Pacific Ocean. Artwork of an Earth globe showing the geographical features of the western Pacific Ocean. This view looks north-west, with the islands of Hawaii at far right and parts of Asia on the Earth's limb at top right (around 6,600 kilometres distant). New Zealand is at bottom left, over 7000 kilometres from Hawaii. Three island chains are at centre left (from right to left): Samoa, Fiji, and New Caledonia. North of New Caledonia are Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands. Most of the view is dominated by the clouds and water of the vast Pacific Ocean, an area of 165 million square kilometres (nearly one-third of the planet's surface).