• General Knowledge Tutorial

General Knowledge - Facts of Hydrosphere

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  • Hydrosphere is the combined name (for the study purpose) given to all the water bodies found on the Earth’s surface, for example, Oceans, Rivers, Lakes, etc.

  • About 71% of the Earth’s surface is covered by water and rest is covered by landmass.

  • About 97.5% (of total hydrosphere) is saline water and rest 2.5% is fresh water.

  • About 68.7% of the fresh water is available in the form of permanent snow found in the regions of Arctic, Antarctic, and other mountain glaciers.

  • About 29.9% fresh water is available in the form of (fresh) groundwater.

  • Only about 0.26% fresh water is easily accessible for the use, available in the form of rivers, lakes, reservoirs, etc.

Oceans

  • There are five Oceans namely −

  • Pacific Ocean

  • Atlantic Ocean

  • Indian Ocean

  • Arctic Ocean &

  • Southern Ocean

Southern Ocean

  • The following table describes the major facts of all the five Oceans −

Ocean Area (sq. km) % of Total Avg. Depth (in meter) Deepest Point
Pacific Ocean 168,723,000 46.6 3,970 Mariana Trench (10,994 m deep)
Atlantic Ocean 85,133,000 23.5 3,646 Puerto Rico Trench (8,648 m)
Indian Ocean 70,560,000 19.5 3,741 Diamantina Trench (8,047 m) Sunda Trench (7,725 m)
Arctic Ocean 15,558,000 15,558,000 1,205 Eurasian Basin (5,450 m)
Southern Ocean 21,960,000 6.1 3,270 South Sandwich Trench (7,236 m)
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