Sea · Australia, New Zealand
Tasman Sea
The Tasman Sea is the wide stretch of the Pacific Ocean between Australia and New Zealand. It is about 2 250 km across, and people in both countries jokingly call it “the Ditch”.
Picture credit: Ymblanter (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Tasman Sea?
Part of: Pacific Ocean.
Countries on its coasts: Australia, New Zealand.
The story behind it
The sea is named after the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman, who sailed across it in 1642 as the first known European. Much later, in 1928, Charles Kingsford Smith and Charles Ulm made the first flight over it. The Tasman Sea lies in the belt of strong westerly winds called the “roaring forties”, so it is famous for its storms. Along the coast of Australia, past cities such as Sydney, a current called the East Australian Current carries water southwards. Far out in the middle of the sea lies Lord Howe Island, where the most southerly coral reef of its kind in the world grows. The small island of Ball's Pyramid belongs to the same group. A research ship called RV Tangaroa once explored the deep water and found 500 kinds of fish and 1 300 kinds of animals without a backbone.
Find it on the globe
Tasman 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 Tasman Sea?
The Tasman Sea covers about 2.3 million km². It is about 2 250 km wide, which is the distance between Australia and New Zealand.
Who is the Tasman Sea named after?
It is named after Abel Tasman, a Dutch explorer. In 1642 he became the first known European to cross this sea.
Why is the Tasman Sea called “the Ditch”?
Australians and New Zealanders have used this funny nickname for many years. It is a joke, because this “ditch” between their countries is more than 2 000 km wide.
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.
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