June is our annual celebration of National Ocean Month.

We are often asked at this time of year, how many oceans are there? There’s only one! The ocean is the defining feature of our planet, covering approximately 70 percent of Earth’s surface. Our one ocean is divided into five named ocean basins and is intricately connected to major lakes, watersheds, and waterways through a vast and complicated drainage system. No matter where you live, you are connected to our one global ocean.

All month long, we’ll continue the tradition of celebrating the ocean with our annual 30 Days of the Ocean campaign. This online effort affords us the opportunity to share the importance of our world ocean, increase our audience’s ocean literacy, and, we hope, inspire actions to conserve resources when people visit the ocean and coasts. If you haven’t already done so, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter and Instagram.

W. Russell Callender, Ph.D. 
Acting Assistant Administrator for Ocean Services and Coastal
Zone Management, National Ocean Service