A northern branch of the North Pacific Current, called the Alaska Current, flows toward southern Alaska. The California Current carries cool water down the west coast of North America. In the Southern Hemisphere, the warm South Equatorial Current flows from South America to about the Solomon Islands. From there, the East Australian Current carries warm water south along the coast of Australia and to New Zealand. This current is the strongest and coldest current system in the world's oceans.
Large tides occur along the rim of the Pacific.
The ocean's largest tide occurs off the west coast of Korea. In midocean, on the other hand, tides are small. Ocean life thrives in many parts of the Pacific, especially in coastal waters. Millions of the tiny organisms and animals that make up the plankton drift near the surface of the Pacific. Thousands of kinds of fish live in the ocean.