The Mariana trench is deep enough to hide Mt Everest.
‘How deep is the sea?’ is a very general question. Which sea? Don’t you mean ocean? What’s the difference between a sea and an ocean?
Just to keep things simple, let’s refer to oceans and seas as the sea.
Let’s start by looking at a few key facts.
- The deepest part of the sea is the Mariana Trench, located in the western Pacific Ocean, south of Guam. The depth is around 10.9 kilometres (6.8 miles).
- Of the five oceans, the Pacific Ocean is the deepest on average. It has an average depth of 13,215 feet (4.028 kilometres).
- The shallowest ocean is the Arctic Ocean, with an average depth is 3,953 feet (1.205 kilometres).
- In comparison, the shallowest sea is the Sea of Azov. It has a depth ranging from 0.9 metres (2 ft 11 in) and 14 metres (46 ft).
If you have a keen eye, you may ask what the difference is between an ocean and a sea. Bear in mind most people use the words without a great deal of thought because they are simply referring to a large body of water. Still, let’s get down to being pedantic. An ocean is a large body of salt water. Its boundaries are defined by continental land masses, the equator or ridges on the ocean floor. A sea is usually smaller than an ocean and is surrounded on all or most sides by land and/or part of one of the oceans.
Short answer: The Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean is so deep that if you put Mount Everest on the sea floor and then placed the world’s largest building on its summit, you would still have over a kilometre of water above it.
