Where is the deepest place in the world? The deepest places on planet earth What is the deepest point on earth
Despite the fact that the oceans are closer to us than the distant planets of the solar system, people have explored only five percent of the ocean floor, which remains one of our planet's greatest mysteries. The deepest part of the ocean - the Mariana Trench or Mariana Trench is one of the most famous places, about which we still do not know very much. With water pressure that is a thousand times greater than at sea level, diving into this place is akin to suicide. But thanks to modern technology and a few brave souls who risked their lives and went down there, we learned a lot of interesting things about this amazing place.
The Mariana Trench or Mariana Trench is located in the western Pacific Ocean east (about 200 km) of the 15 Mariana Islands near Guam. It is a crescent-shaped trench in the earth's crust about 2,550 km long and an average width of 69 km.
The coordinates of the Mariana Trench are 11°22′ north latitude and 142°35′ east longitude.
According to the latest research in 2011, the depth of the deepest point of the Mariana Trench is about 10,994 meters ± 40 meters. For comparison, the height of the highest peak in the world, Everest, is 8,848 meters. This means that if Everest were in the Mariana Trench, it would be covered by another 2.1 km of water.
Here are other interesting facts about what you can find along the way and at the very bottom of the Mariana Trench.
1. Very hot water
Going down to such depths, we expect it to be very cold. Temperatures here reach just above zero, varying from 1 to 4 degrees Celsius. However, at a depth of about 1.6 km from the surface of the Pacific Ocean there are hydrothermal vents called “black smokers”. They shoot water that heats up to 450 degrees Celsius.
This water is rich in minerals that help support life in the area. Despite the water temperature being hundreds of degrees above the boiling point, the water here does not boil due to the incredible water pressure, 155 times higher than on the surface.
2. Giant toxic amoebas
A few years ago, giant 10-centimeter amoebae called xenophyophores were discovered at the bottom of the Mariana Trench. These single-celled organisms likely became so large because of the environment they live in at a depth of 10.6 km. Cold temperatures, high pressure and lack of sunlight likely contributed to the enormous size of these amoebas.
In addition, xenophyophores have incredible abilities. They are resistant to many elements and chemicals, including uranium, mercury and lead, that would kill other animals and people.
3. Shellfish
The intense water pressure in the Mariana Trench does not give any animal with a shell or bones a chance of survival. However, in 2012, shellfish were discovered in a trench near serpentine hydrothermal vents. Serpentine contains hydrogen and methane, which allows living organisms to form. How the mollusks preserved their shells under such pressure remains unknown.
In addition, hydrothermal vents emit another gas, hydrogen sulfide, which is lethal to shellfish. However, they learned to bind the sulfur compound into a safe protein, which allowed the population of these mollusks to survive.
4. Pure liquid carbon dioxide
The Champagne Mariana Trench hydrothermal vent, which lies outside the Okinawa Trench near Taiwan, is the only known underwater area where liquid carbon dioxide can be found. The spring, discovered in 2005, was named after the bubbles that turned out to be carbon dioxide.
Many believe these springs, called "white smokers" due to their lower temperatures, may be the source of life. It was in the depths of the oceans, with low temperatures and an abundance of chemicals and energy, that life could begin.
5. Slime
If we had the opportunity to swim to the very depths of the Mariana Trench, we would feel that it was covered with a layer of viscous mucus. Sand, in its familiar form, does not exist there. The bottom of the depression is mainly made up of crushed shells and remains of plankton that have sunk to the bottom over the years. Due to the incredible water pressure, almost everything there turns into fine grayish-yellow thick mud.
6. Liquid sulfur
The Daikoku volcano, which lies at a depth of about 414 meters on the way to the Mariana Trench, is the source of one of the rarest phenomena on our planet. There is a lake of pure molten sulfur here. The only place where liquid sulfur can be found is Jupiter's moon Io.
In this pit, called the "cauldron", the bubbling black emulsion boils at 187 degrees Celsius. Although scientists have not been able to explore this site in detail, it is possible that even more liquid sulfur is contained deeper. This could reveal the secret of the origin of life on Earth.
According to the Gaia hypothesis, our planet is one self-governing organism in which everything living and nonliving is connected to support its life. If this hypothesis is correct, then a number of signals can be observed in the natural cycles and systems of the Earth. So the sulfur compounds created by organisms in the ocean must be stable enough in the water to allow them to move into the air and return to land.
7. Bridges
At the end of 2011, four stone bridges were discovered in the Mariana Trench, which stretched from one end to the other for 69 km. They appear to have formed at the junction of the Pacific and Philippine tectonic plates.
One of the Dutton Ridge bridges, which was opened in the 1980s, turned out to be incredibly high, like a small mountain. At its highest point, the ridge reaches 2.5 km above the Challenger Deep. Like many aspects of the Mariana Trench, the purpose of these bridges remains unclear. However, the very fact that these formations were discovered in one of the most mysterious and unexplored places is surprising.
8. James Cameron's Dive into the Mariana Trench
Since the discovery of the deepest part of the Mariana Trench, the Challenger Deep, in 1875, only three people have visited it. The first were American Lieutenant Don Walsh and explorer Jacques Piccard, who dived on January 23, 1960 on the Challenger.
52 years later, another person dared to dive here - the famous film director James Cameron. So on March 26, 2012, Cameron went down to the bottom and took several photographs. During James Cameron's 2012 dive into the Challenger Deep on the DeepSea Challenge submersible, he attempted to observe everything that was happening in the area until mechanical problems forced him to the surface.
While he was at the deepest point of the world's oceans, he came to the shocking conclusion that he was completely alone. There were no scary sea monsters or any miracles in the Mariana Trench. According to Cameron, the very bottom of the ocean was "lunar...empty...lonely" and he felt "complete isolation from all humanity."
9. Mariana Trench
10. The Mariana Trench in the ocean is the largest nature reserve
The Mariana Trench is a US national monument and the largest marine sanctuary in the world. Since it is a monument, there are a number of rules for those who want to visit this place. Within its borders, fishing and mining are strictly prohibited. However, swimming is allowed here, so you could be the next one to venture into the deepest place in the ocean.
08/17/2015 at 18:31 · Johnny · 39 480
Top 10 Deepest Places on Earth
We still know very little about our planet. This is especially true for the depths of oceans and seas. But even on land there are places that capture the human imagination. For example, the deepest places on Earth. What we know about them and where the lowest points of the earth’s surface are located - more on that later.
Huge holes or cliffs are rarely encountered in everyday life, but our planet has a diverse landscape. Along with the highest mountain peaks there are also the deepest places on our planet- both natural and man-made.
10. Lake Baikal | 1,642 m
It would be a mistake to think that the deepest places on Earth are only in the oceans and seas. Baikal has a depth of 1,642 meters and is among the lakes. Therefore, local residents often call Baikal the sea. This depth is explained by the tectonic origin of the lake. Many other records and amazing discoveries are associated with this place. Baikal can be called the largest natural reservoir of fresh water on Earth. This is the oldest lake on our planet (it is more than 25 million years old) and two-thirds of the flora and fauna of the reservoir are found nowhere else.
9. Krubera-Voronya Cave | 2,196 m
There are also giants among the caves. The Krubera-Voronya cave (Abkhazia) is one of the deepest places on Earth. Its depth is 2,196 meters. It should be noted that we are talking about the studied part of the cave. It is possible that the next expedition will go even lower and set a new depth record. The karst cave consists of wells connected by passages and galleries. It was first opened in 1960. Then speleologists were able to descend to a depth of 95 meters. The two-kilometer limit was overcome by a Ukrainian expedition of speleologists in 2004.
8. TauTon Mine | 4,000 m
The TauTona Mine in South Africa is the deepest mine on Earth. It is located in the Republic of South Africa, near Johannesburg. This world's largest gold mine goes 4 kilometers into the ground. At this incredible depth there is an entire underground city with a network of kilometer-long tunnels. To get to their workplace, miners have to spend about an hour. Working at such a depth is associated with a large number of dangers - humidity, which reaches 100% in some branches of the mine, high air temperatures, the danger of an explosion from gas leaking into the tunnels and collapse from earthquakes, which occur here quite often. But all the dangers of work and the costs of maintaining the functionality of the mine are generously paid for by the mined gold - over the entire history of the mine’s existence, 1,200 tons of the precious metal were mined here.
7. Kola well | 12,262 m
The deepest well on Earth is the Kola superdeep well, which is located in Russia. This is one of the most unusual and interesting experiments carried out by Soviet scientists. Drilling began in 1970 and had only one goal - to find out more about the Earth's crust. The Kola Peninsula was chosen for the experiment because the oldest rocks on Earth, about 3 million years old, come to the surface here. They were also of great interest to scientists. The depth of the well is 12,262 meters. It made it possible to make unexpected discoveries and forced us to reconsider scientific ideas about the occurrence of rocks on the Earth. Unfortunately, the well, created for purely scientific purposes, did not find use in subsequent years, and a decision was made to mothball it.
6. Izu-Bonin depression | 9,810 m
In 1873-76, the American oceanographic vessel Tuscarora surveyed the seabed for laying an underwater cable. The lot, abandoned off the Japanese Izu Islands, recorded a depth of 8,500 meters. Later, the Soviet ship Vityaz in 1955 established the maximum depth of the depression at 9810 meters.
5. Kuril-Kamchatka Trench | 10,542 m
- This is not only one of the deepest places on Earth, the trench is also the narrowest in the Pacific Ocean. The width of the trench is 59 meters, and the maximum depth is 10,542 meters. The depression is located in the northwestern part of the Pacific Ocean. In the middle of the last century, Soviet scientists studied it on the Vityaz ship. No further detailed studies have been carried out. The trench was discovered by the American ship Tuscarora and bore this name for a long time until it was renamed.
4. Kermadec Gutter | 10,047 m
Located in the Pacific Ocean near the Kermadec Islands. The maximum depth of the depression is 10,047 meters. Explored by the Soviet ship "Vityaz". In 2008, a previously unknown species of sea slug from the snail fish family was discovered at a depth of 7 kilometers in the Kermadec Trench. The researchers were also surprised by other dwellings of this deepest place on Earth - huge 30-centimeter crustaceans.
3. Philippine Trench | 10,540 m
Unlocks the three deepest points on the planet. 10,540 meters is its depth. It was formed millions of years ago as a result of the collision of the earth's plates. Located in the east of the Philippine archipelago. By the way, scientists have long believed that the Philippine Trench is the deepest point in the Pacific Ocean.
2. Tonga Trough | 10,882 m
Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, near the Tonga Islands. This area is extremely interesting because it is a very active seismic zone. Several strong earthquakes occur here every year. The depth of the trench is 10,882 meters. It is only 100 meters smaller than the Mariana Trench. The difference is about a percent, but it makes the Tonga Trench the second deepest place on Earth.
1. Mariana Trench | 10,994 m
It is located in the western part of the Pacific Ocean and is shaped like a crescent moon. The length of the trench is more than 2.5 thousand kilometers, and the deepest point is 10,994 meters. It is called the Challenger Deep.
The deepest place on Earth was discovered in 1875 by the English ship Challenger. Today, the trench is the most studied of all other deep-sea trenches. They tried to reach its bottom during four dives: in 1960, 1995, 2009 and 2012. The last time director James Cameron descended into the Mariana Trench all alone. Most of all, the bottom of the trench reminded him of the lifeless lunar surface. But, unlike the Earth’s satellite, the Mariana Trench is inhabited by living organisms. Researchers found here toxic amoebas, mollusks and deep-sea fish that look very scary. Since a full-scale study of the trench, other than short-term dives, has not been carried out, the Mariana Trench may still hide a lot of interesting things.
From the dark depths of the ocean to some of the highest peaks on Earth, below are twenty-five of the world's vastest, tallest, deepest and tiniest places!
25. The deepest lake is Lake Baikal
This Siberian rift lake is not only the deepest lake on Earth, but it also has the largest volume and contains approximately 20 percent of the fresh water of the entire Earth's surface.
24. The highest mountain is Everest
As you may have suspected, Everest is officially the tallest mountain in the world. But this is only if we start our measurement at sea level...
23. The highest mountain from base to summit is Mauna Kea
Mauna Kea, a volcano on the big island of Hawaii, is more than twice as tall as Everest, measured from the mountain's seabed base to its peak.
22. The point furthest from the center of the Earth is Mount Chimborazo
Due to the Earth's bulge at the equator, the peak of Mount Everest is also not the farthest point from the center of the Earth. That honor belongs to the summit of Mount Chimborazo in Ecuador.
21. The lowest point on Earth - Challenger Deep
This depression, located nearly 11 kilometers below the ocean's surface, is the deepest point of the already deep Mariana Trench. In fact, Everest would sit comfortably here below the surface.
20. The highest waterfall - Angel Falls
This waterfall in Venezuela is so high that the water sometimes evaporates before reaching the ground.
19. The driest place is the Atacama Desert
In the middle of the Chilean Atacama Desert there is a point where rain has never fallen. Scientists call this region an “absolute desert.”
18. The highest human settlement is La Rinconada
This mining town, located in Peru, is in the highest inhabited region of the globe. At an altitude higher than the location of La Rinconada, a person simply will not be able to adapt.
17. Highest temperature - Death Valley
With a recorded temperature of nearly 57 degrees Celsius, Death Valley in California has once again become the hottest place on Earth in recent memory.
16. The most remote inhabited place on Earth - Tristan da Cunha
This small archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, located thousands of kilometers from both South Africa and South America, has a population of 271 people. Mail arrives here only a few times a year.
15. The deepest cave - Krubera-Voronya Cave
This cave, located in Abkhazia, is the only known cave in the world whose depth exceeds 2,000 meters.
14. The biggest difference in height is Mount Thor
Mount Thor, located in Canada, has an altitude of 1250 meters and despite its very remote location in the frozen tundra of the northern provinces of Canada, it is a popular climbing destination.
13. Hottest inhabited place - Dallol, Ethiopia
The hottest permanently inhabited region in the world is in Ethiopia. Although these days Dallol has become even less populated and some even say that it has become a ghost town. However, it is also worth noting that there has not been an official census in this region for a long time, so the research is based on previously obtained data.
12. The northernmost point of land on Earth - Kaffeklubben Island
This island, belonging to Greenland, is officially considered the northernmost point of land on Earth. However, there are several slow-moving gravel bars that lie further north.
11. Lowest temperature - Vostok Station, Antarctica 
-89.2°C - This temperature was recorded in East Antarctica and, apart from some new satellite measurements, is still considered the coldest land temperature in history.
10. The deepest ice - Bentley Subglacial Trench
This place is also located in Antarctica, and the depth of the local ice exceeds 2.5 kilometers. In fact, the land on which it rests is well below sea level and is the lowest point on Earth not covered by an ocean.
9. The deepest point measured from ground level - Kola superdeep well
Although it was artificially created, this Russian scientific project tried to get as deep into the earth's crust as possible. The drill reached a depth of more than 12 kilometers.
8. The deepest point made by man - TauTona Mine
This South African mine is the deepest point under the surface of the Earth that a person could fit into. Its depth is almost 4 kilometers.
7. The coldest settlement is Oymyakon, Russia
Temperatures sometimes drop below zero in mid-September and remain there until May. The average temperature in January is -46 °C. The population of the village is less than 500 people.
6. The highest road is the Aucanquilcha mining road.
This mining road was once used by trucks to climb this Chilean volcano to an altitude of over 6,000 meters.
5. Highest mountain pass - Marsimik La, India 
Although the volcanic mountain road we saw in the previous point is technically the highest road in the world, it is a dead end and is no longer in use. In contrast, the Marsimik La Pass, located at 5,582 meters in northern India, is often considered the highest functional road in the world.
4. The highest lake is Lake Titicaca
This lake is located on the border of Peru and Bolivia in the Andes at an altitude of 3,812 meters. There are several unnamed crater lakes around the world that may be located slightly higher.
3. The most remote island - Bouvet Island
This small uninhabited Norwegian island in the South Atlantic Ocean lies between Antarctica and Tristan da Cunha (which, as you may recall, is itself quite remote).
2. The longest river is the Nile
Despite the difficulties in accurately calculating the sources and directions of various rivers, the Nile is generally considered the longest river in the world. Its length is 6,650 kilometers. In ancient times, when water still flowed from Lake Tanganyika, the Nile was 1,500 kilometers longer.
1. The farthest point from the ocean is Xinjiang, China
This region in China is Asia's pole of inaccessibility. This basically means that it is the farthest point on the continent from any ocean.
Mariana Trench
Any high school student, when asked about the deepest place in the World Ocean, will answer without hesitation that the greatest depth is in the Mariana Trench or Mariana Trench and is 11,022 meters. Meanwhile, such a seemingly simple question has a completely unobvious answer. According to the latest data from scientists, firstly, the depth of the Mariana Trench is somewhat less, and secondly, the Mariana Trench is not the greatest depth of the ocean.
The Mariana Trench or Mariana Trench, the deepest oceanic trench in the western Pacific Ocean, was still considered the deepest geographical object known on Earth.
Mariana Trench depth data
Many Russian maps still show the value of 11,022 meters obtained by the Soviet oceanographic vessel Vityaz during the 1957 expedition.
Although, according to the latest data from 2009, when the American deep-sea vehicle Nereus sank to the bottom of the depression, instruments recorded a depth of 10,902 meters. To the surprise of scientists, in the abyss itself they discovered organisms living there - sea cucumbers, belonging to the class of invertebrate animals such as echinoderms.
The Cayman Trench turned out to be even deeper
The Mariana Trench, 10,902 meters deep, is not the deepest place in the world
And today, researchers were even more surprised when they not only discovered another deepest place on Earth, but also unprecedented animals living in it. British researchers, using a remotely controlled small submarine, discovered the deepest volcanic crater on our planet, reports Rosbalt. The top of the discovered crater is located five kilometers below the surface of the Caribbean Sea, in the Cayman Trench region. James Cameron's science-fiction thriller "The Abyss" was filmed there.
The Cayman Trench in the Caribbean is the deepest place in the world
For those who haven't seen this film, let's remember the plot. The US Navy nuclear submarine Montana with nuclear weapons on board crashes at great depths. The Ministry of the Navy is asking for help from specialists at an underwater research station operating near the site of the submarine accident. With the support of military intelligence, researchers must find out the possible cause of the tragedy and neutralize the nuclear warheads. But underwater they discover strange creatures of extraterrestrial origin. And the director of the film, James Cameron, looked into the water. This abyss, indeed, turned out to be not lifeless.
According to an official report, the water temperature in this crater can reach 400 degrees Celsius, but the high pressure (500 times the planet's atmospheric pressure) prevents the water from boiling. Despite these indicators, many species of animals are found in the volcanic crater. Scientists do not rule out that the uncharted depths of boiling waters may hide animals that humans have never seen before.