How Deep Is The Ocean? [3 Must-See Infographics]

 So Just How Deep Is The Ocean You Ask?

After you have read this short article (with some amazing infographics), you will feel like the world is a pretty big place again.

You will also come away with a pretty good understanding of just how deep the ocean is as well… more on that in a second.

Back to the world seeming like a small place.

Ever since Al Gore invented the Internet (heehee), our world has become wildly connected…almost to the point that it sometimes feels like the world is pretty small.

I am sure you know what I mean here.

Just consider that you can reach someone completely across the globe in mere seconds, in a multitude of ways (Facetime, Google Hangout, Skype, Tweet, Facebook message, etc.), all completely for FREE!

Yep, with just a couple clicks of a mouse, you can be sitting face to face (on a computer screen) with someone anywhere in the world that has wifi!

Who would have ever thought, right?

So are you beginning to see how small the world can feel?

Well, I have a surprise for you!

The great news is that we have only begun to explore a small fragment of the total living space on Earth.

What am I talking about?

Most people don’t know this fact, but the depths below the ocean’s surface make upwards of 95% of the Earth’s living space!

So what we are all experiencing here in the real world is only 5% of the total living space on our planet!

And the most exciting part (if you like to explore) is that most of the living space in the ocean has not been explored…(especially the deepest parts of the ocean).

Which brings us to the topic at hand.

How Deep Is The Ocean – Infographic (1 of 3)

I think this funny Infographic called “How deep is the Ocean” explains just how deep (and dark) the ocean is pretty well…

It will also make it obvious that if we are to ever explore and inhabit the deepest parts of the ocean, we are going to need some serious light fixtures!

11,000 Meters! That is how deep the Ocean is!

For those of you that have forgotten how to convert Meters into Feet, here is the equation:

(1 Meter = 3.2808399 Feet)

So the bottom of the ocean is approximately 36,089 feet deep!

How Deep Is The Ocean – Infographic (2 of 3)

The next question most people have about the ocean is, “Where is the deepest part of the ocean, and has anyone been able to reach it“?

Well, the deepest part of the ocean is what is referred to as the Mariana Trench (or Marianas Trench).

This gets it name from the Mariana Islands, the island chain in the Pacific that is made up of 15 volcanic islands, that the deepest part of the ocean is located near.

This 36,000 ft deep ocean trench is located in the Pacific Ocean (if you are trying to find it on a map, just go South of Japan, a bit west of the Philippines, due North of New Guinea, and just west of the Philippine Sea and you will see it).

(And for those of you living in North American that want to root for a deep ocean hole closer to you, the Puerto Rico Trench is the deepest area in the Atlantic Ocean, hitting depths of 22,000 ft.)

So what about the question of any humans ever seeing the depths of the Mariana Trench?

If you can believe it, only three men have made the dangerous journey down to the depths of the sea in the Mariana Trench.

And two of them were in the same submarine called “The Challenger” back in 1960 (you can read about it here).

The two brave men to dive down this low back in the 1960’s were Don Walsh and his Swiss colleague Jacques Piccard.

They both miraculously lived to tell the tale…

One other man (more recently) made the deep plunge into the depths of the sea that was much more documented than the first.

You might have heard about this deep dive event, as his record-breaking trip in the ocean made the global news…his name is James Cameron (the famous film maker that grew up loving science).

You can check out the video of James Cameron going down into the deepest part of the ocean below the infographic…but first…

This amazing ocean depth infographic below came from Pamela Engel at the Business Insider.

Click here to see the original article and picture.

And to see a blown up version (where you can read every word, including the funny caption at the very bottom in the Marianas Trench about James Cameron installing a hidden door), click here.

To see a pretty awesome trailer to see what James Cameron and crew did to get ready for this epic deep-sea exploration, watch below.

How Deep Is The Ocean – Infographic (3 of 3)

The other most popular question asked in regards to how deep is the ocean usually revolves around trying to figure out just how deep 36,000 really is.

Because if you are anything like me, it is tough to imagine 36,000 feet of anything.

To put this depth into perspective, consider that the highest point in the world is Mount Everest at 29,029 feet.

Commercial jets that we all fly on usually max out around 32,000 feet.

So yes, the deepest point in the ocean covers more distance than both of these.

Can you imagine how dark it must be down there?

And can you imagine the water pressure down that low?

Holy I think I blew out my eardrums!

Well ,the great news is that you don’t have to imagine it, as this 3rd infographic puts all of this into perspective (and then some).

This awesome infographic was created by Karl Tate, a very talented Live Science artist, and the original article and infographic can be found here.

 Conclusion

The ocean is truly an amazing space.

And although the mass under the ocean makes up the majority of our Earth’s living area, much of it has never been explored.

The good news is that we know how deep the ocean is, we know what the bottom looks like (thanks to ocean floor scanning technology), and we even know all of the deepest places.

The one thing we don’t have enough of is submarines and daring researches to go explore it all…

And I guess you can’t blame them…it is incredibly dangerous, it is dark and scary, and you never know what might be lurking behind your small submarine down in the Mariana Trench…

Like these hatchet fish (below) found in the depths of the Mariana Trench!

To see all of the crazy pictures of the animals that have been found in the deepest parts of the ocean, check out this wild article on Viral Nova (where we got this picture below)

P.S. – Don’t forget to share this with your friends so you can teach them a thing or two about the depths of the sea.

P.P.S. – If you think your friends or network would like to see this, please Tag them or Share this with them. You Rock! Pa-POW!