The Mariana Trench, or the "Challenger Abyss" is the deepest place of our planet known to man. Its depth is 10,994 meters, and it is located in the western part of the Pacific Ocean, 2,200 km east of the Philippines. But read more about this place at the end of the article.
Our planet is amazing and unique, and when describing its nature, I want to use only the brightest epithets and a superlative degree.
But each time, having heard about the new discovery of scientists, we are convinced how little we still know about planet Earth. This applies both to the depths of the seas and oceans, and to land.
These are the amazing objects that will be discussed in the article, and more specifically, we will visit the deepest place on Earth. There are many such places, some of them are created by human hands, but most of them are of natural origin.
The deepest places of the planet:
Lake Baikal
Russian Baikal is a record holder in many respects, but it is also the deepest lake in the world. The deepest place in the lake is from the surface of the water at a depth of 1642 meters. For comparison, the deepest point in the Black Sea is 2,245 meters.
First of all, this depth on Lake Baikal is due to tectonic origin, and secondly, the age of Lake Baikal, which is about 25 million years old. In addition, it is the largest reservoir of fresh water on Earth.
Thousands of tourists from all over the world come to the wonderful lake to enjoy the unique nature and get a boost of vivacity.
Congo River
The African river, having a large length and a large basin, is also the deepest river on earth. The deepest place on the Congo River is 230 meters.
The amazing river is not only the deepest, but also ranks second in the world in terms of full flow. Such indicators determined a rich fauna and flora along the banks of the river, and more than 1,000 species of fish and animals inhabit the waters.
Krubera-Voronya Cave
This natural masterpiece is the deepest cave in the series of similar objects explored on the planet. The depth of the unique cave, which is located in Abkhazia, is 2 196 meters.
Despite the impressive depths, the cave is not without its inhabitants. Some species of bacteria and Lepidoptera have made her their home.
The world first learned about the cave in 1960, when cavers managed to go down 95 meters. Below then, for security reasons, the groups did not dare to go down. Only after 44 years, scientists overcame the two-kilometer milestone. On our site thebiggest.ru you can find out about the deepest caves of the planet.
Tau Ton Mine
From the natural masterpiece we go to the man-made object. Not far from the capital of South Africa is the deepest mine - the Tau-Ton mine, in which gold ore is mined. Valuable ore also contains uranium, which makes mine work hazardous to health.
The depth of the mine today is 4 kilometers, and over the entire time of its operation 1,200 tons of valuable metal have already been mined. Naturally, work at such an object is fraught with many dangers. But for now, the cost of security pays off with the mined gold.
Kola well
Another deep object of the work of human hands is the Kola superdeep well. It appeared as a result of a unique experiment by Soviet scientists who began drilling in 1970 to learn as much as possible about the structure of the earth's crust.
The place was not chosen by chance, because it was on the Kola Peninsula on the surface that outcrops of ancient rocks were discovered.
Scientists and engineers with hard efforts managed to go deep by 12,262 meters. Adventurous, at first glance, the project allowed to learn a lot about the structure of the Earth. After closing the well, no further use was found, and mothballed.
Izu Bonin Depression
A deepwater trench was discovered while laying a cable along the Pacific bottom, near Japan. The Tuscarora vessel at the end of the 19th century, with the help of an echo sounder, was able to record a depth of 8,500 meters.
The bottom of the basin has rapids of different depths. But oceanologists from the Vityaz vessel established at one time the maximum depth of the ocean trench - 9,810 meters. The depression extends over the bottom of the ocean for a thousand kilometers, and connects with the Japanese trench.
Kuril-Kamchatka Trench
The ship "Vityaz" explored another natural object - a narrow deep-water basin between the Kuril Islands and Kamchatka. The maximum depression depth in the Pacific Ocean is 9,783 meters.
It is interesting that the scientists of the Tuskarora ship discovered this gutter, and until the 50s of the last century it was called by the name of the American research ship.
In addition to gigantic depth, it is also the narrowest ocean trench, with a width of only 59 meters. TheBiggest editors would love to visit this amazing place, when surrounded by natural walls, you find yourself over the abyss!
Trench Kermadek
At the end of the 19th century, at the end of the 19th century, at the southeastern foot of the Pacific island of Kermadek, the basin of the same name was discovered. Its maximum depth is 10,047 meters.
It stretched for 1,200 km along the seabed. The gutter is a constant object of research, and most recently, oceanologists have discovered a new species of marine slugs that live in the depths of the gutter.
Philippine Trench
The depression in the Philippine Sea, located 10,540 meters from the surface of the water, makes this sea the deepest sea on the earth's surface. It is noteworthy that the average depths of 4,108 meters are rather rather large.
A gutter formed millions of years ago, and was the result of a collision of huge tectonic plates. One can only speculate the magnitude of that earthquake and the tsunami caused by it. And today this area is one of the most earthquake-prone on the planet.
Tonga Trench
From the island of Tonga to the Kermadek depression, another deepest trench, called Tonga, stretches for a distance of 860 kilometers along the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.
This depression is only slightly inferior to the Mariana and its depth is 10,882 meters. The natural object has its own entertaining history. In 1970, the landing stage of the American ship Apollo-13, containing plutonium, sank in the Tongo Trench. They never raised her.
Mariana Trench. Challenger Abyss
This is the end point of our journey - the deepest place on the planet. This is the Mariana Trench, the depth of which is 10,994 meters, and the total length is almost 2 and a half thousand kilometers.
The deepest place in the world was discovered in the 70s of the XIX century by an English research vessel with the defiant name "Challenger".
In the photo: Shark-Brownie - one of the inhabitants of the Challenger Abyss.
It is interesting that there are inhabitants at such depths. A variety of simple, rare species of mollusks and unique deep-sea fishes have chosen the hollow. But, as oceanologists say, the hollow contains many more secrets that have yet to be unraveled.
Conclusion
The diverse landscape of the earth's surface led to the appearance of various objects. The deepest places cannot but cause surprise and even admiration. Nature is diverse, and, in addition to the highest mountain peaks, has created amazing deep places, both on land and in the ocean.
But man, in the course of research and economic activity, also created deep objects worthy of taking his place of honor in the list of attractions of the Earth.
TheBiggst Editorial is looking forward to hearing from you the most interesting comments about the deepest places on the planet. Write to us your opinion on any of the described places or suggest another interesting option for the title of one of the deepest places on Earth.
Article author: Valery Skiba