58 otherworldly photos of the ocean
![Photographs of the ocean](https://media.cntraveller.com/photos/611bf1a780db5ca184e71374/16:9/w_320%2Cc_limit/oceans.jpg)
World Oceans Day celebrates the vast stretch of blue that is home to more than a million species, and an essential part of human survival. The ocean regulates climate, generates oxygen, provides medicine, food and water, as well as supplying endless opportunity for travel and the exploration of our planet. These inspiring pictures of beaches, surfers, sea life, coastlines, coral reefs and islands illustrate exactly why we need to protect our marine life. You can find out more about World Oceans Day from the official website.
- Jack Johns & Owen Tozer
Cliff jumping at Cape Kamenjak in Istria, Croatia
- Jack Johns and Owen Tozer
A beach near the fort in Lamu’s north in Kenya
- Toby Mitchell
Lo Sereno Casa de Playa in Mexico
- Alistair Taylor-Young
A colony of hundreds of seals in Skeleton Coast National Park in Namibia
- Julien Capmeil
Surfing at La Saladita near Mexico's Pacific Coast beach town Zihuatanejo
- Jenny Zarins
A pristine surf spot in Costa Rica
- Alistair Taylor-Young
Flying from Cairns over the Great Barrier Reef, Australia
- Jack Johns & Owen Tozer
Leo Carrillo State Park in Malibu has 1.5 miles of beach for swimming, surfing and windsurfing
- Mirjam Bleeker
The small, sandy islands of Mozambique's Bazaruto Archipelago lie just a few kilometres from the sleepy mainland town of Vilankulo
The crystal clear waters of Bawah Reserve, Indonesia, make it a dreamy spot for canoeing
The Brando, a private island of Tetiaroa, French Polynesia
- Tó Mané/Courtesy of Taschen
Garrett McNamara surfing a record-breaking 100 foot wave in Nazaré, Portugal
- Morgan Massen
Pro surfer Frankie Harrer in the Maldives
- Alamy
A surfer in Sagres on Portugal's Algarve coast
A solo sea turtle on Anse Severe beach, the Seychelles, a country made up of 99% ocean that recently announced an ambitious environmental scheme to protect its marine life
Ile aux Cerfs, Mauritius (also known as Deer Island)
- Crookes & Jackson
The Andaman Sea, Andaman Islands, known for some of the world's best scuba diving
Iceland is home to the Silfra fissure, the only place in the world where you can dive in the crack between two continental plates
- Rex Features
Diving in Oro Province, Papua New Guinea, which is famous for its stunning rias (locally referred to as fjords)
- Shawn Heinrichs
The reef in Raja Ampat, Indonesia, is home to more than 1,300 species of coral reef fish
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