The Asian continent, the Sunda Islands of Indonesia, and Australia lie to the west. The Bering Strait connects the Pacific Ocean with the Arctic Ocean in the north. There, they say, the Antarctic, or Southern, Ocean begins. However, most geographers do not officially recognize the existence of an Antarctic Ocean. They regard the Pacific as extending to the coast of Antarctica, the continent that surrounds and covers the South Pole.
Geographers divide the Pacific at the equator into the North Pacific and the South Pacific.
It is widest near the equator between Panama and the Malay Peninsula. Coastline and islands. The Pacific coasts of North and South America are relatively even. The Gulf of California forms the only large inlet, and few islands lie offshore. The western Pacific has uneven shores, and features a number of marginal seas that are separated by large islands.