Hydrosphere. When we think of the earth, we think mostly of areas of land. However, the land actually makes up only a small part of the world. Water, or the hydrosphere, makes up most of the earth's surface. The hydrosphere consists of all bodies of water and ice, plus water vapor in the atmosphere. We see the hydrosphere mostly in the basins of lakes and oceans. In some parts of the Pacific Ocean, the hydrosphere is more than 6 miles (9.7 kilometers) deep.