Which ocean is encircling the continent of Antarctica and extends northward to 60 degrees south latitude?
- (a)Indian Ocean
- (b)Atlantic Ocean
- (c)Southern Ocean
- (d)Pacific Ocean
Answer
Why
Correct — C. The Southern Ocean is the body of water that rings Antarctica, running from the continent's coast north to 60°S the whole way round.
That circumpolar shape is what the stem is describing. The Indian, Atlantic and Pacific are hemmed in by continents along their long sides and each of them stops at the same 60°S line, so none of them can encircle anything — option (c).
Why the others are wrong
- (a)Indian Ocean — The Indian Ocean is closed off to the north by Asia and opens southward only as far as 60°S. It meets Antarctic water along that parallel but never wraps the continent.
- (b)Atlantic Ocean — The Atlantic Ocean runs north to south between the Americas on one side and Europe and Africa on the other. Its southern limit is that same 60°S parallel, so it reaches towards Antarctica without surrounding it.
- (d)Pacific Ocean — The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the five, lying between Asia and Australia and the Americas. It too ends at 60°S, well short of circling the continent.
Concept
An ocean is normally bounded by land. The Southern Ocean is the exception: its northern edge is a line of latitude, 60°S, and its southern edge is the Antarctic coast, so it is a ring rather than a basin.
What holds it together physically is the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, which flows eastward without interruption around the continent because no landmass stands in its way. That unbroken current is why these waters are treated as an ocean of their own.
By area it is the fourth largest of the five oceans, ahead of the Arctic.
The 60°S boundary is the delimitation the International Hydrographic Organization put forward in 2000, and it is the one this paper follows. The Southern Ocean's naming and limits are not settled identically everywhere, so answer an item like this by the boundary the stem gives you.
Key facts
- The Southern Ocean stretches from the coast of Antarctica north to the 60°S parallel.
- The International Hydrographic Organization put that 60°S boundary forward in 2000.
- The Antarctic Circumpolar Current flows eastward all the way around Antarctica, unobstructed by any landmass.
- By area the Southern Ocean is the fourth largest of the world's five oceans, and the Arctic is the smallest.
Study next
Common traps
- Picking the Indian Ocean because Antarctica sits south of it on a standard map.
- Reading 60°S as the Antarctic Circle, which lies at about 66.5°S.
- Assuming an ocean must be enclosed by land, which is exactly what this one is not.
SSC keeps ocean geography to boundaries and named water bodies — 24 Sep 2024, 16:00, GA Q.13 asks for the strait between the Pacific and the Arctic that separates Russia's Chukchi Peninsula from Alaska.
Latitude is asked on its own too, at 25 Sep 2024, 12:30, GA Q.2, which places the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone at 20°N-25°N over the Gangetic plain in a named month.
Related PYQs
No directly related past PYQ was found.