Indian Ocean Area Map - Africa, Asia, Oceania and Antarctica

Political map of the Indian Ocean area made by the U.S. CIA. The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the oceans. It stretches for more than 10.000 km, between the Cape of Good Hope, and Tasmania, Australia, and involves the waters that bathe countries on the east coast of Africa, the south coast of Asia, including Southeast Asia, and the west coast of Australia. In the Middle Ages the commercial routes toward India was dominated by the Arabs, but by the early 16th century the Portuguese expelled the Arabs and began to dominate trade throughout the Indian Ocean.