Is smaller clustering depth indicative of better clustering?

• A. Yes; smaller depth indicates better clustering.
• B. No; smaller depth indicates worse clustering.
• C. It has no relation to clustering quality.
• D. It only affects storage size.

Answer: (A)

Smaller clustering depth means the data is more tightly organized by the clustering keys, so the system can prune more micro-partitions and scan fewer partitions during a query. Clustering depth measures how far into the partitioned data the engine has to search based on the clustering key ranges. When data aligns well with the clustering keys, the ranges are tight in most partitions, allowing aggressive pruning and fewer I/O operations. If clustering is poor, related data spreads across many partitions, increasing the depth and the amount of data scanned. So a lower depth indicates better clustering because it directly corresponds to more efficient data pruning and faster queries. This is about query performance, not storage size.