The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south and is bounded by Asia and Australia in the west and the Americas in the east.

At 165.25 million square kilometers (63.8 million square miles) in area, this largest division of the World Ocean—and, in turn, the hydrosphere—covers about 46% of the Earth's water surface and about one-third of its total surface area, making it larger than all of the Earth's land area combined.

The equator subdivides it into the North Pacific Ocean and South Pacific Ocean, with two exceptions: the Galápagos and Gilbert Islands, while straddling the equator, are deemed wholly within the South Pacific. The Mariana Trench in the western North Pacific is the deepest point in the world, reaching a depth of 10,911 metres (35,797 ft).

The eastern Pacific Ocean was first sighted by Europeans in the early 16th century when Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa crossed the Isthmus of Panama in 1513 and discovered the great "southern sea" which he named Mar del Sur. The ocean's current name was coined by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan during the Spanish circumnavigation of the world in 1521, as he encountered favourable winds on reaching the ocean. He called it Mar Pacifico, which in both Portuguese and Spanish means "peaceful sea".

The North Pacific is the northern portion of the Earth's largest oceanic division.

North Pacific may also refer to:

North Pacific was an early steamboat operating in Puget Sound, on the Columbia River, and in British Columbia and Alaska. The vessel's nickname was "the White Schooner" which was not based on the vessel's rig, but rather on speed, as "to schoon" in nautical parlance originally meant to go fast.

Design and construction

North Pacific was built in San Francisco, California for E.A. and L.M. Starr. The Starrs were pioneer businessmen in Portland, Oregon. The Starrs had been unsuccessfully trying to compete with Finch and Wright, first with the sidewheeler Alida and then with the small steamer Isabel. The Starrs brought North Pacific to Puget Sound in 1871 to compete with the firm of D.B. Finch and Capt. Tom Wright (1828–1906). Finch and Wright had run the pioneer sidewheeler Eliza Anderson on the Sound, and had recently replaced the Anderson with the faster sidewheeler Olympia (later known as the Princess Louise).

Operation on Puget Sound

When North Pacific arrived at Puget Sound in June 1871, the vessel was considered to be the finest (and was certainly one of the largest) vessels yet to operate in the area. On June 27, 1871, North Pacific raced Olympia across the Strait of Juan de Fuca from Victoria, British Columbia to Port Townsend, Washington, beating Olympia by three minutes. A lot of money was wagered on the outcome, and the bets were paid off at Port Townsend. Newell described the scene: