The Abyssal Zone

ocean · deep sea · extreme environment

Deeper than deep. The abyssal zone starts about 13,000 feet down and goes to 20,000 feet. That's deeper than Mount Everest is tall!

Always pitch black. No sunlight reaches this zone, so it stays in complete darkness all the time, day and night, forever.

Freezing and crushing. The water is barely above freezing at about 36 to 37 degrees Fahrenheit, and the pressure is so intense it could crush a car.

Covers most of Earth. The abyssal zone spreads across 83% of the ocean floor and covers 60% of all of Earth's surface, making it one of the largest environments on our planet.

Life finds a way. Even in this harsh darkness, strange creatures like anglerfish and giant squid have adapted to survive in the abyss.