Arctic Ocean over the Arctic Ocean (see Polar route). The Arctic Ocean occupies a roughly circular basin and covers an area of about , almost the size of Antarctica. The coastline is long. It is surrounded by the land masses of Eurasia, North America, Greenland, and by several islands. It is generally taken to include Baffin Bay, Barents Sea, Beaufort Sea, Chukchi Sea, East Siberian Sea, Greenland Sea, Hudson Bay, Hudson Strait, Kara Sea, Laptev Sea, White Sea and other tributary bodies of water. It is connected to the Pacific Ocean by the Bering Strait and to the Atlantic Ocean through the
USS Beaufort (1799) USS Beaufort (1799) USS "Beaufort" (1799) was a row galley constructed by the citizens of Beaufort, South Carolina, and presented to the United States Government to be used to protect the coast of South Carolina from possible attack by warships of France, which was undergoing political instability following the French Revolution. "Beaufort" carried a powerful 24-pounder gun and because it had oars it had the advantage of being able to be rowed to various advantageous firing positions in becalmed seas. The first U.S. Navy ship to be so named,"Beaufort", a row galley constructed by the citizens of Beaufort, South Carolina,