an estimated population of 86,525, has the smallest population of any African state. It also has the highest Human Development Index in Africa.
Scholars assume that Austronesian seafarers, and later Maldivian and Arab traders were the first to visit the uninhabited Seychelles. Remains of Maldivian mariner presence from the 12th century were found in Silhouette Island. The earliest recorded sighting by Europeans took place in 1502 by the Portuguese Admiral Vasco da Gama, who passed through the Amirantes and named them after himself (islands of the Admiral).

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Shaksgam River
Coordinates: 36°05′N 76°39′E / 36.083°N 76.65°E / 36.083; 76.65 The Shaksgam River (Chinese: 沙克斯干河; pinyin: Shākèsīgàn Hé, Hindi: शक्सगाम नदी) is a left tributary of the Yarkand River. The river is also known as the Kelechin River and Muztagh River. It rises in the Gasherbrum, Urdok, Staghar, Singhi and Kyagar Glaciers in the Karakoram. It then flows in a general northwestern direction parallel to the Karakoram ridge line in the Shaksgam Valley. The river valley was explored in 1889 by Francis Younghusband (who referred to the Shaksgam as the Oprang)., and again in 1926 by Kenneth Mason, who confirmed the sources of the river.
The upper river valley is used by climbers approaching the north face of K2. The approach requires a crossing of the river, which is hazardous. Between its confluence with the Shimshal Braldu River and its confluence with the Oprang River the river forms the border between China and Pakistan. The area is used as winter pastures by yak herdsmen from the village of Shimshal, and is the only part of Pakistan in the Tarim Basin.

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Shigar River
Shigar River (Urdu: دریائے شگر) is located in Baltistan, Northern Areas, Pakistan. The Shigar River is formed from the melt water of the Baltoro Glacier and Biafo Glacier. It flows through the Shigar Valley. The river is tributary to Indus River and meets the Indus in Skardu Valley.
Coordinates: 35°20′10″N 75°38′13″E / 35.336°N 75.637°E / 35.336; 75.637

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Shingo River
The Shingo River is a tributary of the Suru River, and flows through the Ladakh region. The Shingo river enters India from Pakistan-administered Kashmir and meets the Dras River, coming from Dras. 5km from Kargil the merged river meets the Suru River and again re-enters Pakistani territory.
The Shingo river is clearer than other rivers in Ladakh because from it is formed from melting ice.
Coordinates: 34°35′N 76°07′E / 34.583°N 76.117°E / 34.583; 76.117

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Sibuyan Sea
The Sibuyan Sea is a small sea in the Philippines that separates the Visayas from the northern Philippine island of Luzon.
It is bounded by the island of Panay to the south, Mindoro to the west, Masbate to the east, and to the north Marinduque and the Bicol Peninsula of Luzon Island.
The Sibuyan Sea is connected to the Sulu Sea via the Tablas Strait in the west, the South China Sea via the Isla Verde Passage in the north-west, and the Visayan Sea via the Jintotolo Channel in the south-east. The Romblon Islands lie inside the Sibuyan Sea.
The Battle of the Sibuyan Sea was fought here on October 24, 1944 where the Japanese battleship Musashi sank and other ships were damaged.
Coordinates: 12°40′N 122°30′E / 12.667°N 122.5°E / 12.667; 122.5

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Sinai Peninsula
The Sinai Peninsula or Sinai (Arabic: سيناء‎ sīnā' ; Hebrew סיני) is a triangular peninsula in Egypt about 60,000 km² (23,000 sq mi) in area. It is situated between the Mediterranean Sea to the north, and the Red Sea to the south, and is the only part of Egyptian territory located in Asia as opposed to Africa, effectively serving as a land bridge between two continents. The bulk of the peninsula is divided administratively into two of Egypt's 27 governorates (with three more straddling the Suez Canal area), and has a population of approximately 500,000 people. In addition to its formal name, Egyptians also refer to it affectionately as the "Land of Fayrouz", based on the Ancient Egyptian "Dumafkat", which has the same meaning.
The region has historically been the centre of conflict between various states, based largely on its strategic geopolitical location. In addition to periods of direct rule by Egyptian governments (including the Ayyubids, the Mamluks, the Muhammad Ali Dynasty, and the modern Egyptian republic), it was like the rest of Egypt, also occupied and controlled by the Ottoman Empire, and the United Kingdom (which occupied Egypt from 1882 until 1956). Israel invaded and occupied Sinai during the Suez Crisis (known in Egypt as the Tripartite Aggression) of 1956, and during the Six Day War of 1967. On 6 October 1973, Egypt launched the October War to liberate the peninsula, which was the site of fierce fighting between Egyptian and Israeli forces. In 1982, after the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty of 1979, Israel withdrew from the entirety of Sinai. Today, Sinai has become a tourist destination due to its natural setting, rich coral reefs, and biblical history. Mount Sinai is one of the most religiously significant places in Abrahamic faiths.

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Soan River
The Soan (Urdu: سون) (preferred), Sawaan (Urdu: سواں), Sawan or Sohan River is a river in Punjab, Pakistan.
The Soan River is an important stream of the Pothohar region of Pakistan. It drains much of the water of Pothohar. It starts near a small village Bun in the foothills of Patriata and Murree. It provides water to Simly Dam, which is the water reservoir for Islamabad. Near Pharwala Fort it cuts through a high mountain range, a wonderful natural phenomenon called Soan Cut. No stream can cut such a high mountain, which proves that the Soan was there before the formation of this range. And as the mountain rose through millions of years, the stream continued its path by cutting the rising mountain. Ling stream, following a relatively long course through Lehtrar and Kahuta falls in the Soan near Sihala on southern side of Village Gagri/Bhandar.
Islamabad Highway crosses this stream near Sihala where the famous Kak Pul bridge is constructed over it. The Ling Stream joins the Soan river just before the Kak Pul. Another famous stream, the Lai stream, joins this stream near Soan Camp. After following a tortuous path along a big curve, the stream reaches Kalabagh where it falls into the Indus river. This relatively small stream is more than 250 kilometers long. Due to its mountainous course and shallow bed, it is hardly used for irrigation purposes. Rohu is the main species of fish in this stream and Kingfisher birds hunt here too.

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Solomon Sea
The Solomon Sea is a sea located within the Pacific Ocean. It lies between Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. Many major battles were fought there during World War II.
The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Solomon Sea as follows:
On the Northwest. By the Southeast limit of Bismarck Sea [A line from the Southern point of New Ireland along the parallel of 4°50' South to the coast of New Britain, along its Northern coast and thence a line from its Western extreme through the Northern point of Umboi Island to Teliata Point, New Guinea (5°55′S 147°24′E / 5.917°S 147.4°E / -5.917; 147.4)].
On the Northeast. By a line from the Southern point of New Ireland to the North point of Buka Island, through this island to the Northwest point of Bougainville Island, along the Southern coasts of Bougainville, Choisel [Choiseul], Ysabel [Santa Isabel], Malaita and San Cristobal [Makira] Islands.
On the South. The Northern limit of the Coral Sea between San Cristobal Island, Solomons, and Gado-Gadoa Island, off the Southeast extreme of New Guinea [Gado-Gadoa Island near its Southeastern extreme (10°38′S 150°34′E / 10.633°S 150.567°E / -10.633; 150.567), down this meridian to the 100 fathom line and thence along the Southern edges of Uluma (Suckling) Reef and those extending to the Eastward as far as the Southeast point of Lawik Reef (11°43.5′S 153°56.5′E / 11.725°S 153.9417°E / -11.725; 153.9417) off Tagula Island [Vanatinai], thence a line to the Southern extreme of Rennell Island and from its Eastern point to Cape Surville, the Eastern extreme of San Cristobal Island].

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Somalia
Somalia ( /soʊˈmɑːliə/ soh-MAH-lee-ə; Somali: Soomaaliya; Arabic: الصومال‎ aṣ-Ṣūmāl), officially the Somali Republic (Somali: Jamhuuriyadda Soomaaliya, Arabic: جمهورية الصومال‎ Jumhūriyyat aṣ-Ṣūmāl) and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory. The internationally recognized Transitional Federal Government controls only a small part of the country. Somalia has been characterized as a failed state and is one of the poorest and most violent states in the world.
Somalia lies in the easternmost part of Africa. It is bordered by Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, the Gulf of Aden with Yemen to the north, the Indian Ocean to the east, and Ethiopia to the west. It has the longest coastline on the continent, and its terrain consists mainly of plateaus, plains and highlands. Hot conditions prevail year-round, along with periodic monsoon winds and irregular rainfall.

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Somov Sea
The Somov Sea ist a sea of the Southern Ocean and is located north of the easternmost part of the Antarctic subcontinent East Antarctica, north of Oates Coast, Victoria Land, and of George V Coast, between 150° und 170° East. West of it is D'Urville Sea. East of Cape Adare, at 170°14' East, is the Ross Sea.
The Somov Sea has an area of 1,150,000 km² and is up to 3000 meters deep.
240 km north of the mainland coast are the Balleny Islands in the Somov Sea.
The Somov Sea was named in honor of Russian oceanologist and polar explorer Mikhail Somov.
Coordinates: 67°00′S 160°00′E / 67°S 160°E / -67; 160

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South Africa
Coordinates: 30°S 25°E / 30°S 25°E / -30; 25
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa, is a country located at the southern tip of Africa. It is divided into nine provinces and has 2,798 kilometres (1,739 mi) of coastline. To the north of the country lie the neighbouring territories of Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe; to the east are Mozambique and Swaziland; while Lesotho is an enclave surrounded by South African territory.
South Africa is multi-ethnic and has diverse cultures and languages. Eleven official languages are recognised in the constitution. Two of these languages are of European origin: South African English and Afrikaans, a language which originated mainly from Dutch that is spoken by the majority of white and Coloured South Africans. Though English is commonly used in public and commercial life, it is only the fifth most-spoken home language. All ethnic and language groups have political representation in the country's constitutional democracy comprising a parliamentary republic; unlike most parliamentary republics, the positions of head of state and head of government are merged in a parliament-dependent President.

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South China Sea
The South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from the Singapore and Malacca Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of around 3,500,000 square kilometres (1,400,000 sq mi). The area's importance largely results from one-third of the world's shipping transiting through its waters, and that it is believed to hold huge oil and gas reserves beneath its seabed.
It is located
The minute South China Sea Islands, collectively an archipelago, number in the hundreds. The sea and its mostly uninhabited islands are subject to competing claims of sovereignty by several countries. These claims are also reflected in the variety of names used for the islands and the sea.
South China Sea is the dominant term used in English for the sea, and the name in most European languages is equivalent, but it is sometimes called by different names in neighboring countries, often reflecting historical claims to hegemony over the sea.
The English name is a result of early European interest in the sea as a route from Europe and South Asia to the trading opportunities of China. In the sixteenth century Portuguese sailors called it the China Sea (Mar da China); later needs to differentiate it from nearby bodies of water led to calling it the South China Sea. The International Hydrographic Organization refers to the sea as "South China Sea (Nan Hai)".

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South India
South India is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area (635780 km² or 245476.030 mi²). The region is also known as Dravida as is used in the National anthem.
South India lies in the peninsular Deccan Plateau and is bounded by the Arabian Sea in the west, the Indian Ocean in the south and the Bay of Bengal in the east. The geography of the region is diverse, encompassing two mountain ranges, the Western and Eastern Ghats, and a plateau heartland. The Godavari, Krishna, Tungabhadra and Kaveri rivers are important non-perennial sources of water.
A majority of Indians from the southern region speak one of the Dravidian languages: Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Tulu, and Kodava. During its history, a number of dynastic kingdoms ruled over parts of South India whose invasions across southern and southeastern Asia impacted the history and cultures of modern sovereign states such as Sri Lanka, Singapore, the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia. The region was colonised by Britain and gradually incorporated into the British Empire.

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South Korea
South Korea ( listen), officially the Republic of Korea (Hangul: 대한민국; Hanja: 大韓民國; Daehan Minguk listen), is a sovereign state in the southern part of the Korean Peninsula. The name "Korea" is derived from Goryeo, a dynasty which ruled in the Middle Ages (an initial "G" in Korean is pronounced like an English "K").
Its neighbors are China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the Korea Strait to the south. South Korea lies in the north temperate zone with a predominantly mountainous terrain. It covers a total area of 99,392 square kilometers and has a population of almost 50 million. The capital and largest city is Seoul, with a population of 9,794,304.
Archaeological findings show that the Korean Peninsula was occupied by the Lower Paleolithic period.Korean history begins with the founding of Gojoseon in 2333 BC by the legendary Dan-gun. Following the unification of the Three Kingdoms of Korea under Silla 668 AD, Korea went through the Goryeo Dynasty and Joseon Dynasty as one nation until the end of the Korean Empire in 1910, when it was annexed by Japan. After liberation and occupation by Soviet and U.S. forces at the end of World War II, the nation was divided into North and South Korea. The latter was established in 1948 as a democracy, though political turmoil and times of military rule and martial law characterized much of the period until the foundation of the Sixth Republic in 1987.

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Southern Ocean
The Southern Ocean (also known as the Great Southern Ocean, the Antarctic Ocean, and the South Polar Ocean) comprises the southernmost waters of the World Ocean, generally taken to be south of 60°S latitude and encircling Antarctica. It is usually regarded as the fourth-largest of the five principal oceanic divisions. This ocean zone is where cold, northward flowing waters from the Antarctic mix with warmer subantarctic waters.
Geographers disagree on the Southern Ocean's northern boundary or even its existence, with many considering the waters part of the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans instead. Others regard the Antarctic Convergence, an ocean zone which fluctuates seasonally, as separating the Southern Ocean from other oceans, rather than the 60th parallel.Australian authorities regard the Southern Ocean as lying immediately south of Australia.
The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) has not yet ratified its 2000 definition of the ocean as being south of 60°S. Its latest published definition of oceans dates from 1953; this does not include the Southern Ocean. However, the more recent definition is used by the IHO and others.

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Soviet Union
The Soviet Union (Russian: Советский Союз, tr. Sovetsky Soyuz), officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR; Russian: Сою́з Сове́тских Социалисти́ческих Респу́блик, tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik; IPA: [sɐˈjus sɐˈvʲetskʲɪx sətsɨəlʲɪˈstʲitɕɪskʲɪx rʲɪsˈpublʲɪk] ( listen); abbreviated СССР, SSSR), was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991.
The Soviet Union was a single-party state ruled by the Communist Party from its foundation until 1990. A union of 15 subnational Soviet republics, the Soviet state was structured under a highly centralized government and economy.
The Russian Revolution of 1917 caused the downfall of the Russian Empire. Following the Russian Revolution, there was a struggle for power between the Bolshevik party, led by Vladimir Lenin, and the anti-communist White movement. In December 1922, the Bolsheviks won the civil war, and the Soviet Union was formed with the merger of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, the Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic, the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic and the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic.

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Spain
Spain (ⁱ/ˈspeɪn/ SPAYN; Spanish: España, pronounced: [esˈpaɲa] ( listen)), officially the Kingdom of Spain (Spanish: Reino de España), is a sovereign state and a member of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Its mainland is bordered to the south and east by the Mediterranean Sea except for a small land boundary with the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar; to the north and north east by France, Andorra, and the Bay of Biscay; and to the northwest and west by the Atlantic Ocean and Portugal.
Spanish territory also includes the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean, the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean off the African coast, and two autonomous cities in North Africa, Ceuta and Melilla, that border Morocco. Furthermore, the town of Llívia is a Spanish exclave situated inside French territory. With an area of 504,030 square kilometres (194,610 sq mi), it is the second largest country in Western Europe and the European Union after France, and the fourth largest country in Europe after Russia, Ukraine and France.

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Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (ⁱ/ʃriː ˈlɑːŋkə/, /sriːˈlɑːŋkə/, or /sriːˈlæŋkə/;Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකාව, Tamil: இலங்கை), is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent in South Asia. Known until 1972 as Ceylon ( /sɨˈlɒn/, /seɪˈlɒn/, or /siːˈlɒn/), Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar, the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the Maldives.
As a result of its location in the path of major sea routes, Sri Lanka is a strategic naval link between West Asia and South East Asia. It was an important stop on the ancient Silk Road. Sri Lanka has also been a center of the Buddhist religion and culture from ancient times, being the nation where the Buddhist teachings were first written down as well as the oldest continually Buddhist country. Sri Lanka boasts a diverse range of cultures, languages and religions. The Sinhalese people form the majority of the population; Tamils, who are concentrated in the north and east of the island, form the largest ethnic minority. Other communities include Moors, Burghers, Kaffirs, Malays and the aboriginal Vedda people.

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Strait of Hormuz
The Strait of Hormuz /hɔrˈmuːz/ (Arabic: مَضيق هُرمُز‎ Maḍīq Hurmuz, Persian: تَنگِه هُرمُز‎ Tangeh-ye Hormoz) is a narrow, strategically important strait between the Gulf of Oman in the southeast and the Persian Gulf. On the north coast is Iran and on the south coast is the United Arab Emirates and Musandam, an exclave of Oman.
The strait at its narrowest is 21 nautical miles (39 km) wide. It is the only sea passage to the open ocean for large areas of the petroleum-exporting Persian Gulf and is one of the world's most strategically important choke points. Around 20% of the world's oil, which is about 35% of seaborne traded oil, passes through the strait.
The opening to the Persian Gulf was described, but not given a name, in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, a 1st-century mariner's guide:
In the 10th to 17th centuries AD, the Kingdom of Ormus, which seems to have given the strait its name, was located here. Scholars, historians and linguists derive^{[dead link]} the name "Ormuz" from the local Persian word هورمغ Hur-mogh meaning date palm.^{[dubious – discuss]} In the local dialects of Hurmoz and Minab this strait is still called Hurmogh and has the aforementioned meaning.^{[citation needed]} The resemblance of this word with the name of the Persian God هرمز Hormoz (a variant of Ahura Mazda) has resulted in the popular belief^{[citation needed]}^{[neutrality is disputed]} that these words are related.

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Strait of Malacca
Coordinates: 4°N 100°E / 4°N 100°E / 4; 100 (Strait of Malacca) The Strait of Malacca (Malay: Selat Melaka; Jawi: سلت ملاك) is a narrow, 805 km (500 mi) stretch of water between the Malay Peninsula (Peninsular Malaysia) and the Indonesian island of Sumatra. It is named after the Malacca Sultanate that ruled over the archipelago between 1414 and 1511.
The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the "Malacca Strait" as follows:
On the West. A line joining Pedropunt, the Northernmost point of Sumatra (5°40′N 95°26′E / 5.667°N 95.433°E / 5.667; 95.433) and Lem Voalan the Southern extremity of Goh Puket [Phuket Island] in Siam [Thailand] (7°45′N 98°18′E / 7.75°N 98.3°E / 7.75; 98.3).
On the East. A line joining Tanjong Piai (Bulus), the Southern extremity of the Malay Peninsula (1°16′N 103°31′E / 1.267°N 103.517°E / 1.267; 103.517) and The Brothers (1°11.5′N 103°21′E / 1.1917°N 103.35°E / 1.1917; 103.35) and thence to Klein Karimoen (1°10′N 103°23.5′E / 1.167°N 103.3917°E / 1.167; 103.3917).

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Subri Lake
Subri lake, also known as Langarpura Lake, is situated 10 kilometers out of Muzaffarabad, where the Jhelum river widens to from the lake.

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Sudan
Sudan (ⁱ/suːˈdæn/ or /suːˈdɑːn/;Arabic: السودان‎, as-Sūdān), officially the Republic of the Sudan (Arabic: جمهورية السودان‎, Jumhūrīyat as-Sūdān), sometimes called North Sudan, is an Arab state in North Africa (sometimes also considered to be part of the Middle East). It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, and Libya to the northwest. The population of Sudan is a combination of indigenous inhabitants of Nile Valley, and descendants of migrants from the Arabian Peninsula. Due to the process of Arabisation common throughout the rest of the Arab World, today Arab culture predominates in Sudan. The majority of the population of Sudan adheres to Islam. The Nile divides the country between east and west sides.
The people of Sudan have a long history extending from antiquity which is intertwined with the history of Egypt. Sudan suffered seventeen years of civil war during the First Sudanese Civil War (1955–1972) followed by ethnic, religious and economic conflicts between the Muslim Arab northern Sudanese and the mostly animist and Christian Nilotes of Southern Sudan. This led to the Second Sudanese Civil War in 1983. Because of continuing political and military struggles, Sudan was seized in a bloodless coup d'état by colonel Omar al-Bashir in 1989, who thereafter proclaimed himself President of Sudan. The civil war ended with the signing of a Comprehensive Peace Agreement which granted autonomy to what was then the southern region of the country. Following a referendum held in January 2011, South Sudan seceded on 9 July 2011 with the consent of Sudan's President al-Bashir.

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Suez Canal
The Suez Canal (Arabic: قناة السويس‎ Qanāt al-Sūwais), also known by the nickname "The Highway to India", is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows transportation by water between Europe and Asia without navigation around Africa. The northern terminus is Port Said and the southern terminus is Port Tawfik at the city of Suez. Ismailia lies on its west bank, 3 km (1.9 mi) north of the half-way point.
When first built, the canal was 164 km (102 mi) long and 8 m (26 ft) deep. After multiple enlargements, the canal is 193.30 km (120.11 mi) long, 24 m (79 ft) deep and 205 metres (673 ft) wide as of 2010. It consists of the northern access channel of 22 km/14 mi, the canal itself of 162.25 km/100.82 mi and the southern access channel of 9 km/5.6 mi.
The canal is single lane with passing places in Ballah By-Pass and in the Great Bitter Lake. It contains no locks; seawater flows freely through the canal. In general, the canal north of the Bitter Lakes flows north in winter and south in summer. The current south of the lakes changes with the tide at Suez.

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Sulu Sea
The Sulu Sea is a body of water in the southwestern area of the Philippines, separated from the South China Sea in the northwest by Palawan and from the Celebes Sea in the southeast by the Sulu Archipelago. Borneo is found to the southwest and Visayas to the northeast.
Sulu Sea contains a number of islands. The Cuyo Islands and Cagayan Sulu are part of the province of Palawan while Mapun and the Turtle Islands are part of the province of Tawi-Tawi. Sulu Sea is also where the Tubbataha Reef National Marine Park, one of the World Heritage Sites is located.
The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) defines the Sulu Sea as being one of the waters of the East Indian Archipelago. The IHO defines its limits as follows:
On the Northwest. From Tanjong Sampanmangio, the North point of Borneo, along the Eastern limit of South China Sea to Cape Calavite, the Northwest point of Mindoro.
On the Northeast. The Southwest coast of Mindoro to Buruncan Point, its Southern extreme, thence a line through Semirara and Kaluya Islands to Nasog Point (11°53′N 121°53′E / 11.883°N 121.883°E / 11.883; 121.883) the Northwestern extreme of Panay, along the West and Southeast coast of that island to Tagubanhan Island (11°08′N 123°07′E / 11.133°N 123.117°E / 11.133; 123.117), thence a line to the Northern extreme of Negros and down the West coast to Siaton Point, its Southern extreme, thence across to Tagolo Point (8°44′N 123°22′E / 8.733°N 123.367°E / 8.733; 123.367), Mindanao.

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Sunda Islands
The Sunda Islands are a group of islands that form part of the Malay archipelago.
They are further divided into the Greater Sunda Islands and the Lesser Sunda Islands.
The islands are divided up between four countries, Brunei, East Timor, Indonesia, and Malaysia. Much of the islands are the territory of Indonesia. The island of Borneo is divided up between Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia. The island of Timor is divided between East Timor and Indonesia. Two small islands also belong to East Timor.
Coordinates: 2°00′S 110°00′E / 2°S 110°E / -2; 110

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Sunda Trench
The Sunda Trench, earlier known as, and sometimes still indicated as the Java Trench, located in the northeastern Indian Ocean, with a length of 2,600 kilometres (8,500,000 ft) and a maximum depth of 7,725 metres (25,344 ft)^{[citation needed]} (at 10°19'S, 109°58'E, about 320 km south of Yogyakarta), is the second-deepest point in the Indian Ocean after Diamantina Trench, which is 8,047 metres deep. It stretches from the Lesser Sunda Islands past Java, around the southern coast of Sumatra on to the Andaman islands, about 300 km off the coasts of Java and Sumatra, and forms the boundary between Indo-Australian Plate and Eurasian plate (more specific, Sunda Plate), is part of the Pacific Ring of Fire and a ring of oceanic trenches around the northern edges of the Australian Plate.
There is scientific evidence that the recent earthquake activity in the area of the Java Trench could lead to further catastrophic shifting within a relatively short period of time, perhaps less than a decade. This threat has resulted in international agreements to establish a tsunami warning system in place along the Indian Ocean coast.

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Sutlej
The Sutlej River (alternatively spelled as Satluj River) (Punjabi: ਸਤਲੁਜ, Sanskrit: शुतुद्रि, Śutudri, Urdu: ستلج, and Hindi: सतलज) is the longest of the five rivers that flow through the historic crossroad region of Punjab in northern India and Pakistan. It is located north of the Vindhya Range, south of the Hindu Kush segment of the Himalayas, and east of the Central Sulaiman Range in Pakistan.
The Sutlej is sometimes known as the Red River. It is the easternmost tributary of the Indus River. Its source is from Lowangko Co, Tibet near Lake Rakshastal in Tibet, China, near Mount Kailas, and it flows generally west and southwest entering India through the Shipki La pass in Himachal Pradesh. In Pakistan, it waters the ancient and historical former Bahawalpur state. The region to its south and east is arid, and is known as Cholistan a part of Bahawalpur Division. The Sutlej is joined by the Beas River in Hari-Ke-Patan, Amritsar, Punjāb, India, and continues southwest into Pakistan to unite with the Chenab River, forming the Panjnad River near Bahawalpur. The Panjnad joins the Indus River at Mithankot. Indus then flows through a gorge near Sukkur, flows through the fertile plains region of Sindh, forming large delta region between border of Gujarat, India & Pakistan and finally terminates in the Arabian Sea near the port city of Karachi in Pakistan.

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Swat River
The Swat River (Pashto: د سوات سیند) is a river in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan. Its source is in the Hindukush Mountains, from where it flows through the Kalam Valley and Swat District. In then skirts Lower Dir District and flows through Malakand District to enter the Kabul River at Charsadda in the Peshawar valley.
The Swat River irrigates large areas of Swat District and contributes to the fishing industry of the region. Ayub Bridge is one of the attractions for visitors. The scenery attracts many tourists from all over Pakistan during the summer.
There are two main hydro-electric power projects on canals from the Swat River which generate electricity for local usage.
The Lower Swat Valley is rich in archaeological sites.
The Swat River is mentioned in Rig Veda 8.19.37 as the Suvastu river. It is said^[where?] that Alexander the Great crossed the Swat River with part of his army before turning south to subdue the locals at what are now Barikoot and Odegram.
It is also a place of origin of the Shrivastavas,(river Shrivastu) a sub clan of Kayastha, Indo-Aryan group.

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Taiwan
Taiwan (ⁱ/ˌtaɪˈwɑːn/ TY-WAHN; Chinese: 臺灣 or 台灣; pinyin: Táiwān; see below), officially the Republic of China (ROC; Chinese: 中華民國; pinyin: Zhōnghuá Mínguó), is a state in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China now governs the island of Taiwan (formerly known as Formosa), which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu, and other minor islands. Neighboring states include the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east and northeast, and the Philippines to the south. Taipei is the capital city and economic and cultural centre of the country, and New Taipei is the most populous city.
The earliest evidence of inhabitation of Taiwan dates back to the late Paleolithic era. The island of Taiwan was mainly inhabited by Taiwanese aborigines before being colonized in the 17th century by the Dutch and the Spanish Empire. The first Han Chinese polity on Taiwan began when Koxinga's troops defeated Dutch forces and established the Kingdom of Tungning. The island was subsequently ruled by the Qing Dynasty after the kingdom's defeat in the Battle of Penghu in 1683, a period that lasted for over 200 years. Following Japan's victory over the Qing Dynasty in the first Sino-Japanese war, Taiwan was ceded to Japan under the Treaty of Shimonoseki in 1895.

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Tanzania
Coordinates: 6°18′25″S 34°51′14″E / 6.307°S 34.854°E / -6.307; 34.854 Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( /ˌtænzəˈniːə/ Swahili: Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern border lies on the Indian Ocean.
Tanzania is a state composed of 26 regions (mikoa), including those of the semi-autonomous region of Zanzibar. The head of state is President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, elected in 2005. Since 1996, the official capital of Tanzania has been Dodoma, where Parliament and some government offices are located. Between independence and 1996, the main coastal city of Dar es Salaam served as the country's political capital. Today, Dar es Salaam remains the principal commercial city of Tanzania and the de facto seat of most government institutions. It is the major seaport for the country and its landlocked neighbours.

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Tapti River
The Tapi River (Hindi ताप्ती, Marathi तापी, Gujarati: તાપ્તી) ancient original name Tapi River (Sanskrit: तापी), is a river in central India. It is one of the major rivers of peninsular India with a length of around 724 kilometres (450 mi). It is one of only three rivers in peninsular India that run from east to west - the others being the Narmada River and the Mahi River. The river rises in the eastern Satpura Range of southern Madhya Pradesh state, and flows westward, draining Madhya Pradesh's Nimar region, Maharashtra's Kandesh and east Vidarbha regions in the northwest corner of the Deccan Plateau and south Gujarat, before emptying into the Gulf of Cambay of the Arabian Sea, in the Surat District of Gujarat. The river, along with the northern parallel Narmada river, form the boundaries between North and South India. The Western Ghats or Sahyadri range starts south of the Tapti River near the border of Gujarat and Maharashtra. The Tapti (Tapi) River empties into the Gulf of Khambhat near the city of Surat in Gujarat.

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Tasman Sea
The Tasman Sea is the large body of water between Australia and New Zealand, approximately 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) across. It extends 2,800 km (approx.) from north to south. It is a south-western segment of the South Pacific Ocean. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman, the first recorded European to encounter New Zealand and Tasmania. The British explorer Captain James Cook later extensively navigated the Tasman Sea in the 1770s as part of his first voyage of exploration.
The Tasman Sea is commonly referred to in both Australia and New Zealand as The Ditch; for example, crossing the ditch means going to Australia from New Zealand or vice versa. In Māori, the Tasman Sea is called Te Tai-o-Rehua.
The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Tasman Sea as follows:
On the North. The parallel of 30°S from the Australian coast Eastward as far as a line joining the East extremities of Elizabeth Reef and South East Rock (31°47′S 159°18′E / 31.783°S 159.3°E / -31.783; 159.3) then to the Southward along this line to the South East Rock.

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Thailand
Thailand ( /ˈtaɪlænd/ TY-land or /ˈtaɪlənd/;Thai: ประเทศไทย, RTGS: Prathet Thai), officially the Kingdom of Thailand (Thai: ราชอาณาจักรไทย, RTGS: Ratcha Anachak Thai; IPA: [râːt.tɕʰā ʔāːnāːtɕàk tʰāj] ( listen)), formerly known as Siam (Thai: สยาม; RTGS: Sayam), is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and the southern extremity of Burma. Its maritime boundaries include Vietnam in the Gulf of Thailand to the southeast, and Indonesia and India in the Andaman Sea to the southwest.
The country is a constitutional monarchy, headed by King Rama IX, the ninth king of the House of Chakri, who, having reigned since 1946, is the world's longest-serving head of state and the longest-reigning monarch in Thai history. The king of Thailand is titled Head of State, Head of the Armed Forces, the Upholder of the Buddhist religion, and the Defender of all Faiths.

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Thracian Sea
The Thracian Sea (Greek: Θρακικό Πέλαγος, Thrakiko Pelagos; Turkish: Trakya Denizi) is a sea that is part of the Aegean Sea and forms the northernmost point of the sea. Regions surrounding the sea are Macedonia and Thrace as well as northwestern Turkey. The entire stretch of the sea lies north of the 40th parallel. The length from east to west is from 23°E to about 25.8°E or from the Strymonian Gulf east to the northernmost part of the Gallipoli peninsula and the width from north to south is about 40.25°N to 41°N or from the Dardanelles north to the boundary between the Xanthi and the Rhodope prefectures. Islands includes Thasos and Samothrace in Greece and Gökçeada (Imvros in Greek) and Bozcaada (Tenedos in Greek) in Turkey. The bays and gulfs includes the Ierissian Gulf to the southwest, the Strymonian Gulf where the Strymon River empties, the Kavala Gulf and the Saros Gulf in Turkey. Rivers emptying into this portion of the gulf include the Nestos and the Evros/Meriç. The famous thermal springs are Loutra Eleftheron in Kavala.

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Tigris
The Tigris River (/ˈtaɪɡrɪs/; Arabic: دجله) is the eastern member of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of southeastern Turkey through Iraq.
The Tigris is 1,850 km long, rising in the Taurus Mountains of eastern Turkey about 25 km southeast of the city of Elazig and about 30 km from the headwaters of the Euphrates. The river then flows for 400 km through Turkish territory before becoming the border between Syria and Turkey. This stretch of 44 km is the only part of the river that is located in Syria. The remaining 1,418 km are entirely within the Iraqi borders.
The Tigris unites with the Euphrates near Basra, and from this junction to the Persian Gulf the mass of moving water is known as the Shatt-al-Arab. According to Pliny and other ancient historians, the Euphrates originally had its outlet into the sea separate from that of the Tigris.
Baghdad, the capital of Iraq, stands on the banks of the Tigris. The port city of Basra straddles the Shatt al-Arab. In ancient times, many of the great cities of Mesopotamia stood on or near the Tigris, drawing water from it to irrigate the civilization of the Sumerians. Notable Tigris-side cities included Nineveh, Ctesiphon, and Seleucia, while the city of Lagash was irrigated by the Tigris via a canal dug around 2400 BC.

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Tyrrhenian Sea
The Tyrrhenian Sea (Corsican: Mari Tirrenu, French: Mer Tyrrhénienne, Italian: Mare Tirreno, Neapolitan: Mar Tirreno, Sardinian: Mare Tirrenu, Sicilian: Mari Tirrenu, Latin: Mare Tyrrhenum) is part of the Mediterranean Sea off the western coast of Italy.
The sea is bounded by Corsica and Sardinia (to the west), Tuscany, Lazio, Campania, Basilicata and Calabria (to the east) and Sicily (to the south).
The maximum depth of the sea is 3,785 metres (12,418 ft).
The Tyrrhenian Sea is situated near where the African and European Plates meet; therefore mountain chains and active volcanoes such as Mount Marsili are found in its depths. The eight Aeolian Islands and Ustica are located in the southern part of the sea, north of Sicily.
The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Tyrrhenian Sea as follows:
There are four exits from the Tyrrhenian Sea (north to south):
The Tyrrhenian Sea is divided into two basins (or plains), the Vavilov plain and the Marsili plain. They are separated by the undersea ridge known as the Issel Bridge, after Arturo Issel.^{[dead link]}

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United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates ⁱ/juːˌnaɪtɨd ˌærəb ˈɛmɪrɨts/ (Arabic: دولة الإمارات العربية المتحدة‎, Al Imārāt al ‘Arabīyah al Muttaḥidah), sometimes simply called the Emirates or the UAE, is a country situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman to the east and Saudi Arabia to the south, as well as sharing sea borders with Qatar to the west and Iran to the north.
The UAE is a federation of seven emirates (equivalent to principalities), each governed by a hereditary emir, with a single national president. The constituent emirates are Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah, and Umm al-Quwain. The capital is Abu Dhabi, which is also the state's center of political, industrial, and cultural activities.
Prior to independence in 1971, the UAE was known as the Trucial States or Trucial Oman, in reference to a 19th-century truce between the local sheikhs, hereditary rulers of the territories, and the United Kingdom. The term Pirate Coast was also used by some to refer to the emirates from the 18th to the early 20th century, owing to the preponderance of pirates operating from Emirati ports.

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United States
The United States of America (commonly abbreviated to the United States, the U.S., the USA, America, and the States) is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its forty-eight contiguous states and Washington, D.C., the capital district, lie between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. The state of Alaska is in the northwest of the continent, with Canada to the east and Russia to the west, across the Bering Strait. The state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific. The country also possesses several territories in the Pacific and Caribbean.
At 3.79 million square miles (9.83 million km²) and with over 312 million people, the United States is the third or fourth largest country by total area, and the third largest by both land area and population. It is one of the world's most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many countries. The U.S. economy is the world's largest national economy, with an estimated 2011 GDP of $15.1 trillion (22% of nominal global GDP and over 19% of global GDP at purchasing-power parity). Per capita income is the world's sixth-highest.

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Vaigai River
The Vaigai is a river in Madurai, Tamil Nadu state of southern India. It originates in the Periyar Plateau of the Western Ghats range, and flows northeast through the Kambam Valley, which lies between the Palni Hills to the north and the Varushanad Hills to the south. The Vattaparai Falls are located on this river. As it rounds the eastern corner of the Varushanad Hills, the river turns southeast, running through the region of Pandya Nadu. Madurai, the largest city in the Pandya Nadu region and its ancient capital, lies on the Vaigai. The river empties into the Palk Strait in Ramanathapuram District.
The Vaigai is 258 kilometres (160 mi) long, with a drainage basin 7,031 square kilometres (2,715 sq mi) large.
The following story is told about the birth of the river Vaigai. Meenakshi, the daughter of a Pandyan king, was an incarnation of Parvati. From a very young age, she made up her mind to marry Lord Shiva and none else. Her family was initially against this but eventually consented to her wish and arranged the wedding. Sundareswara (Siva), being an ascetic, came to the wedding without any family or relatives accompanying him. Disappointed at this, the Pandyan king angrily showed Siva the huge amount of food prepared for the bridegroom's relatives. Siva pointed to a friend he had brought with him saying 'He will consume all the food that you've made'. This friend was a Rakshasa named Kundodhara. After Kundodhara finished all the food that was prepared, He became very thirsty and started asking for water. All the wells and canals in Madurai were not sufficient to quench his thirst. Then, Siva asked Kundodhara to put his hand out and opened a small part of his hair lock and Ganga began to flow into his hand. After quenching his thirst, The rest of the waters began flowing in Madurai as the Vaigai river. Vaigai means 'put your hand out' in Tamil.

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Visakhapatnam
Visakhapatnam ( pronunciation (help·info)) (also known as Vizag) is a port city on the southeast coast of India. With a population of 1,435,099, it is the second-largest city in the state of Andhra Pradesh (after Hyderabad) and the third-largest city on the east coast (after Chennai and Kolkata). Visakhapatnam is located 625 kilometres (388 mi) east of the state capital, Hyderabad. The city is home to several state-owned heavy industries and a steel plant; it is one of India's largest seaports and has the country's oldest shipyard. Visakhapatnam has the only natural harbour on the east coast of India.
The city was named after Visakha, the Hindu god of valor. It is nestled among the hills of the Eastern Ghats and faces the Bay of Bengal on the east. Visakhapatnam is the administrative headquarters of Visakhapatnam district and headquarters of the Eastern Naval Command of the Indian Navy. Visakhapatnam has a nickname The City of Destiny and, more recently, the Goa of the East Coast. Like its west-coast counterpart it offers attractive beaches, laterite hillocks and a pleasing landscape. It is also a focus of urban and tourist development.

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Visayan Sea
The Visayan Sea is a sea in the Philippines, surrounded by the islands of the Visayas, Eastern Visayas and Western Visayas located to the east and west, while the Central Visayas is located to the south. It is bounded by the islands Masbate to the north, Leyte to the east, Cebu and Negros to the south and Panay to the west.
The sea is connected to the Sibuyan Sea to the northwest via the Jintotolo Channel, the Samar Sea to the northeast, the Camotes Sea to the southeast, the Bohol Sea to the south via the Tañon Strait and the Sulu Sea via the Guimaras Strait and Panay Gulf. The largest island within this sea is Bantayan Island.
Coordinates: 11°30′N 123°40′E / 11.5°N 123.667°E / 11.5; 123.667

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Wandel Sea
The Wandel Sea (also known as McKinley Sea) is a body of water in the Arctic Ocean, stretching from northeast of Greenland to Svalbard. This arctic sea is located at 82° north longitude and 21° west latitude. Seas farther north and northwest of the Wandel Sea are frozen year-round. The Wandel Sea stretches as far west as Cape Morris Jesup. Further west is the Lincoln Sea. In the south, it stretches to Nordostrundingen. The Wandel Sea connects to the Greenland Sea in the south through the Fram Strait.
Coordinates: 82°15′N 17°00′W / 82.25°N 17°W / 82.25; -17

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Weddell Sea
The Weddell Sea is part of the Southern Ocean and contains the Weddell Gyre. Its land boundaries are defined by the bay formed from the coasts of Coats Land and the Antarctic Peninsula. The easternmost point is Cape Norvegia at Princess Martha Coast, Queen Maud Land. To the east of Cape Norvegia is the King Haakon VII Sea. Much of the southern part of the sea, up to Elephant Island, is permanent ice, the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf. The sea is contained within the two overlapping Antarctic territorial claims of Argentina, (Argentine Antarctica) and Britain (British Antarctic Territory), and also resides partially within the territorial claim of Chile (Antarctic Chilean Territory). At its widest the sea is around 2,000 km across, in area it is around 2.8 million km².
In his 1950 book The White Continent, historian Thomas R. Henry writes, "The Weddell Sea is, according to the testimony of all who have sailed through its berg-filled waters, the most treacherous and dismal region on earth. The Ross Sea is the relatively peaceful, predictable, and safe." He continues on for an entire chapter, relating myths of the green-haired merman sighted in the sea's icy waters, the inability of crews to navigate a path to the coast until 1949, and treacherous "flash freezes" that left ships, such as Ernest Shackleton's Endurance, at the mercy of the ice floes.

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White Sea
The White Sea (Russian: Бе́лое мо́ре) is a southern inlet of the Barents Sea located on the northwest coast of Russia. It is surrounded by Karelia to the west, the Kola Peninsula to the north, and the Kanin Peninsula to the northeast. The whole of the White Sea is under Russian sovereignty and considered to be part of the internal waters of Russia. Administratively, it is divided between Arkhangelsk and Murmansk Oblasts and the Republic of Karelia.
The major port of Arkhangelsk is located on the White Sea. For much of Russia's history this was Russia's main centre of international maritime trade, conducted by the so-called Pomors ("seaside settlers") from Kholmogory. In the modern era it became an important Soviet naval and submarine base. The White Sea-Baltic Canal connects the White Sea with the Baltic Sea.
The White Sea is one of four seas named in English after common colour terms — the others being the Black Sea, the Red Sea and the Yellow Sea.
The International Hydrographic Organization defines the northern limit of the White Sea as "A line joining Svyatoi Nos (Murmansk Coast, 39°47'E) and Cape Kanin".

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Yangon
Yangon (Burmese: ရန်ကုန်; MLCTS: rankun mrui, pronounced: [jàɴɡòʊɴ mjo̰]; also known as Rangoon, literally: "End of Strife") is a former capital of Burma (Myanmar) and the capital of Yangon Region. Although the military government has officially relocated the capital to Naypyidaw since March 2006, Yangon, with a population of over four million, continues to be the country's largest city and the most important commercial centre.
Yangon's infrastructure is undeveloped compared to those of other major cities in Southeast Asia. Yangon has the largest number of colonial buildings in Southeast Asia today. While many high-rise residential and commercial buildings have been constructed or renovated throughout downtown and Greater Yangon in the past two decades, most satellite towns that ring the city continue to be deeply impoverished.
Yangon (ရန်ကုန်) is a combination of the two words yan (ရန်) and koun (ကုန်), which mean "enemies" and "run out of" respectively. It is also translated as "End of Strife". "Rangoon" most likely comes from the British imitation of the pronunciation of "Yangon" in the Rakhine dialect (Arakanese) of Burmese, which is [rɔ̀ɴɡʊ́ɴ].

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Yellow Sea
Coordinates: 35°0′N 123°0′E / 35°N 123°E / 35; 123
The Yellow Sea is the name given to the northern part of the East China Sea, which is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean. It is located between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula. Its name comes from the sand particles from Gobi Desert sand storms that turn the surface of the water golden yellow.
The innermost bay of the Yellow Sea is called the Bohai Sea (previously Pechihli Bay or Chihli Bay). Into it flow both the Yellow River (through Shandong province and its capital Jinan) and Hai He (through Beijing and Tianjin). Deposits of sand and silt from those rivers contribute to the sea color.
The Yellow Sea is one of four seas named in English after common color terms — the others being the Black Sea, the Red Sea and the White Sea.
The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Yellow Sea (which it also names as "Hwang Hai") as follows:
On the South. The parallel of 33°17' North from Saisyu To (Quelpart) [now known as Jeju-do] to the mainland [of China].

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Yemen
The Republic of Yemen (Arabic: الجمهورية اليمنية‎ al-Jumhūrīyah al-Yamanīyah), commonly known as Yemen ⁱ/ˈjɛmən/ (Arabic: اليَمَن‎ al-Yaman), is a country located in Western Asia, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east. Yemen is considered one of the poorest countries in the Arab world. Its capital and largest city is Sana'a. Yemen's territory includes over 200 islands, the largest of which is Socotra, about 415 km (258 mi) to the south of mainland Yemen, off the coast of Somalia. It is the only state in the Arabian Peninsula to have a purely republican form of government. Approximately 53% of Yemenis are Sunnis, while 45% are Zaydi Shias.
One etymology derives Yemen from yamin, meaning "on the right side", as the south is on the right when facing the sunrise. Another derives Yemen from yumn, meaning "felicity", as the region is fertile. The Romans called it Arabia Felix (Happy Arabia) as opposed to Arabia Deserta (Deserted Arabia), which was their term for northern Arabia.

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Zambezi
The Zambezi (also spelled Zambeze and Zambesi) is the fourth-longest river in Africa, and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. The area of its basin is 1,390,000 square kilometres (540,000 sq mi), slightly less than half that of the Nile. The 3,540-kilometre-long river (2,200 mi) has its source in Zambia and flows through Angola, along the borders of Namibia, Botswana, Zambia again, and Zimbabwe, to Mozambique, where it empties into the Indian Ocean.
The Zambezi's most well-known feature is the Victoria Falls. Other notable falls include the Chavuma Falls at the border between Zambia and Angola, and Ngonye Falls, near Sioma in Western Zambia.
There are two main sources of hydroelectric power on the river. These are the Kariba Dam, which provides power to Zambia and Zimbabwe and the Cahora Bassa Dam in Mozambique which provides power to both Mozambique and South Africa. There is also a smaller power station at Victoria Falls.
The river rises in a black marshy dambo in north-western Zambia, in undulating miombo woodland, quite dense in parts, about 1,524 m (4,900 ft) above sea level. Eastward of the source, the watershed between the Congo and Zambezi basins is a well-marked belt of high ground, falling abruptly north and south, and running nearly east-west. This distinctly cuts off the basin of the Lualaba (the main branch of the upper Congo) from that of the Zambezi. In the neighborhood of the source the watershed is not as clearly defined, but the two river systems do not connect.

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Zanzibar
Zanzibar ( /ˈzænzɨbɑr/; from Arabic: زنجبار‎ Zanjibār, from Persian: زنگبار‎ Zangibār "Coast of Blacks"; zangi [black-skinned] + bār [coast]) is a semi-autonomous part of Tanzania, in East Africa. It comprises the Zanzibar Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, 25–50 kilometres (16–31 mi) off the coast of the mainland, and consists of numerous small islands and two large ones: Unguja (the main island, informally referred to as Zanzibar), and Pemba. Other nearby island countries and territories include Comoros and Mayotte to the south, Mauritius and Réunion to the far southeast, and the Seychelles Islands about 1,500 km to the east. Arab and Portuguese traders visited the region in early times, and it was controlled by Omanis in the 18th and 19th centuries. Britain established a protectorate (1890) that became an independent sultanate in December 1963 and a republic after an uprising in January 1964. In April 1964 it joined Tanganyika to form a new republic that was renamed Tanzania in October 1964. The capital of Zanzibar, located on the island of Unguja, is Zanzibar City, and its historic centre, known as Stone Town, is a World Heritage Site.

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Zhob River
Zhob River (Pashto: ژوب سيند) is located in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The name is Iranic in its origin and etymologically identical to those of the Little Zab and Great Zab rivers in Iraq and the Pamirs. In Pashto language, Zhob means "oozing water". The total length of Zhob river is 410 km, and it flows in a north eastern course.
The Zhob River originates in the Kan Metarzai range (Tsari Mehtarazai Pass). It passes about 4 km away from Zhob city. The Zhob River is a tributary of the Gomal River, which it joins near Khajuri Kach. The Gomal River then joins the Indus River 20 miles south of Dera Ismail Khan.
Coordinates: 32°04′N 69°51′E / 32.067°N 69.85°E / 32.067; 69.85

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Eudoxus of Cyzicus
Eudoxus of Cyzicus (fl. c. 130 BC) (Greek: Ευδοξος) was a Greek navigator who explored the Arabian Sea for Ptolemy VIII, king of the Hellenistic Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt.
According to Poseidonius, later reported in Strabo's Geography, the monsoon wind system of the Indian Ocean was first sailed by Eudoxus of Cyzicus in 118 or 116 BC. Poseidonius said a shipwrecked sailor from India had been rescued in the Red Sea and taken to Ptolemy VIII in Alexandria. The unnamed Indian offered to guide Greek navigators to India. Ptolemy appointed Eudoxus of Cyzicus, who made two voyages from Egypt to India. The first, in 118 BC, was guided by the Indian sailor. After Eudoxus returned with a cargo of aromatics and precious stones a second voyage was undertaken in 116 BC. Eudoxus navigated the second voyage, sailing without a guide.
Strabo, whose Geography is the main surviving source of the story, was skeptical about its truth. Modern scholarship tends to consider it relatively credible. During the 2nd century BC Greek and Indian ships met to trade at Arabian ports such as Aden (called Eudaemon by the Greeks). Attempts to sail beyond Aden were rare, discouraged, and involved a long and laborious coast-hugging journey. Navigators had long been aware of the monsoon winds. Indian ships used them to sail to Arabia, but no Greek ship had yet done so. For the Greeks to acquire the expertise of an Indian pilot meant the chance to bypass the Arabian ports and establish direct commercial links with India. Whether or not the story told by Poseidonius of a shipwrecked Indian pilot teaching Eudoxus about the monsoon winds is true, Greek ships were in fact soon using the monsoon winds to sail to India. By 50 BC there was a marked increase in the number of Greek and Roman ships sailing the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean.

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Hippalus
Hippalus (Ancient Greek: Ἵππαλος) was a Greek navigator and merchant who probably lived in the 1st century BCE. He is sometimes conjectured to have been the captain of the Greek explorer Eudoxus of Cyzicus' ship.
The writer of the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea credited Hippalus with discovering the direct route from the Red Sea to India over the Indian Ocean by plotting the scheme of the sea and the correct location of the trade ports along the Indian coast. Pliny the Elder claimed that Hippalus discovered not the route but the monsoon wind also called Hippalus (the south-west monsoon wind). Most historians have tried to reconcile the reports by stating that knowledge of the monsoon winds was necessary to use the direct route, but the historian André Tchernia explains that Plinius' connection between the wind and the navigator was based on common pronunciation: in the Hellenistic Era the name of the wind was written as Hypalus, only in Roman times the spelling Hippalus came in use. The wind had already been known in Hellenistic times and had before been used by Himyarite (Southern Arabian Semites) and Indian sailors to cross the Indian Ocean.

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Phoenicia
Phoenicia (UK /fɨˈnɪʃə/, US /fəˈniːʃə/; from the Greek: Φοινίκη: Phoiníkē), was an ancient Semitic Canaanite civilization situated on the western, coastal part of the Fertile Crescent. The major Phoenician cities were on the coastline of the Mediterranean. It was an enterprising maritime trading culture that spread across the Mediterranean from 1550 BC to 300 BC. The Phoenicians used the galley, a man-powered sailing vessel, and are credited with the invention of the bireme. They were famed in Classical Greece and Rome as 'traders in purple', referring to their monopoly on the precious purple dye of the Murex snail, used, among other things, for royal clothing, and for their spread of the alphabet (or abjad), upon which all major modern phonetic alphabets are derived.
In the Amarna tablets of the 14th century BC, people from the region called themselves Kenaani or Kinaani (Canaanites), although these letters predate the invasion of the Sea Peoples by over a century. Much later, in the 6th century BC, Hecataeus of Miletus writes that Phoenicia was formerly called χνα, a name Philo of Byblos later adopted into his mythology as his eponym for the Phoenicians: "Khna who was afterwards called Phoinix". Egyptian seafaring expeditions had already been made to Byblos to bring back "cedars of Lebanon" as early as the third millennium BC.

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Somali Civil War
The Somali Civil War is an ongoing civil war taking place in Somalia. It began in 1991, when a coalition of clan-based armed opposition groups ousted the nation's long-standing military government.
Various factions began competing for influence in the power vacuum that followed, which precipitated an aborted UN peacekeeping attempt in the mid-1990s. A period of decentralization ensued, characterized by a return to customary and religious law in many areas as well as the establishment of autonomous regional governments in the northern part of the country. The early 2000s saw the creation of fledgling interim federal administrations, culminating in the establishment of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) in 2004. In 2006, the TFG, assisted by Ethiopian troops, assumed control of most of the nation's southern conflict zones from the newly formed Islamic Courts Union (ICU). The ICU subsequently splintered into more radical groups, notably Al-Shabaab, which have since been fighting the Transitional Federal Government and its AMISOM allies for control of the region. In 2011, a coordinated military operation between the Somali military and multinational forces began, which is believed to represent one of the final stages in the war's Islamist insurgency.

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Tamil people
Tamil people (Tamil: தமிழர், tamiḻar ^?), are an ethnic group native to Tamil Nadu, India and the north-eastern region of Sri Lanka. Historic and post 15th century emigrant communities are also found across the world, notably Malaysia, Singapore, Mauritius, South Africa, Australia, Canada, Réunion (France) and the UK. Since the early BCE, urbanization and mercantile activity along the western and eastern coast of what is today Kerala and Tamil Nadu led to the development of four large Tamil political states (Chera, Chola, Pandya and Pallavas) and a number of small petty states warring amongst themselves for dominance. Between the 3rd century BCE and the 3rd century CE Tamil people also produced native literature that came to be called Sangam literature. In centuries BCE religions such as Jainism, Buddhism and Vedic religion was spread amongst the populace.
Tamils were noted for their military, religious and mercantile activities beyond their native borders. Pandyas and Cholas were historically active in Sri Lanka. Pallava traders and religious leaders travelled to South East Asia and played an important role in the cultural Indianisation of the region. Locally developed scripts such as Grantha and Pallava script induced the development of many native scripts such as Khmer, Javanese and Thai.

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Vasco da Gama
Vasco da Gama, 1st Count of Vidigueira (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈvaʃku ðɐ ˈɣɐmɐ]) (c. 1460 or 1469 – 24 December 1524) was a Portuguese explorer, one of the most successful in the Age of Discovery and the commander of the first ships to sail directly from Europe to India. For a short time in 1524 he was the Governor of Portuguese India, under the title of Viceroy.
Vasco da Gama was born in either 1460 or 1469 in Sines, on the southwest coast of Portugal, probably in a house near the church of Nossa Senhora das Salas. Sines, one of the few seaports on the Alentejo coast, consisted of little more than a cluster of whitewashed, red-tiled cottages, tenanted chiefly by fisherfolk.
Vasco da Gama's father was Estêvão da Gama, who had served in the 1460s as a knight of the household of Infante Ferdinand, Duke of Viseu and went on to rise in the ranks of the military Order of Santiago. Estêvão da Gama was appointed alcaide-mór (civil governor) of Sines in the 1460s, a post he held until 1478, and continued as a receiver of taxes and holder of the Order's commendas in the region.

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Zheng He
Zheng He (1371–1433; simplified Chinese: 郑和; traditional Chinese: 鄭和; pinyin: Zhèng Hé), also known as Ma Sanbao (simplified Chinese: 马三宝; traditional Chinese: 馬三寶) and Hajji Mahmud Shamsuddin (Arabic: حاجي محمود شمس الدين‎) was a Hui-Chinese mariner, explorer, diplomat and fleet admiral, who commanded voyages to Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, East Africa, and the Horn of Africa collectively referred to as the Voyages of Zheng He or Voyages of Cheng Ho from 1405 to 1433.
Zheng, born as Ma He (馬和 / 马和), was the second son of a Muslim family which also had four daughters, from Kunyang, present day Jinning, just south of Kunming near the southwest corner of Lake Dian in Yunnan.
He was the great great great grandson of Sayyid Ajjal Shams al-Din Omar, a Persian who served in the administration of the Mongolian Empire and was appointed governor of Yunnan during the early Yuan Dynasty. Both his grandfather and great-grandfather carried the title of Hajji, which indicates they had made the pilgrimage to Mecca. His great-grandfather was named Bayan and may have been a member of a Mongol garrison in Yunnan.

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Kandisa - Indian Ocean (Full song)

"Kandisa" full song with lyrics and band information....

published: 13 Dec 2008

author: dhaval4friends

Bandeh - Black Friday ~~~ Indian Ocean

Please leave comments. A compilation of riots Videos + pics + MP3s...

published: 21 May 2008

author: friend2love4ever

Indian Ocean - Desert Rain

A song excerpt from the 114-minute non fiction feature film "Leaving Home - the Life & Mus...

published: 18 Nov 2009

author: jjjebbit

Maaya - Mohit Chauhan With INdian Ocean Band

Fantastic Collaboration of Indian Ocean Music and Mohit Chauhan Voice... Must Listen And F...

published: 01 Nov 2011

author: Harpreet Singh

Indian Ocean : Maa Rewa

Maa Rewa from the band INDIAN OCEAN...its a folklore about the River Rewa(Narmada). The vi...

published: 27 Sep 2007

author: abynov

Indian Ocean - Kandisa - MTV Unplugged Season 03

Indian fusion Band Indian Ocean...

published: 05 Aug 2012

author: Abhie Zibran

Bondhu - Indian Ocean

A fantastic fusion by a very promising band......

published: 07 Apr 2011

author: munajjkhan

INDIAN OCEAN - Bula Raha Hai [OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO] Feat. Rajat Barmecha

Video depicts the journey of a boy in search of self. During his journey he experiences th...

published: 24 Aug 2012

author: Tangelo India

Aahatein - Agnee (Feat. Rahul Ram - Indian Ocean & Pritam) - Splitsvilla Theme Song

Agnee performs Aahatein (Splitsvilla theme song) with Rahul Ram from Indian Ocean and Prit...

published: 26 May 2011

author: mtvindia

Bandeh by Indian Ocean

Movie Sound Track of Black Friday...

published: 17 May 2007

author: rushmour

Indian Ocean Tsunami - Part 1

Video and news clips from the December 26th Indian Ocean Tsunami...

published: 18 Dec 2007

author: GeologistBob

Jhini re Jhini - Indian Ocean

A great song from the India's one of the best Fusion Music Bands... Enjoy the VIDEO...

published: 02 Sep 2008

author: Manpal Setia

Hille re - Kandisa (Album) - Indian Ocean

Lyrics :- Hille le Hille le jhakjhor duniya janta ki chale paltaniya deh gae rajwade deh g...

published: 19 May 2011

author: deepparikh

Kandisa (Indian Ocean - Inspiring Video)

AWESOME SONG...

published: 20 Apr 2008

author: sudeep jain

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photo: Creative Commons / Gage Skidmore

Actress Angelina Jolie on the Salt panel at the 2010 San Diego Comic Con in San Diego, California.

Angelina Jolie likes being sexy

m&c;

18 Jan 2013

Angelina Jolie likes being a sex symbol. The Oscar-winning actress is regarded as one of the world's most beautiful women and she enjoys being told she looks good as it's important to feel sexy ... ....(size: 1.0Kb)

photo: AP / Sergei Chuzavkov

Ukraine's Prime Minister and presidential candidate Yulia Tymoshenko speaks to the media in Kiev, Ukraine, Sunday, Feb. 7, 2010.

Ukraine Government Plans to Charge Ex-Premier With Murder

The New York Times

19 Jan 2013

MOSCOW — The government of President Viktor F. Yanukovich of Ukraine said Friday that it planned to bring murder charges against his political rival, the jailed former prime minister, Yulia V. Tymoshenko, in connection with the 1996 assassination of a member of Parliament. Connect With Us on Twitter. Follow @nytimesworld for international breaking news and headlines. Twitter List. Reporters and Editors ... He said that Ms ... Ms ... Ms ...   ... ....(size: 8.0Kb)

photo: US Army / Staff Sgt. Michael R. Noggle

File - Senegalese and Malian soldiers train with U.S. special forces in Mali during a military training engagement, May 11, 2010 in Bamako, Mali as part of Exercise Flintlock 10.

Al-Qaeda in the Heart of Africa

Antiwar

18 Jan 2013

“For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction” is Newton’s third law of physics. Its counterpart in geopolitics is “blowback,” when military action in one sphere produces an unintended and undesirable consequence in another. September 11, 2001, was blowback. George H.W. Bush had sent an army of half a million to hurl Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait, a triumph ... bases in Saudi Arabia ... Patrick J....(size: 5.8Kb)

photo: AP / SITE Intel Group

This image from video provided by the SITE Intel Group made available Thursday Jan. 17, 2013, purports to show militant militia leader Moktar Belmoktar.

Mokhtar Belmokhtar: Algeria's Link To Al Qaeda

Skynews

18 Jan 2013

He's known as Mr Marlboro because of his cigarette smuggling. The French intelligence service calls him "The Uncatchable".. The truth is Mokhtar Belmokhtar and his fellow North African Jihadists are rapidly emerging as Europe's most potent strategic threat.. Born in central Algeria in 1972 he grew obsessed with Jihadi ideology in his teens. At 19 he volunteered to fight alongside the mujahedeen in Afghanistan . ... "He is very cold ... ....(size: 8.4Kb)

photo: AP / BP

In this undated image released Wednesday Jan. 16, 2013, by BP petroleum company, showing the Amenas natural gas field in the eastern central region of Algeria, where Islamist militants raided and took hostages Wednesday Jan. 16, 2013.

Siege awakens ghosts of Algeria's 'dirty war'

BBC News

18 Jan 2013

The twin crises unfolding either side of the Sahara Desert in Mali and Algeria are closely interlinked - the Islamist groups in Mali have their roots in Algeria, while the kidnappers who have just struck in Algeria say they are acting in revenge for France's intervention against their allies to the south ... Continue reading the main story “Start Quote ... Natural target ... Continue reading the main story Mokhtar Belmokhtar ... ....(size: 6.7Kb)

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Savoring the bounty of South Africa's Western Cape

The News Tribune

20 Jan 2013

Five years later, I came as a widow on a solo journey to toss my husband’s ashes into the Indian Ocean off the beach town he loved ... As an added bonus, it’s also the point where the Atlantic and the Indian oceans meet ... And, yes, I thought about the last time I had stepped into the Indian Ocean, to say goodbye to a man who belonged to this beautiful land....(size: 7.8Kb)

Algerian TV broadcast amateur hostage video

The Daily Telegraph

20 Jan 2013

Algerian television broadcast on Saturday what it said was amateur video filmed by one of the freed hostages in the standoff with Islamic extremists at the Ain Amenas gas plant in the Sahara desert. 560. 315. TelegraphPlayer_9813949. 10.55AM GMT 20 Jan 2013. Algeria hostage crisis. live ... The images of the bodies were blurred out by Ennahar TV ... Related Articles. Algeria hostage crisis ... Africa and Indian Ocean » ... Africa and Indian Ocean ... ....(size: 8.5Kb)

Fight for places excites Ghana coach

New Straits/Business Times

20 Jan 2013

PORT ELIZABETH, South Africa ...   “If I tell you that I know my starting team against DR Congo, I would be telling a lie because the competition for places in the first team has been intense,” Appiah told a media briefing in this Indian Ocean city. . “There is competition everywhere in the team and no player can afford to be complacent as they all have to fight for places ... ....(size: 2.1Kb)

30 years of the National Sports Council

Nation

20 Jan 2013

The National Sports Council (NSC) came into existence under the National Sports Council Act of May 26, 1982.   ... ... ... When he addressed the newly appointed board members on October 20, 2011, Minister Meriton described the board as the starting block for the third cycle of the countrys sports development programme, after it successfully hosted the 8th Indian Ocean Island Games in July-August 2011 ... G. G. . ....(size: 2.7Kb)

Last Ocean Documentary to Premiere at McMurdo Station

Scoop

20 Jan 2013

Last Ocean Documentary to Premiere at McMurdo Station Antarctica ... Attempts to hold an international premiere of the contentious film The Last Ocean at McMurdo Station are being challenged by an Antarctic storm ... I tried to leave last night to get to McMurdo ahead of the storm, but the storm won!” Ainley remarked in an email to director and producer of The Last Ocean, Peter Young....(size: 3.1Kb)

New accord opens airline code-sharing and tourism avenues

Nation

20 Jan 2013

Seychelles-Australia. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Seychelles and Australia opens the way for code-sharing between airlines linking the two countries to promote tourism and business ...  . Also present was the Australian high commissioner to Seychelles, Sandra Vegting, who is based in Mauritius. Like Mr Marles, she was here for the just ended Indian Ocean Commission meeting ... ... . ....(size: 3.2Kb)

For the love of abalone

New Straits/Business Times

20 Jan 2013

 DISCOVERY Channel (Astro Channel 551) jumps into some of the planet’s most hostile waters and follows abalone divers in the hunt for green and black abalone from the Australian ocean floor ... How do you extract the abalone from the ocean floor?. We extract it from the ocean floor with an abalone bar ... We dive in the remoteness of South Australia where we front onto the Great Australian Bight and the Great Southern Ocean....(size: 5.0Kb)

French solo sailor rescued by cruise in Southern Ocean

The Times of India

20 Jan 2013

A French solo sailor adrift for days in a life raft on huge Southern Ocean swells after his yacht sank was recovered Sunday by the crew of an Antarctic cruise ship that had raced to his rescue ... The Frenchman was forced to abandon ship and has been adrift in a life raft on the Southern Ocean for more than three days ... Globe round-the-world ocean race....(size: 3.0Kb)

Antarctic cruise ship steams for solo sailor rescue

The Star

20 Jan 2013

The crew of an Antarctic cruise ship steaming to the assistance of a French sailor adrift on the Southern Ocean in a life raft were preparing Sunday for a delicate rescue operation in remote seas ... Delord was forced to abandon ship and has been adrift in a life raft on the Southern Ocean for more than three days ... "A life raft is harder to see - it's a very big ocean out there," Taylor told Fairfax newspapers....(size: 2.8Kb)

Sat. S.J. boys' roundup: Fast start helps Cherokee

Philadelphia Daily News

20 Jan 2013

Brandon Stoneburg, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER. Posted. Saturday, January 19, 2013, 10.03 PM ... In other nonleague action. ... Graves penetrated and made a game-winning layup at the buzzer ... Mike Holloway (26 points) and Tyler Lunsford (21) paced five scorers in double figures for Sacred Heart, which earned a 90-76 triumph over visiting Ocean City ... Ryan Laverty dropped in 24 points for Ocean City ... Tyreic Clayton led the Indians with 14 points ... ... 0....(size: 25.4Kb)

Ocean Running Club's Winter Series

The Examiner

20 Jan 2013

Ocean Running Club's Winter Series will be missed by runners this year but will returnOcean Running Club's Winter Series will be missed by runners this year but ... Ocean Running Club's Winter Series will be missed by runners this year but will return Credit ... Ocean Running Club winter series cancelled Freehold continues (Photos)....(size: 4.5Kb)

Moon Forest may extend winning streak

The Hindu

20 Jan 2013

Moon Forest, who is in rousing form, may extend his winning streak in the J. Thomas Memorial Cup (1,000m), the feature event of the races to be held here on Monday (Jan. 21). G.NARASIMHAN MEMORIAL CUP (Div. I) (1,000m), maiden 3-y-o (Terms), 1-00 p.m. 1. Excalibur (4) Prem 55, 2. Prince Valiant (5) Kabdhar 55, 3 ... 1 ... Transonic ... 1 ... Ocean Emperor (15) M.Venkatesh 51.5, 16. Ocean Tern (9) N.Rupa 51.5, 17 ... Ocean Admiral (12) Babul 50.5 ... Ocean Tern, 2....(size: 4.1Kb)

Weather could delay sailor's rescue

Sydney Morning Herald

20 Jan 2013

Intensifying weather conditions in the Southern Ocean could derail a plan to rescue a round-the-world solo yachtsman adrift in a life raft in the Southern Ocean on Sunday night....(size: 1.2Kb)

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This article is about the water body. For the Indian fusion music band, see Indian Ocean (band).

The Indian Ocean, not including the Antarctic region.

Earth's oceans (World Ocean)
Arctic Ocean Atlantic Ocean Indian Ocean Pacific Ocean Southern Ocean

The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface.^[1] It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula (or, more generally, by southern and western Asia); on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and Australia; and on the south by the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, by Antarctica). The ocean is named after the geographic location of India.^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]

As one component of the interconnected global ocean, the Indian Ocean is delineated from the Atlantic Ocean by the 20° east meridian running south from Cape Agulhas, and from the Pacific by the meridian of 146°55' east.^[6] The northernmost extent of the Indian Ocean is approximately 30° north in the Persian Gulf. This ocean is nearly 10,000 kilometres (6,200 mi) wide at the southern tips of Africa and Australia; its area is 73,556,000 square kilometres (28,350,000 sq mi),^[7] including the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf.

The ocean's volume is estimated to be 292,131,000 cubic kilometres (70,086,000 mi³).^[8] Small islands dot the continental rims. Island nations within the ocean are Madagascar, the world's fourth largest island; Comoros; Seychelles; Maldives; Mauritius; and Sri Lanka. The archipelago of Indonesia borders the ocean on the east.

1 Geography
2 Trade
3 Marine life
4 History
5 Culture and literature
6 Bordering countries and territories
7 Major ports and harbours
8 Marginal Seas
9 See also
10 References
11 External links

Geography [link]

Bathymetric map of the Indian Ocean

The African, Indian, and Antarctic crustal plates converge in the Indian Ocean at the Rodrigues Triple Point. Their junctures are marked by branches of the mid-oceanic ridge forming an inverted Y, with the stem running south from the edge of the continental shelf near Mumbai, India. The eastern, western, and southern basins thus formed are subdivided into smaller basins by ridges.

The ocean's continental shelves are narrow, averaging 200 kilometres (125 mi) in width. An exception is found off Australia's western coast, where the shelf width exceeds 1,000 kilometres (600 mi). The average depth of the ocean is 3,890 m (12,762 ft). Its deepest point is Diamantina Deep in Diamantina Trench, at 8,047 m (26,401 ft) deep, also sometimes considered is Sunda Trench, at 7,258–7,725 m (23,812–25,344 ft) deep.^[9] North of 50° south latitude, 86% of the main basin is covered by pelagic sediments, of which more than half is globigerina ooze. The remaining 14% is layered with terrigenous sediments. Glacial outwash dominates the extreme southern latitudes.

The major choke points include Bab el Mandeb, Strait of Hormuz, the Lombok Strait, the Strait of Malacca and the Palk Strait. Seas include Gulf of Aden, Andaman Sea, Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal, Great Australian Bight, Laccadive Sea, Gulf of Mannar, Mozambique Channel, Gulf of Oman, Persian Gulf, Red Sea, and other tributary water bodies. It is artificially connected to the Mediterranean Sea via the Suez Canal, accessible via the Red Sea.

Limits [link]

The Indian Ocean is bounded by India's Lakshadweep Islands to the north.

Main article: Borders of the oceans#Indian Ocean

Climate [link]

The climate north of the equator is affected by a monsoon climate. Strong north-east winds blow from October until April; from May until October south and west winds prevail. In the Arabian Sea the violent Monsoon brings rain to the Indian subcontinent. In the southern hemisphere the winds are generally milder, but summer storms near Mauritius can be severe. When the monsoon winds change, cyclones sometimes strike the shores of the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal. The Indian Ocean is the warmest ocean in the world.

Hydrology [link]

Among the few large rivers flowing into the Indian Ocean are the Zambezi, Shatt al-Arab, Indus, Ganges, Brahmaputra, Jubba and Irrawaddy River. Currents are mainly controlled by the monsoon. Two large circular currents, one in the northern hemisphere flowing clockwise and one south of the equator moving anticlockwise, constitute the dominant flow pattern. During the winter monsoon, however, currents in the north are reversed.

Deep water circulation is controlled primarily by inflows from the Atlantic Ocean, the Red Sea, and Antarctic currents. North of 20° south latitude the minimum surface temperature is 22 °C (72 °F), exceeding 28 °C (82 °F) to the east. Southward of 40° south latitude, temperatures drop quickly.

Surface water salinity ranges from 32 to 37 parts per 1000, the highest occurring in the Arabian Sea and in a belt between southern Africa and south-western Australia. Pack ice and icebergs are found throughout the year south of about 65° south latitude. The average northern limit of icebergs is 45° south latitude.

Subsurface features [link]

As the youngest of the major oceans ^[10] it has active spreading ridges that are part of the worldwide system of mid-ocean ridges:-

The Ninety East Ridge runs north-south at meridian 90°E, dissecting the Indian Ocean into eastern and western halves.

The Chagos-Laccadive Ridge is another submerged mountain range runs approximately north-south between Lakshadweep, the Atolls of the Maldives and the Chagos Archipelago.

The Kerguelen Plateau is a small submerged continent, of volcanic origin, in the southern Indian Ocean.

The Mascarene Plateau is 2000 km long undersea plateau that lies east of Madagascar.

Trade [link]

A Dhow off the coast of Kenya

The Indian Ocean provides major sea routes connecting the Middle East, Africa, and East Asia with Europe and the Americas. It carries a particularly heavy traffic of petroleum and petroleum products from the oil fields of the Persian Gulf and Indonesia. Large reserves of hydrocarbons are being tapped in the offshore areas of Saudi Arabia, Iran, India, and Western Australia. An estimated 40% of the world's offshore oil production comes from the Indian Ocean.^[11] Beach sands rich in heavy minerals, and offshore placer deposits are actively exploited by bordering countries, particularly India, South Africa, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.

Due to the relatively high traffic of petroleum tankers, piracy off the Somali coast has been rising. This has been a threat to international shipping since the second phase of the Somali Civil War in the early 21st century.

Marine life [link]

The warmth of the Indian Ocean keeps phytoplankton production low, except along the northern fringe and in a few scattered spots elsewhere; life in the ocean is thus limited. Fishing is confined to subsistence levels, because its fish are of great and growing importance to the bordering countries for domestic consumption and export. Fishing fleets from Russia, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan also exploit the Indian Ocean, mainly for shrimp and tuna.

Endangered marine species include the dugong, seals, turtles, and whales.

Plastic pollution threatens the eastern coast of Mozambique Channel

History [link]

The economically important Silk Road (red) and spice trade routes (blue) were blocked by the Ottoman Empire in ca. 1453 with the fall of the Byzantine Empire. This spurred exploration, and a new sea route around Africa was found, triggering the Age of Discovery.

The world's earliest civilizations in Mesopotamia (beginning with Sumer), ancient Egypt, and the Indian subcontinent (beginning with the Indus Valley civilization), which began along the valleys of the Tigris-Euphrates, Nile and Indus rivers respectively, all developed around the Indian Ocean. Civilizations soon arose in Persia (beginning with Elam) and later in Southeast Asia (beginning with Funan).

During Egypt's first dynasty (c. 3000 BC), sailors were sent out onto its waters, journeying to Punt, thought to be part of present-day Somalia. Returning ships brought gold and myrrh. The earliest known maritime trade between Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley (c. 2500 BC) was conducted along the Indian Ocean. Phoenicians of the late 3rd millennium BC may have entered the area, but no settlements resulted.

The Indian Ocean is far calmer, and was thus opened to trade earlier than the Atlantic or Pacific Oceans. The powerful monsoons also meant ships could easily sail west early in the season, then wait a few months and return eastwards. This allowed Indonesian peoples to cross the Indian Ocean to settle in Madagascar.

In the 2nd or 1st century BC, Eudoxus of Cyzicus was the first Greek to cross the Indian Ocean. Hippalus is said to have discovered the direct route from Arabia to India around this time. During the 1st and 2nd centuries AD intensive trade relations developed between Roman Egypt and the Tamil kingdoms of the Cheras, Cholas and Pandyas in Southern India. Like the Indonesian peoples above, the western sailors used the monsoon to cross the ocean. The unknown author of the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea describes this route and the ports and trade goods along the coasts of Africa and India around AD 70.

From 1405 to 1433, Admiral Zheng He led large fleets of the Ming Dynasty on several voyages to the Western Ocean (Chinese name for the Indian Ocean) and reached the coastal country of East Africa (see Zheng He for reference).

British heavy cruisers Dorsetshire and Cornwall under Japanese air attack and heavily damaged on April 5, 1942

In 1497, Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama rounded the Cape of Good Hope and became the first European to sail to India and later the Far East. The European ships, armed with heavy cannon, quickly dominated trade. Portugal attempted to achieve pre-eminence by setting up forts at the important straits and ports. They dominated trade and discovery along the coasts of Africa, and Asia until the mid 17th century. Later the Portuguese were challenged by other European powers. The Dutch East India Company (1602–1798) sought control of trade with the East across the Indian Ocean. France and Britain established trade companies for the area. Spain established a major trading operation in the Philippines and the Pacific. By 1815, Britain became the principal power in the Indian Ocean.

The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 revived European interest in the East, but no nation was successful in establishing trade dominance. Since World War II the United Kingdom was forced to withdraw from the area, to be replaced by India, the USSR, and the United States. The last two tried to establish hegemony^{[citation needed]} by negotiating for naval base sites. Developing countries bordering the ocean, however, seek to have it made a "zone of peace"^{[citation needed]} so that they may use its shipping lanes freely. The United Kingdom and United States maintain a military base on Diego Garcia atoll in the middle of the Indian Ocean.

On 26 December 2004, the countries surrounding the Indian Ocean were hit by a tsunami caused by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. The waves resulted in more than 226,000 deaths and over 1 million people were left homeless.

Culture and literature [link]

The Indian Ocean is known as Ratnakara in the ancient Sanskrit literature. Ratnakara means "the maker (creator) of gems". It's also called Hind Mahasagar in Hindi and other Indian languages.

See Culture of the Indian Ocean Islands and Indian Ocean literature.

Bordering countries and territories [link]

Heading roughly clockwise, the states and territories (in italics) with a coastline on the Indian Ocean are:

Major ports and harbours [link]

Main article: List of ports and harbours of the Indian Ocean

The Port of Singapore is the busiest port in the Indian Ocean, located in Strait of Malacca where it meets the Pacific. Mumbai Port is the chief trading port in India on the coast of the Indian Ocean, often known as "The Gateway of India". A new port has been developed near Mumbai known as the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) or more popularly known as Nhava Sheva to reduce the burden on Mumbai. It is amongst world's top 10 fastest growing ports.^{[citation needed]} Mormugao Port and Panambur (New Mangalore Port) handle most of the Iron Ore export from India especially to Japan. Kochi is another major Indian port on the Arabian Sea. It is a deep natural harbour and is known as "The Queen of the Arabian Sea".^{[citation needed]} Other major South Asian ports include Colombo, Hambantota and Galle in Sri Lanka, Kolkata, Visakhapatnam, Paradip Port, Chennai, Ennore, Tuticorin, and Nagapattinam in India, and Karachi in Pakistan. Aden is a major port in Yemen and controls ships entering the Red Sea. Major African ports on the shores of the Indian Ocean include: Mombasa (Kenya), Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar (Tanzania), Durban, East London, Richard's Bay (South Africa) and Port Louis (Mauritius). Zanzibar is especially famous for its spice export. Other major ports in the Indian Ocean include Muscat (Oman), Yangon (Burma), Jakarta, Medan (Indonesia) and Perth (Australia), Dubai (UAE).

Marginal Seas [link]

Marginal Seas, Gulfs, Bays and Straits of Indian Ocean are : 1. Arabian Sea 2. Persian Gulf 3. Red Sea 4. Gulf of Oman 5. Strait of Bab-el-Mandeb connecting Arabian Sea 6. Gulf of Kutch 7. Gulf of Khambat 8. Palk Strait connecting Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal 9. Bay of Bengal 10. Andman Sea 11. Malacca Strait 12. Madagascar Strait 13. Great Australian Bight

References [link]

^ The Indian Ocean and the Superpowers. Routledge. 1986. ISBN 0-7099-4241-9, 9780709942412. http://books.google.com/?id=2pMOAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA33&dq=Indian+Ocean+20%25.
^ Harper, Douglas. "Online Etymology Dictionary". Online Etymology Dictionary. http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=indian+ocean&searchmode=none. Retrieved 18 January 2011.
^ Indo-American relations : foreign policy orientations and perspectives of P.V. Narasimha Rao and Bill Clinton By Anand Mathur; Page 138 "India occupies the central position in the Indian- Ocean region that is why the Ocean was named after India"
^ Politics of the Indian Ocean region: the balances of power By Ferenc Albert Váli; Page 25
^ Geography Of India For Civil Ser Exam By Hussain; Page 12-251; "INDIA AND THE GEO-POLITICS OF THE INDIAN OCEAN"(16-33)
^ Limits of Oceans and Seas. International Hydrographic Organization Special Publication No. 23, 1953.
^ http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/ocean/
^ Donald W. Gotthold, Julia J. Gotthold (1988). Indian Ocean: Bibliography. Clio Press. ISBN 1-85109-034-7. http://books.google.com/?id=ujoRAAAAYAAJ&q=292,131,000+cubic+kilometers&dq=292,131,000+cubic+kilometers.
^ Indian Ocean Geography, excerpted from: The World Factbook 1994, Central Intelligence Agency
^ Stow, D. A. V. (2006) Oceans : an illustrated reference Chicago : University of Chicago Press, ISBN 0-226-77664-6 - page 127 for map of Indian Ocean and text
^ https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/xo.html

External links [link]

Look up indian ocean in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Indian Ocean

NOAA In-situ Ocean Data Viewer Plot and download ocean observations
The Indian Ocean in World History: Educational Website Interactive resource from the Sultan Qaboos Cultural Center
The Regional Tuna Tagging Project-Indian Ocean with details of the importance of Tuna in the Indian Ocean..
Detailed maps of the Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean Trade: A Classroom Simulation
CIA - The World Factbook, Oceans: Indian Ocean

v t e Hydrography of India

Inland	Beas Betwa Brahmaputra Chambal Chenab Chilika Lake Dal Lake Damodar Ganges Ganges Basin Ganges Delta Ghaghara Godavari Indus Indus Delta Jhelum Kali Kaveri Kerala backwaters Koshi Krishna Luni Mahanadi Malampuzha Narmada Nizam Sagar Padma Pookode Lake Powai Lake Ravi Red Hills Lake Roopkund (Skeleton Lake) Sapt Koshi Sarasvati Sharda Son Sutlej Tapti Vaigai Yamuna

Coastal	Arabian Sea Bay of Bengal Gulf of Khambhat Gulf of Kutch Gulf of Mannar Indian Ocean Laccadive Sea Palk Strait

Categories	Lakes of India Reservoirs and dams in India Rivers of India

v t e Hydrology of Pakistan

Lakes	Ansoo Baghsar Banjosa Borith Chitta Katha Dudipatsar Hadero Haleji Hanna Karambar Keenjhar Khabikki Kundol Lower Kachura Lulusar Mahodand Manchar Namal Payee Rama Rawal Rush Saiful Muluk Satpara Sheosar Shonter Subri Uchhali Upper Kachura

Rivers	Indus Astore Bara Basol Braldu Bunhar Chenab Dasht Dori Gambila Ghaggar-Hakra Gilgit Gomal Haro Hingol Hispar Hunza Jhelum Jindi Kabul Kech Korang Kunar Mula Neelum Panjkora Panjnad Poonch Rakshan Ravi Rupal Shaksgam Shigar Shingo Shyok Soan Suru Sutlej Swan Swat Tawi Zhob

Coastal	Indian Ocean Arabian Sea Gulf of Oman

Categories	Lakes Rivers

v t e Hydrography of South Asia

Inland	Indus Ganges Yamuna Chenab Jhelum Bhagirathi River Brahmaputra Godavari Narmada Tapti Ravi Beas Sutlej Padma Sarasvati Sharda Krishna Kaveri Kali River Meghna Gandaki River Mahanadi Mahaweli Son Ghaghara Betwa Chambal Kosi Sankosh Ganges Basin Ganges Delta Indus Delta Dal Lake Pookode Lake Skeleton Lake Chilika Lake Lake Powai Borith Lake Saiful Muluk Gosaikunda Nizam Sagar Red Hills Lake Malampuzha Kerala Backwaters Damodar Luni

Coastal	Indian Ocean Arabian Sea Laccadive Sea Bay of Bengal Gulf of Kutch Gulf of Khambhat Palk Strait Gulf of Mannar

Categories	Lakes of India / Nepal / Pakistan Reservoirs and dams in India Rivers of Bangladesh / Bhutan / India / Nepal / Pakistan

v t e Earth's oceans and seas

Arctic Ocean	Amundsen Gulf Barents Sea Beaufort Sea Bering Strait Chukchi Sea East Siberian Sea Fram Strait Greenland Sea Gulf of Boothia Kara Sea Kara Strait Laptev Sea Lincoln Sea Prince Gustav Adolf Sea Pechora Sea Wandel Sea White Sea

Atlantic Ocean	Adriatic Sea Aegean Sea Alboran Sea Archipelago Sea Argentine Sea Baffin Bay Balearic Sea Baltic Sea Bay of Biscay Bay of Bothnia Bay of Campeche Bay of Fundy Black Sea Bothnian Sea Caribbean Sea Celtic Sea Davis Strait Denmark Strait English Channel Foxe Basin Greenland Sea Gulf of Bothnia Gulf of Finland Gulf of Lion Gulf of Guinea Gulf of Maine Gulf of Mexico Gulf of St. Lawrence Gulf of Venezuela Hudson Bay James Bay Ionian Sea Irish Sea Irminger Sea Labrador Sea Levantine Sea Libyan Sea Ligurian Sea Marmara Sea Mediterranean Sea Myrtoan Sea North Sea Norwegian Sea Saint Lawrence Seaway Sargasso Sea Sea of Åland Sea of Azov Sea of Crete Sea of the Hebrides Thracian Sea Tyrrhenian Sea

Indian Ocean	Andaman Sea Arabian Sea Bay of Bengal Gulf of Aden Gulf of Aqaba Gulf of Khambhat Gulf of Kutch Gulf of Oman Gulf of Suez Laccadive Sea Mozambique Channel Persian Gulf Red Sea Strait of Malacca Timor Sea

Pacific Ocean	Arafura Sea Bali Sea Banda Sea Bering Sea Bismarck Sea Bohai Sea Bohol Sea Camotes Sea Celebes Sea Ceram Sea Chilean Sea Coral Sea East China Sea Flores Sea Gulf of Alaska Gulf of California Gulf of Carpentaria Gulf of Fonseca Gulf of Thailand Gulf of Tonkin Halmahera Sea Java Sea Koro Sea Makassar Strait Molucca Sea Moro Gulf Philippine Sea Salish Sea Savu Sea Sea of Japan Sea of Okhotsk Seto Inland Sea Sibuyan Sea Solomon Sea South China Sea Sulu Sea Tasman Sea Visayan Sea Yellow Sea

Southern Ocean	Amundsen Sea Bellingshausen Sea Cooperation Sea Cosmonauts Sea Davis Sea D'Urville Sea King Haakon VII Sea Lazarev Sea Riiser-Larsen Sea Mawson Sea Ross Sea Scotia Sea Somov Sea Weddell Sea

Landlocked seas	Aral Sea Caspian Sea Dead Sea Salton Sea

Regions of the World

Africa	Northern Middle East Sub-Saharan Central Southern Western Eastern	Oceania	Australasia Australia Zealandia Melanesia Micronesia Polynesia

America	North Northern Middle Central Caribbean South Southern Northern Western Guianan States Anglo Latin (Hispanic)	Polar regions	Arctic Antarctic
Asia	Central Eastern Northeastern Northern Southeastern Mainland Maritime Southern Indian subcontinent Western Middle East	Oceans	World Arctic Atlantic Indian Pacific Southern
Europe	Central Eastern Northern Southeastern Middle East Southern Western	Seas	List of seas

Related: Continents of the world; List of seas; Physical Earth

Coordinates: 20°S 80°E / 20°S 80°E / -20; 80

lez:Гьинди океан

http://wn.com/Indian_Ocean

http://de.wn.com/Indischer Ozean

http://fr.wn.com/Océan Indien

http://es.wn.com/Océano Índico

http://ru.wn.com/Индийский океан

http://cs.wn.com/Indický oceán

http://pt.wn.com/Oceano Índico

http://pl.wn.com/Ocean Indyjski

http://hi.wn.com/हिन्द महासागर

http://it.wn.com/Oceano Indiano

http://id.wn.com/Samudra Hindia

http://nl.wn.com/Indische Oceaan

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This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (May 2011)

Mohit Chauhan
Chauhan in 2009
Background information
Born	(1974-03-11) 11 March 1974 (age 38) Nahan, Himachal Pradesh, India^[1]
Origin	Himachal Pradesh, India
Genres	Indian pop, Bollywood
Occupations	Singer
Instruments	Guitar, Harmonica, Flute
Years active	1998 – present
Associated acts	Silk Route
Website	mohitchauhan.in

Mohit Chauhan (born March 11, 1974) is an Indian pop and playback singer, most known for his romantic ballads.^[1] He started his career singing Indian pop songs with the band Silk Route, which released two albums, Boondein (1998) and Pehchan. The song "Dooba Dooba" became a rave in the Indipop music scene. However, the band dissolved. He would stay off the scene for a while until he came back with the song "Guncha" in 2005 from the "Main, Meri Patni Aur Woh" for which, he would also compose. Impressed by his vocals, he was then approached by A. R. Rahman to sing for the movie Rang De Basanti. The song "Khoon Chala" earned him rave reviews. However, it wouldn't be until 2007 when music director Pritam approached him for the song Tum Se Hi for the movie Jab We Met that Chauhan would finally achieve mainstream success.

1 Early life and career
2 Career
3 Works
- 3.1 Albums
- 3.2 Movies
4 Awards
- 4.1 Other Awards and Honors
5 References
6 External links

Early life and career [link]

Mohit Chauhan was born in the town of Nahan in Sirmaur district, Himachal Pradesh, to Krishana Rana and B. K. Rana.^[1]^[2] He can speak fluently in Pahari and Hindi. He first attended St. Xavier's School, Delhi and then again moved to Himachal Pradesh to complete his education. Chauhan went to college in Nahan Sirmour, Bilaspur, Mandi, Kullu, and graduated with a Master of Science in Geology from the Dharamshala College in Himachal.

He never received formal training in music, but sings and plays guitar, harmonica and the flute. After completing his education in Himachal, Chauhan came to Delhi where he formed the band Silk Route with his schoolmate Kem Trevedi (pianist) in 1996. Boondein was their first album and included the song "Dooba Dooba". In Bollywood, his career started when he sang the A. R. Rahman song "Khoon Chala" in Rang De Basanti.

Career [link]

Mohit Chauhan had his first brush with success with the song "Dooba Dooba" from the Silk Route band's album Boondhein. The album debuted at number one on the album chart. Boondhein featured songs in Hindi, English, and Pahadi, and the band won several awards at the Channel V awards in 1998.^[3]

Chauhan's career in Bollywood began in 2005 when he sang “Guncha Koi” in the movie "Main, Meri Patni... Aur Woh!". His songs "Khoon Chala" and "Masakali" from the films Rang De Basanti and Delhi-6 respectively, composed by Rahman and "Tum Se Hi" from the film Jab We Met,^[4] composed by Pritam, were successful. His subsequent chartbusters included the songs "Tu Ne Jo Na Kaha" for the 2009 film New York, "Ye Dooriyan" for Love Aaj Kal, and "Pehli Baar Mohabbat Ki Hai" for Kaminey. In 2010, he won the Filmfare Award for Best Male Playback Singer for "Masakali".^[5] He also sung two superhit tracks "Bheegi Si" from the Movie Raajneeti and "Pee Loon" from Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai both arranged and directed by Pritam. His songs "Pee Loon" from Once Upon A Time in Mumbai,"Tujhe Bhula Diya" from Anjaana Anjaani directed by Vishal-Shekhar became chartbusters. He then sang "Yun Hi" from Tanu Weds Maanu which is another addition to his superhit songs. His songs from the movie Rockstar (2011 film) have become anthems. He sang his first Bengali song for the movie Sedin Dekha Hoyechilo and also he sang his second Bengali song for the movie Paglu . He sang his first Tamil Song "Po Nee Po" for the Movie 3

In addition to film playback singing, Chauhan has sung many advertisement jingles for products including Alpenlibe, Parachute, Wheel (detergent), Nescafe, Hippo Munchies, Vicks Vapor Rub, Alchemist & Maruti Suzuki Alto (2011). He has also sung the theme song for Star Parivaar Awards 2011.

In 2007, he took part in singing reality show, Mission Ustaad on 9X, where he teamed with Vasundhara Das. He also took part in the singing reality show on STAR Plus, Music Ka Maha Muqqabla, where he lead the team Mohit's Fighhter. He has also performed at various college festivals across the country, including the Cultural Night of IIT Bombay, 2009.

In 2011 he featured in the third episode of The Dewarists collaborating with Indian Ocean for the song called Maaya.

Works [link]

Albums [link]

Boondhein – Silk Route (1998)
Pehchan – Silk Route (2000)
Kalaam – Poetry of Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam (2008)
Sar Utha Ke Jiyo – Made for HDFC Bank (2008)
FITOOR' – Solo Debut Album (2009) – Comprises 10 songs composed and sung by him
Aao Sai (2011) [Bhajan Album] [He sung one song]
Maaya maaya re [Indian Ocean and Mohit Chauhan]

Awards [link]

Year	Category	Song	Result
Filmfare Awards
2010	Best Male Playback Singer	Masakali from Delhi-6	Won
2011	Best Male Playback Singer	Pee Loon from Once Upon A Time In Mumbai	Nominated
2012	Best Male Playback Singer	Sadda Haq from Rockstar	Nominated
2012	Best Male Playback Singer	Jo Bhi Main from Rockstar	Won^[6]
Zee Cine Awards
2011	Best Male Singer	Pee Loon from Once Upon A Time In Mumbai	Won
2012	Best Male Singer	Jo Bhi Main from Rockstar	Won
Star Screen Awards
2011	Best Male Singer	Pee Loon from Once Upon A Time In Mumbai	Nominated
Apsara Film and Television Producers Guild Awards
2010	Best Male Singer	Yeh Dooriyan from Love Aaj Kal	Won
Mirchi Music Awards
2010	Best Male Singer	Masakali from Delhi-6	Won
Global Indian Films And Television Awards
2011	Best Male Singer	Pee Loon from Once Upon A Time In Mumbai	Won
IIFA Awards
2011	Best Male Singer	Pee Loon from Once Upon A Time In Mumbai	Nominated
GIMA Awards
2011	Best Male Singer	Pee Loon from Once Upon A Time In Mumbai	Won
Colors Screen Awards
2011	Best Male Singer	Sadda Haq from Rockstar	Won
Big Star Entertainment Awards
2011	Best Male Singer	Sadda Haq from Rockstar	Won
2012	Best Male Singer	Jo Bhi Main from Rockstar	Won
Zee Cine Awards
2012	Best Male Singer	Sadda Haq from Rockstar	Won
Apsara Awards
2012	Best Male Singer	Jo Bhi Main from Rockstar	Won

Other Awards and Honors [link]

2011: RMIM Puraskaar — Male Singer of the Year^[7]

References [link]

^ ^a ^b ^c "Get ready to sway along his tunes". Hindustan Times. July 21, 2011. http://www.hindustantimes.com/Get-ready-to-sway-along-his-tunes/Article1-723718.aspx.
^ "Mohit Chauhan dedicates Film fare award to Himachal". nvonews. March 2, 2010. http://nvonews.com/2010/03/02/mohit-chauhan-dedicates-film-fare-award-to-himachal/.
^ Silk Route website. "Albums". Silk Route.net. http://www.silkroute.net/albums.htm. Retrieved 5 March 2010.
^ "Jab We Met". The Hindu. 3 November 2007. http://www.hindu.com/mp/2007/11/03/stories/2007110350540500.htm. Retrieved 5 March 2010.
^ Indo Asian News Service (28 February 2010). "Amitabh Bachchan, Vidya Balan claim top honours at 55th Filmfare Awards". Hindustan Times. http://www.hindustantimes.com/Big-B-Vidya-Balan-claim-top-honours/H1-Article1-513823.aspx. Retrieved 5 March 2010.
^ "Filmfare Awards 2011 Winners". Times of India. 31 January 2012. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/news-interviews/Filmfare-Awards-2011-Winners/articleshow/11676105.cms. Retrieved 20 February 2012.
^ "RMIM Puraskaar 2011". http://awards.giitaayan.com/2011/indexen.htm.

External links [link]

Mohit Chauhan at Lastfm
Mohit Chauhan at the Internet Movie Database

v t e Filmfare Award for Best Male Playback Singer

1959–1960	No Award (1959) Mukesh (1960)

1961–1980	Mohammed Rafi (1961) Mohammed Rafi (1962) No Award (1963) Mahendra Kapoor (1964) Mohammed Rafi (1965) No Award (1966) Mohammed Rafi (1967) Mahendra Kapoor (1968) Mohammed Rafi (1969) Kishore Kumar (1970) Mukesh (1971) Manna Dey (1972) Mukesh (1973) Narendra Chanchal (1974) Mahendra Kapoor (1975) Kishore Kumar (1976) Mukesh (1977) Mohammed Rafi (1978) Kishore Kumar (1979) K. J. Yesudas (1980)

1981–2000	Kishore Kumar (1981) Amit Kumar (1982) Kishore Kumar (1983) Kishore Kumar (1984) Kishore Kumar (1985) Kishore Kumar (1986) No Award (1987) No Award (1988) Udit Narayan (1989) S. P. Balasubrahmanyam (1990) Kumar Sanu (1991) Kumar Sanu (1992) Kumar Sanu (1993) Kumar Sanu (1994) Kumar Sanu (1995) Udit Narayan (1996) Udit Narayan (1997) Abhijeet (1998) Sukhwinder Singh (1999) Udit Narayan (2000)

2001–present	Lucky Ali (2001) Udit Narayan (2002) Sonu Nigam (2003) Sonu Nigam (2004) Kunal Ganjawala (2005) Himesh Reshammiya (2006) Shaan and Kailash Kher (2007) Shaan (2008) Sukhwinder Singh (2009) Mohit Chauhan (2010) Rahat Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (2011) Mohit Chauhan (2012)

Persondata
Name	Chauhan, Mohit
Alternative names
Short description	Singer
Date of birth	11 March 1960
Place of birth	Nahan, Himachal Pradesh, India
Date of death
Place of death

http://wn.com/Mohit_Chauhan

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Rajat Barmecha
Rajat Barmecha at the premiere of The Forest
Born	Rajat Barmecha (1989-04-24) April 24, 1989 (age 23) Delhi, India
Occupation	Film actor
Years active	2010–present

Rajat Barmecha (born April 24, 1989) is an Indian film actor who is best known for his lead role in the 2010 Bollywood film Udaan.^[1]

1 Childhood
2 Career
3 Filmography
4 References
5 External links

Childhood [link]

Rajat Barmecha was born in Delhi. He is a native of Rajasthan. He did his schooling and higher education from Bal Bharati Public School, Brij Vihar, Delhi. His passion for acting has been since his childhood days. Though his father holds a business background, he supported Rajat to take up his dream. Rajat's elder brother Vicky Barmecha was supportive of his brother's dream and encouraged him.

Career [link]

His debut film Udaan follows 17 year old Rohan (played by Barmecha) who has been expelled from boarding school after being caught watching an adult film. He is forced to return home to an authoritarian father and a half-brother whose existence he had previously been unaware of. For his role in the film, he was nominated for a Screen Award for Most Promising Newcomer – Male.^[2] He then made a cameo appearances in Shaitan. He will next star in the road movie Disco Valley with Vivaan Shah.^[3]

Filmography [link]

Year	Title	Role	Other notes
2010	Udaan	Rohan
2011	Shaitan	Shomu (cameo)
2012	Disco Valley		Announced^[3]

References [link]

^ Sharma, Garima (May 11, 2011). "It's weird when people stare: Rajat Barmecha". The Times of India. http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-05-11/news-interviews/29528750_1_udaan-mandir-vikramaditya-motwane. Retrieved October 31, 2011.
^ "Rajat Barmecha plays a cameo in Shaitan". Indian Express. February 11, 2011. http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Rajat-Barmecha-plays-a-cameo-in-Shaitan/748032/.
^ ^a ^b "Udaan star has 'babe' for buddy". India Today. March 28, 2012. http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/rajat-bharmecha-udaan-star-vivaan-shah-disco-valley/1/179702.html.

External links [link]

Rajat Barmecha at the Internet Movie Database
Rajat Barmecha at Rotten Tomatoes

Persondata
Name	Rajat Barmecha
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	April 24, 1989
Place of birth	India, Delhi
Date of death
Place of death

http://wn.com/Rajat_Barmecha

This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajat_Barmecha

This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.

This article reads more like a story than an encyclopedia entry. To meet Wikipedia's quality standards and conform to the neutral point of view policy, please help to introduce a more formal style and remove any personally invested tone. (August 2011)

Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean, left to right: Rahul Ram, Susmit Sen, Asheem Chakravarty and Amit
Background information
Origin	Delhi, India
Genres	Fusion, Indian, Rock, Folk
Years active	1990–present
Website	www.indianoceanmusic.com
Members
Susmit Sen Amit Kilam Rahul Ram
Past members
Asheem Chakravarty Shaleen Sharma Indrajit Dutta Anirban Roy

Indian Ocean are an Indian rock band formed in New Delhi in 1990. They are considered to be the pioneers of fusion rock genre in India. Susmit Sen, Asheem Chakravarty, Rahul Ram and Amit Kilam formed the most stable and successful line-up in the band's timeline. This line-up lasted till Asheem's death on the 25th of December, 2009. It left a void for which the band has so far not made any official replacement. This leaves Sushmit as the only original member in the band. Sushmit and Rahul are the only members who have appeared on the band's debut album Indian Ocean.

The musical style of the band can be at best classified as fusion music. Some music critics describe the band's music as "Indo-rock fusion with jazz-spiced rhythms that integrates shlokas, sufism, environmentalism, mythology and revolution".

Recently^[when?], the band has moved against the lines of record labels. They released their latest album 16/330 Khajoor Road online for free. The main reason for this move was the frustration over negotiating contracts with record companies and fighting over copyright issues.^[1] They have turned to concerts and sponsorships for generating revenue rather than playing in the hands of record labels. For a brief amount of time they had the sponsorship of Johnnie Walker. They are also a part of the world's first Music Personalisation Initiative named DRP (www.divineraaga.com) as one of the five 'Featured Artists'.

1 History
2 Band Members
3 Discography
4 Filmography
5 References

History [link]

Early years [link]

Formation [link]

During early 1980s Asheem was playing tabla for a Bengali band Niharika. In 1984, Susmit who was a fan of Niharika, met Asheem during a concert. They hit it off right away. Asheem was taken up by Susmit’s guitar-playing and his vision to evolve a new sound. Susmit, in turn, learnt the nuances of rhythm from Asheem.

For the next 3 years, they kept on experimenting with their music with Susmit on guitar and Asheem on tabla and drums. Yet so far they did not write any lyrics at all. Apart from a concert at Roorkee University, there were not many notable performances by them.

Demo tape [link]

In 1990, they were struggling hard to come up with a demo recording of their band. Susmit sold his electric guitar to raise money for the purpose. They chose to call themselves 'Indian Ocean' which came as a suggestion from Susmit’s father. They had also drafted Shaleen Sharma as the drummer, and Indrajit Dutta and Anirban Roy as bassists.

They recorded the demo, taping an incredible 45 minutes consisting of 7 songs in just one day. Despite the rushed recording, the quality of the demo tape impressed HMV enough to offer them an album deal.

Asheem Chakravarty era [link]

Rahul Ram and first album [link]

In 1991, Rahul Ram who was Susmit's schoolmate at St. Xaviers, Delhi, joined the band replacing Anirban on bass. They started work on their first album. But, much to their frustration, the album took about a year to get finished. But when their eponymous debut album came out in 1993, it sold over 40,000 copies within a year of its release. It became the highest selling record by any Indian band at that time.

Amit Kilam [link]

In 1994, drummer Shaleen left the band. He was replaced by Amit Kilam who was much younger than the other band members. Barely out of his teens, Kilam was still taking his college exams. This line-up with Susmit, Asheem, Rahul and Amit became the most recognizable and the most successful in the band's timeline so far. Since then they rolled out a live album Desert Rain and two studio albums Kandisa, Jhini.They also composed the OST of Black Friday and contributed a couple of tracks to the OST of Peepli Live.

Death of Asheem Chakravarty [link]

In December 2009 the band lost Asheem to death, the tyrant of the imagination. In October, after suffering a heart attack he was hospitalized in Doha where he was in coma for a brief period and recovering well.^[2] On December 25, 2009 he died in New Delhi due to a cardiac arrest.^[3]

Post Asheem Era [link]

[edit] 16/330 Khajoor Road

Indian Ocean has so far not announced any permanent replacement for Asheem. However, they have brought Himanshu Joshi to fill in for Asheem's vocals and Tuheen Chakravarty for tabla and other percussion which Asheem used to play.

The band announced release of their first studio album after the death of Asheem Chakravarty 16/330 Khajoor Road. The band had made the whole album available for download from their site by adding one new song each month.

The album 16/330 Khajoor Road has been released in a two-CD pack. The track listing is as follows:

CD1: Chand, Shoonya, Bondhu, Sone Ke Nagri, Bula Raha, Darte Ho, Jogiya
CD2: Hulla, Untitled (Studio Scratch), Gum Hai Aisa (studio scratch), Phere (Hulla Reject, practice room jam), Leaving Home (live), Tandanu (practice room jam), No Comebacks (live at Khajoor Road)

The album was recorded at Kshitij Studios, New Delhi and mixed by Aakash Gupta and Amit Kilam.

Band Members [link]

Susmit Sen (guitar)[link]

Susmit

Susmit has virtually invented a new style of playing the guitar, an uncannily Indian sound where purity of scale reigns, strong melodic lines woven around the drone of open strings. His guitar style forms the basis of Indian Ocean's sound. Susmit’s personal vision is towards finding a new vocabulary for his music. His virtuoso talent never overshadows the big picture, but serves the song immaculately, strengthening it, embellishing it, giving it a distinct character.

Asheem Chakravarty (tabla, percussions and vocals)[link]

Asheem

Asheem (1957–2009) showed his rhythmic ability at an early age, surprising musicians who learned that he never had any formal training. He quit a career in advertising, along with Susmit Sen to form Indian Ocean, where he played the tabla, tarang and other percussion instruments while also being band's vocalist. Indian Ocean fans call him “the man with the golden voice”. Asheem sang and played the tabla simultaneously, a difficult feat rare by Indian percussionists. Asheem’s rhythm structures were unique and contributed a large part to Indian Ocean’s signature sound. He improvised vocal lines while on stage and was innovative with traditional Indian percussion instruments. Asheem was brought up in an atmosphere of Indian classical, folk and other Indian forms of music.

Asheem was hospitalized in Doha after suffering a heart attack in October and was in a state of coma for a brief period, but was recovering well.^[4] He died after suffering a cardiac arrest in New Delhi in the afternoon on the 25th of December 2009. He is survived by wife Sunita Chakravarty and 14-year-old son, Ekansh Chakravarty.^[5]^[6]

Amit Kilam (drums, percussions and vocals)[link]

Amit Kilam

Amit’s drumming is a balance between the conventional and non-conventional. Largely self-taught, he believes in layering rhythm rather than a heavy drum layer, since he believes in simplicity, not technical wizardry, thus becoming the backbone of the solid sound that the band has. He incorporates Indian rhythms into his drumming in a unique fashion, moving in cycles of 8, 10, 12 14, 16, rather than simple 4/4 or ¾ styles. Not a “psychotic drummer”, he goes easy on the skins, yet his playing is very dynamic. Was introduced to music at the age of 4 by his parents, learning the guitar (Hawaiian – Indian classical). He is an instinctive musician, picking up several instruments very easily, and he sings also. Loves listening to various kinds of music – Hindi filmi, rock, pop – favorites are A R Rahman, Trilok Gurtu and Deep Purple.

Rahul Ram (bass guitar and vocals)[link]

Rahul Ram, Bass Guitar and vocals

View Artist page here

Rahul’s bass playing moves smoothly – from melodic enmeshing with vocal and guitar lines to the more standard laying of foundations over which the band soars. His stage presence is an essential part of Indian Ocean’s live concerts. His vocals have a power and edge that emphasizes the folk roots of the band. Rahul also does most of the talking at live shows. His experiences as an activist/supporter with the Narmada Bachao Andolan (1990–1995) and during his four years studying in the US have exposed him to a variety of musical styles from all over India and the world, and have strongly influenced his musical expression. Rahul has PhD in Environmental Toxicology from Cornell University in New York (1986–90). In recent year, Rahul Ram went to America to learn to play the alto-sax, which he intends to bring to the band's music.

Rahul and Asheem have also sung "Yaara Maula" in a Anurag Kashyap's Gulaal, a Hindi movie based on politics.

Discography [link]

Indian Ocean during their visit in Yekaterinburg, Russia, in the summer of 2009. Photographed by the statue of the city founders, Tatischev and de Gennin.

Indian Ocean (1993)
Desert Rain (1997)
Kandisa (2000)
Jhini (2004) (composed for film SWARAJ—The Little Republic)
Black Friday (2004) [composed for the film Black Friday]
16/330 Khajoor Road (2010)
The Very Best of Indian Ocean (2012)

Black Friday

   Bandheh
   Badshah In Jail
   Bharam Bhap Ke
   Opening-Pre Blast
   Bomb Planting
   Memon House
   RDX
   Training
   Chase

Desert Rain

   Boll Weevil
   Desert Rain
   Euphoria
   From The Ruins
   Going To Ito
   Melancholic Ecstacy
   Village Damsel

Jhini

   After The War
   Bhor
   Des Mera
   Jhini
   Let Me Speak
   Nam Myo Ho
   Torrent

Kandisa

   Kya Maloom
   Ma Rewa
   Leaving Home
   Hille Re
   Khajuraho
   Kaun
   Kandisa

This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Ocean_(band)

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[edit] 16/330 Khajoor Road

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