A zone of ocean water ranging from about 200 meters to 1,000 meters in depth, generally located along continental slopes. Unlike the abyssal zone, light reaches the upper layer of the bathyal zone, and there is abundant biological activity in the water. The bathyal zone of the world covers a total of about 40 million square kilometers.

the part of the oceanic zone that is between 200 meters (656 feet) and about 2,000 meters (6,562 feet) deep

The benthic environment between the depths of 200 and 2000 metres, including the continental slope and oceanic ridges and rises.

The bathyal zone is the benthic zone that begins at the continental slope and reaches a depth of 2000 meters in oceans, where it is continuous with the deeper Abyssal zone. Although larger by volume than the Euphotic zone, the bathyal zone is less densely populated. Sunlight does not reach the bottom of this zone, so plants do not grow in that area.