The sea, or the ocean, has an average depth of about 3,688 meters (approximately 12,100 feet). However, the depths vary widely across different parts of the ocean. The deepest known point is found in the Mariana Trench in the western Pacific Ocean, specifically at a spot called the Challenger Deep. This point reaches a depth of around 10,994 meters (about 36,070 feet), or nearly 11 kilometers below sea level. To put this in perspective, this depth is more than twice the height of Mount Everest, with the mountain's peak still submerged by over 1.3 miles of water if placed there. Here are some specifics about ocean depths:
- Average ocean depth: ~3,688 meters (12,100 feet)
- Deepest point: Challenger Deep in Mariana Trench, ~10,994 meters (36,070 feet)
- The Pacific Ocean is the deepest ocean on average (~4,280 meters)
- Other oceans have varying average and maximum depths, with the Atlantic reaching around 8,376 meters at its deepest point and the Indian Ocean about 7,258 meters at its deepest.
This extreme depth is caused by tectonic activity, where tectonic plates collide, causing parts of the ocean floor to subduct and create these deep trenches. So, the sea's depth ranges from relatively shallow coastal areas to abyssal depths of nearly 11 kilometers in oceanic trenches.
