Oceanic Depths

Approximately 71% of the Earth's surface is covered by oceanic waters. Most of this water is considered to be "deep ocean water." The further down towards the ocean floor you get, the colder, more pressurized, and foreign the environment around you becomes. The Mariana Trench located in the Pacific Ocean near the Northern Mariana Islands contains the deepest point in the ocean, estimated to be 35,994 ft (10,971 meters). Due to the harsh conditions of Earth's deep oceans, most of our ocean floors remain unexplored and unmapped.