• 13 zones
  • Checked October 2026

Ocean Zones Diagram: From the Shore and by Depth

Name the zones of the sea from the shore out, then the five layers from the surface down.

Ocean Zones Diagram: From the Shore and by Depth

Name Date

Tap any zone to read, rename or leave it out

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
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Write the name of each numbered zone.Answer key

  1. Intertidal zone
  2. Neritic zone
  3. Oceanic zone
  4. Continental shelf
  5. Benthic zone
  6. Epipelagic zone
  7. Mesopelagic zone
  8. Bathypelagic zone
  9. Abyssopelagic zone
  10. Hadalpelagic zone
  11. Trench
  12. Photic zone
  13. Aphotic zone

Drawn for this site on 2026-10-01 from plain geometry. Licence: own work.

Each numbered ring is a button. Use the arrow keys to move between them and Enter to choose. Names are read out in Study, and once a zone is answered.

Next step Next: the ocean floor

All 13 zones on the diagram

Show the list

From the shore out 5

  1. Intertidal zone The shore that the tide covers and uncovers.
  2. Neritic zone The shallow water over the continental shelf.
  3. Oceanic zone The open sea beyond the continental shelf's edge.
  4. Continental shelf The shallow, gently sloping seabed from the shore to the shelf break.
  5. Benthic zone The sea bottom; what lives on or in it is the benthos.

From the surface down 6

  1. Epipelagic zone The top layer, down to 200 meters. Also called the sunlight zone.
  2. Mesopelagic zone From 200 to 1,000 meters. Also called the twilight zone.
  3. Bathypelagic zone From 1,000 to 4,000 meters, in constant darkness. Also called the midnight zone.
  4. Abyssopelagic zone From 4,000 to 6,000 meters, reaching the sea floor in most places.
  5. Hadalpelagic zone Below 6,000 meters: the water inside the deep trenches.
  6. Trench A deep, narrow cut in the sea floor. The Mariana Trench is the deepest.

By light 2

  1. Photic zone The lit top 200 meters, where there is enough light for photosynthesis.
  2. Aphotic zone The dark water below 1,000 meters, which sunlight does not reach.

How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-10-01 in at least two of these; every depth on the drawing is one that the first, third and fourth give alike. (1) NOAA JetStream, Layers of the Ocean, https://www.noaa.gov/jetstream/ocean/layers-of-ocean (the five layers and their depths: 200, 1,000, 4,000 and 6,000 meters; the Mariana Trench). (2) NOAA National Ocean Service, How far does light travel in the ocean?, https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/light_travel.html (the euphotic or sunlight zone to 200 meters, the twilight zone to 1,000 meters, the aphotic zone below). (3) Paul Webb, Introduction to Oceanography, Roger Williams University, section 1.3, Marine Provinces, https://rwu.pressbooks.pub/webboceanography/chapter/1-3-marine-provinces/ (pelagic and benthic; the neritic province, from low tide out to the shelf break, and the oceanic province beyond it; the same five depth zones; the littoral or intertidal zone; the continental shelf). (4) Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Ocean Zones, https://www.whoi.edu/know-your-ocean/ocean-topics/how-the-ocean-works/ocean-zones/ (the five zones and the trenches). (5) Wikipedia, Neritic zone; Oceanic zone; Intertidal zone; Benthic zone; Photic zone, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neritic_zone. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-10-01 from plain geometry. Own original drawing; nothing is traced or copied. Licence: own work

How it works

This ocean zones diagram names the sea two ways. The first drawing runs from the shore out: the intertidal, neritic and oceanic zones. The second runs from the surface down, through five layers to a trench.

Read the full guide

From the shore out

The intertidal zone is the shore between the high and low tide marks. From low tide out to the shelf break, the water over the continental shelf is the neritic zone. Beyond the shelf break lies the oceanic zone, the open sea. The bottom under all of it is the benthic zone.

From the surface down

Sunlight fades with depth. The epipelagic zone, the top 200 meters, is lit. The mesopelagic zone is dim, and below 1,000 meters the bathypelagic, abyssopelagic and hadalpelagic zones are dark. The drawing is not to scale: the top layer would be a hairline.

  • The everyday names count as answers too: sunlight zone, twilight zone and midnight zone.

Questions and answers

What are the 5 zones of the ocean in order?

From the surface down: the epipelagic (sunlight) zone, the mesopelagic (twilight) zone, the bathypelagic (midnight) zone, the abyssopelagic zone and the hadalpelagic zone, which is the water inside the deep trenches.

What is the difference between the neritic zone and the oceanic zone?

The neritic zone is the shallow water over the continental shelf, from low tide out to the shelf break. The oceanic zone is all the open water beyond the shelf break.

How deep does sunlight reach in the ocean?

NOAA puts the bottom of the sunlight zone at 200 meters (660 feet). A little light reaches 1,000 meters (3,300 feet), too little for photosynthesis. Below that the sea is dark: the aphotic zone.

Is the photic zone the same as the epipelagic zone?

On this drawing, yes: both are the top 200 meters. Epipelagic names the layer by depth, photic by light. NOAA calls it the euphotic zone, and this page takes any of the three.

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