- 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 the total hydrosphere) is saline water and rest 2.5% is fresh water.
- About 68.7% of the freshwater is available in the form of permanent snow found in the regions of the Arctic, Antarctic, and other mountain glaciers.
- About 29.9% fresh water is available in the form of (fresh) groundwater.
- Only about 0.26% of fresh water is easily accessible for 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
- The following table describes the major facts of all five Oceans −
| Ocean | Area (sq. km) | % of Total | Avg. Depth (in meters) | 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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