The deepest of the world\u2019s five oceans is the Pacific, with an average depth of about 4,000m\/13,124ft. The world\u2019s largest ocean, it encompasses a massive area of 162Mkm\u00b2\/63Mmi\u00b2. This great Ocean stretches from the shores of Asia and Australia in the west, to those of North and South America in the east. It encompasses an enormous expanse of Earth\u2019s surface and a fascinating array of the world\u2019s deepest and most majestic landscapes under the sea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because it is a very large and deep ocean basin, many parts of the Pacific are very deep indeed. Its deep trenches, of which the greatest by far is the Mariana Trench in the western Pacific, are areas of great tectonic activity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is called the Challenger Deep and is 10,935 meters below mean sea level. That is about 6.8 miles below sea level. If you laid Mount Everest down on its side into the Challenger Deep, its peak would still be over a mile below the surface.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The great depth of the Pacific Ocean is related to the tectonic plate activity that characterizes the great majority of the basin. At the edges of the ocean, many tectonic plates are moving toward each other and at places where they touch, one of them is pushed under the other in a process known as subduction. The deep-sea trenches, the island arc of volcanoes, the high undersea mountains, and the areas of intense seismic activity are all products of millions of years of such plate movement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is often easier to see the enormous size of the Pacific Ocean and the incredible depth of the Mariana Trench when they are printed on a map. In this video we explore the world\u2019s deepest ocean and see where the Mariana Trench is located within the Pacific Ocean. We also take a look at the lowest point in the trench, called Challenger Deep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n