Indian Ocean Basin Flashcards, test questions and answers
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What is Indian Ocean Basin?
The Indian Ocean Basin is an expansive body of water that spans the Indian subcontinent and reaches out to the eastern coast of Africa, with its northern tip bordering the Arabian Sea and Persian Gulf. As one of the world’s five major ocean basins, it covers a staggering 28 million square miles and extends from east to west for more than 6,000 miles. The Indian Ocean Basin is home to some of the most beautiful beaches in the world, as well as being a major source of trade between East Africa, India and Southeast Asia. The basin contains numerous landforms such as mountains, islands, reefs and atolls. The highest mountain in the basin is Mount Kilimanjaro on Tanzania’s mainland which stands at 19,341 feet above sea level. There are also numerous island chains throughout this area such as Lakshadweep Islands (formerly known as Laccadive Islands), Maldives Islands and Andaman & Nicobar Islands which have become popular tourist destinations due to their stunning beauty. In addition to these landforms located above sea level there are several enormous underwater features such as mid-ocean ridges that span thousands of miles within this basin. The Indian Ocean Basin provides many resources for different countries within its range including oil reserves near Madagascar’s offshore islands; fishing grounds located off the shores; minerals such as copper which can be found within Somalia’s coastal waters; iron ore deposits in India’s western coast; uranium around Madagascar; natural gas in Pakistan’s marine areas; nickel deposits near Indonesia’s Sulawesi Island; manganese near India’s Western Ghats mountain range; phosphate rock off Morocco’s Atlantic coast and much more. Due to its size and location between Europe, Africa and Asia it has become an important hub for global trade over time – especially due to its close proximity from Middle East oil fields – allowing ships from all three continents access through different routes making it very convenient for commerce purposes. This has resulted in many ports forming along coasts of cities surrounding this vast body of water connecting them further together economically speaking with each other on a grand scale. In addition tourism has risen along many coasts since visitors flock here every year for holidays mainly because there are so many diverse sights available including wildlife reserves away from inland areas around Sri Lanka or tropical paradises like Maldives amongst others.