Sea · Philippines, Japan, Taiwan
Philippine Sea
The Philippine Sea is a huge part of the western Pacific Ocean, east of the Philippines. It is often called the largest sea in the world and is framed by long chains of islands.
Picture credit: 中岑 范姜 (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Philippine Sea?
Part of: Pacific Ocean.
Countries on its coasts: the Philippines, Japan, Taiwan, Palau, Micronesia, Indonesia, the United States.
The story behind it
The Philippine Sea stretches about 2 900 km from north to south. Islands mark its edges: the Philippines in the south-west, Taiwan and the Ryukyu Islands in the west, Japan in the north, and the Bonin and Mariana Islands with Guam in the east. Its floor is a piece of the Earth’s crust called the Philippine Sea Plate. Along the edges run very deep trenches. The Philippine Trench goes down about 10 540 m, and the Mariana Trench holds the deepest spot on Earth. Many typhoons are born over this warm sea, and they are especially strong in September. Japanese eels, tuna and several kinds of whales come here to lay eggs or have their young. Six of the world’s seven kinds of sea turtles and more than 500 kinds of stony corals are found in this region.
Find it on the globe
Philippine Sea is there as a name written across its water — tap the water and its card opens. From far away the planet is only a blue ball; detail arrives as you zoom in, and this one appears once you are close enough. Open it on the globe.
Questions children ask
How big is the Philippine Sea?
Most sources say the Philippine Sea covers about 5 million km², but the figures differ quite a lot. That makes it one of the largest seas on Earth, often called the largest of all.
How deep is the Philippine Sea?
The sea floor usually lies about 6 000 m deep. In the Philippine Trench it drops to about 10 540 m, and the nearby Mariana Trench is even deeper.
Which animals lay eggs in the Philippine Sea?
Japanese eels, tuna and several kinds of whales use the Philippine Sea as a place to spawn, which means to lay eggs or give birth. An underwater plateau called the Benham Rise attracts tuna, marlin and mackerel.
Where these numbers come from
Every figure on this page was checked against public reference sources before publication. Where sources genuinely disagree, the text says so.
Last checked: