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How deep is the average ocean basin?

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World map highlighting major features of the ocean basins, including trenches, ridges, basins, and plateaus labeled throughout the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Southern, and Arctic Oceans. Continents are shown with shaded terrain, and prominent undersea features such as the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Mariana Trench, and Kerguelen Plateau are marked across the map. — ocean basin Major features of the ocean basins.

The average depth of the world's ocean basins is approximately 3,688 metres (12,100 feet).1

While this figure represents the global mean, it is important to note that the topography of the ocean floor is highly varied. Many regions depart significantly from this average, featuring diverse structures such as mountainous ocean ridges, deep-sea trenches, and abyssal hills. The majority of the oceanic area is found at depths between 4,000 and 5,000 metres (about 13,100 and 16,400 feet).21