Which ocean is the largest by surface area?

The Pacific Ocean is the largest ocean by surface area, covering more than 63 million square miles (about 165 million square kilometers). It spans from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south and lies between Asia and Australia on the west and the Americas on the east. Its vast size not only makes it the largest ocean but also the deepest in terms of average depth and contains the Mariana Trench, the deepest known point on Earth.

The other oceans, while significant in their own right, do not match the Pacific in terms of size. The Atlantic Ocean, for example, is the second largest but is significantly smaller than the Pacific. The Indian Ocean ranks third and is also smaller than both the Atlantic and the Pacific. The Arctic Ocean is the smallest of the four, limited in size and often covered in ice. Therefore, the Pacific stands out as the largest ocean, making it the correct answer.