The Great Pacific garbage patch, also described as the Pacific trash vortex, is a coil of marine debris particles in the central North Pacific Ocean discovered between 1985 and 1988. The patch extends over an large area of widely varying range depending on the degree of plastic concentration.

The patch is characterized by exceptionally high concentrations of plastic, chemical sludge, and other debris that have been trapped by the currents of the North Pacific Gyre. Its low density prevents detection by satellite imagery, or even by casual boaters or divers in the area. It consists mainly of a small increase in suspended, often microscopic, particles in the upper water level.