Short answers, pulled from the story.
The Pacific Ocean covers approximately 46% of Earth's water surface and about 32% of the planet's total surface area. This single body of water is larger than all of Earth's land combined.
Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan encountered calm waters during his circumnavigation voyage in 1520 and named it Pacífico which means peaceful sea in both Portuguese and Spanish. The name stuck and replaced earlier designations like the Sea of Magellan used until the eighteenth century.
Modern humans reached the western Pacific around 60,000 to 70,000 years ago during the Paleolithic period. They traveled from Africa across at least 90 kilometers between Sundaland and Sahul using large bamboo rafts possibly equipped with sails.
By 1900 nearly all Pacific islands were controlled by Britain France United States Germany Japan and Chile. Growing imperialism during the nineteenth century resulted in European powers occupying much of Oceania including Tahiti as a protectorate in 1842 and New Caledonia in 1853.
The Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench holds the title of deepest known point on Earth at over 10,900 meters below sea level. Another deep point exists in the Tonga Trench called the Horizon Deep while Sirena Deep also lies within the Mariana Trench system.
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch between California and Japan spans three times the size of France. An estimated 80,000 metric tons of plastic inhabit this patch totaling 1.8 trillion pieces.