The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering 70,560,000 km2 (27,240,000 sq mi) or 19.8% of the water on Earth's surface.Important PointsThe shape of the Indian Ocean can be described as a huge letter 'M.' Its outline extends from the East African coast north to the Arabian Sea, down the western coast of India to Sri Lanka, and up to India's eastern coast, where it forms the Bay of Bengal.The eastern arm of the M is formed by the Indochina Peninsula, the Island of Java, and the west coast of Australia.This letter M covers the area between the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere, past the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere to the line of 40 degrees S latitude. Mistake PointsThe Atlantic Ocean touches Africa and Eurasia (land consisting of Europe and Asia) to the east and North and South America to the west. The ocean takes the shape of the letter Å“S when looked closely on the world map.Hence, the shape of the Indian Ocean can be described as a huge letter 'M. ' Its outline extends from the East African coast north to the Arabian Sea, down the western coast of India to Sri Lanka, and up to India's eastern coast, where it forms the Bay of Bengal.