A disc head slider having a slider body that includes a bearing surface, a cavity
dam and a sub-ambient pressure cavity is provided. The sub-ambient pressure cavity
has a cavity floor, a plurality of sides and a depth that progressively varies
between a point on one of the sides and a corresponding point on an opposing side.
The depth is measured from the bearing surface to the cavity floor. The cavity
floor comprises a plurality of substantially flat bottom surfaces that are separated
by at least one elevational change. Other embodiments pertain to other specialized
slider cavity configurations.