Explore the surprising depths of Earth’s oceans and what lies far below the surface.
When you stand by the sea, it’s hard to imagine just how deep it really goes. Oceans cover more than 70% of Earth’s surface, and some areas reach astonishing depths that even sunlight can’t penetrate.
The average depth of the ocean is around 3,700 meters (12,100 feet). But that’s just the average. The deepest known point is the Challenger Deep, located in the Mariana Trench of the western Pacific Ocean. It plunges to an incredible depth of about 11,000 meters (36,000 feet) — deeper than Mount Everest is tall.
At such depths, the pressure is over 1,000 times greater than at sea level. There’s no sunlight, and the temperature hovers just above freezing. Yet, life still thrives. Scientists have discovered strange, resilient creatures like giant amphipods, snailfish, and microorganisms living in the pitch-black pressure of the deep sea.
Despite the vastness of our oceans, we’ve explored less than 20% of their floors. In fact, we know more about the surface of the Moon than we do about the deepest parts of our own planet. Advances in robotics and sonar mapping are slowly changing that, offering new glimpses into the unknown.
The ocean’s depths remain one of the final frontiers of Earth — mysterious, extreme, and teeming with secrets still waiting to be uncovered.