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Imagine yourself standing on a beach,

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looking out over the ocean,

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waves crashing against the shore,

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blue as far as your eyes can see.

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Let it really sink in,

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the sheer scope and size of it all.

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Now, ask yourself,

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"How big is it?

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How big is the ocean?"

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First thing, we need to understand

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that there really is only one ocean,

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consisting of five component basins that we call

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the Pacific,

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the Atlantic,

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the Indian,

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the Arctic,

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and the Southern.

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Each of these five,

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while generally referred to as oceans

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in and of themselves,

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are really and truly a part of

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a single, massive body of water,

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one ocean,

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which defines the very face of planet Earth.

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The ocean covers roughly 71% of our planet's surface,

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some 360 million square kilometers,

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an area in excess of the size of 36 U.S.A.'s.

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It's such a vast spread,

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when viewed from space,

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the ocean is, by far, the dominant feature of our planet.

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Speaking of space,

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the ocean currently holds over 1.3 billion,

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that's billion with a "b",

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cubic kilometers of water.

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Put another way,

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that's enough water to immerse

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the entire United States

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under a body of salt water

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over 132 kilometers tall,

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a height well beyond the reach of the highest clouds

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and extending deep into the upper atmosphere.

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With all that volume,

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the ocean represents 97%

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of Earth's total water content.

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On top of all that,

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the ocean contains upwards of 99%

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of the world's biosphere,

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that is, the spaces and places where life exists.

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Now let that sink in for a second.

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The immediate world as we know it,

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indeed the totality of all the living space

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encompassed by the continents themselves,

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all of that represents only 1% of the biosphere.

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1%!

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The ocean is everything else.

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So, the ocean is physically massive.

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It's importance to life is practically unparalleled.

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It also happens to hold

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the greatest geological features of our planet.

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Quickly, here are four of the most notable.

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The ocean contains the world's largest mountain range,

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the mid-ocean ridge.

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At roughly 65,000 kilometers long,

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this underwater range is some 10 times

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longer than the longest mountain chain

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found purely on dry land, the Andes.

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Beneath the Denmark Strait exists

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the world's largest waterfall.

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This massive cataract carries roughly 116 times

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more water per second over its edge

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than the Congo River's Inga Falls,

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the largest waterfall by volume on land.

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The world's tallest mountain is actually found in the ocean,

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hiding in plain sight.

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While 4200 meters of Hawaii's Mauna Kea

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sit above sea level,

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its sides plummet beneath the waves

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for another 5800 meters.

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From its snow-covered top

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to it's silt-covered bottom, then,

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this Hawaiian mountain is roughly 10,000 meters in height,

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dwarfing tiny Everest's paltry peak

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by well over a kilometer.

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Then, since we're picking on poor Everest,

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let's consider the world's deepest canyon,

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the Challenger Deep,

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existing 11 kilometers below the ocean's surface,

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some six times deeper than the Grand Canyon.

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That's deep enough to sink Mount Everest into

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and still have over 2.1 kilometers of water

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sitting atop its newly submerged peak.

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Put another way, the depth of the Challenger Deep

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is roughly the same height

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that commercial airliners travel.

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So, pretty much however you choose to slice it,

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the ocean is capital B

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capital I,

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capital G,

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BIG!

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It defines our planet,

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home to the greatest geological features,

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comprises the largest living space,

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and accordingly, is home to the greatest numbers

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and forms of life on Earth.

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It is practically incomprehensible in scope.

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But it is not so big,

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so vast,

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so extraordinary

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as to be untouchable.

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In fact, with roughly 50% of the world's population

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living within 100 kilometers of the coastline

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and with most of the remainder

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living close enough to lakes, rivers, or swamps,

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all of which ultimately lead to the ocean,

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virtually every single person on the planet

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has the opportunity to influence the general health

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and nature of the world ocean.

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Evidence of human influence is seen

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in every part of the ocean,

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no matter how deep,

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no matter how distant.

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The ocean defines our planet,

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but, in a very real sense,

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we define the ocean.