The Pacific Ocean is Earth's deepest ocean, reaching about 10,984 metres at Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench. It is also the largest ocean by surface area.
The Pacific stretches from Asia and Australia to the Americas. Its name comes from the Latin Mare Pacificum, meaning “peaceful sea,” a name associated with Ferdinand Magellan's relatively calm crossing in 1521.
The ocean contains the Pacific Ring of Fire, a zone of frequent earthquakes, volcanoes and subduction. Many oceanic trenches and island arcs formed because tectonic plates descend beneath one another around its margins.
The Atlantic is often confused with the Pacific because it is also enormous and historically important, but the Atlantic is substantially smaller. Challenger Deep is not a separate ocean; it is the deepest known point within the Pacific.