how deep is the ocean?

The depth of the ocean can be understood through several key points:

Average Depth

The average depth of the ocean basins is approximately 3,682 meters (12,080 feet). This measurement was calculated using satellite measurements by scientists from NOAA and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution153.

Deepest Point

The deepest known point in the ocean is Challenger Deep, located in the Mariana Trench in the western Pacific Ocean. It has a depth of about 10,935 meters (35,876 feet)135.

Depth Comparison

To put this depth into perspective, if you were to submerge Mount Everest, the highest point on land, into the ocean, its summit would still be more than a mile above the bottom of the Challenger Deep245.

Depth Zones

The ocean is divided into several depth zones:

• Sunlight Zone: Up to about 1,000 meters (3,300 feet) where sunlight can penetrate.
• Midnight Zone: Below 1,000 meters where sunlight cannot reach.
• Hadal Zone: The deepest part of the ocean, starting at about 6,000 meters (20,000 feet), which includes the deepest trenches like the Mariana Trench2.

Mapping and Exploration

Despite these measurements, only about 10% of the Earth’s seafloor has been mapped in high resolution, indicating that much of the ocean remains unexplored1.