The deepest depression on the globe. The Deepest Depressions on Earth: World Leaders

The Mariana Trench, or Mariana Trench, is an oceanic trench in the western Pacific Ocean, which is the deepest geographical feature known in the world. Geographical coordinates of the object - 11°21′ N. w. 142°12′ E. d. (G). As you already know, this is the deepest part of the earth's oceans, and also the deepest place on the entire earth.

According to the results of measurements of the Soviet vessel "Vityaz", the maximum depth of the depression reaches 11022 m (although according to recent observations this value does not exceed 10911-10924 m). Thus, the deepest point of the depression is much further from sea level than Mount Everest is above it.

The depression stretches along the Mariana Islands for 1500 km; it has a V-shaped profile, steep (7-9) slopes, a flat bottom 1-5 km wide, which is divided by rapids into several closed depressions. At the bottom, water pressure reaches 108.6 MPa (15,750 ft per square inch), which is more than 1,000 times the normal atmospheric pressure at ocean level. The depression is located at the junction of two tectonic plates, in the zone of movement along faults, where the Pacific plate goes under the Philippine plate.

The first data on the depth were obtained by the English ship Challenger in 1951, which, according to the report, was 10863 m. According to the results of measurements carried out in 1957 during the 25th voyage of the Soviet research vessel Vityaz, the maximum depth of the depression was 11022 m (specified data, originally reported depth was 11,034 m).

The only human dive to the bottom of the Mariana Trench was made on January 23, 1960 by US Navy Lieutenant Don Walsh and explorer Jacques Piccard on the bathyscaphe Trieste. The instruments recorded a record depth of 11,521 meters (corrected figure - 10,918 m). At the bottom, the researchers unexpectedly encountered flat fish up to 30 cm in size, similar to flounder.
The Japanese Kaiko probe, which was lowered into the area of ​​the maximum depth of the depression on March 24, 1997, recorded a depth of 10911.4 meters. On May 31, 2009, the automatic underwater vehicle Nereus sank to the bottom of the Mariana Trench. The device descended to a depth of 10,902 meters, where it filmed video, took several photographs, and also collected sediment samples at the bottom.

The waters of the Mariana Trench are home to many species of invertebrate fish, including such oddities as the monkfish, so called because it uses a glowing protrusion to attract prey.

An interesting feature of sea creatures is their longevity, with many of these animals having a "lifespan" of over 100 years, provided, of course, that they are not caught in fishing nets. Since these animals develop slowly, there is no concern about the threat of their extinction.

The bottom of the Mariana Trench consists of animal skeletons, decaying microorganisms and plants; as a rule, the bottom is yellow and viscous.

Which are characterized by the highest pressure and darkness, through which it is almost impossible to see anything. The deepest depressions on Earth, which will be discussed further, have not been fully studied by humans to date.

Mariana Trench

It tops the ranking and is also known as the Mariana Trench. Its location is in the Pacific Ocean, not far from The depth of the fault is 10994 meters, however, according to scientists, this value can vary within 40 meters. The first dive into the Mariana Trench occurred on January 23, 1960. The bathyscaphe, which contained US Navy Lieutenant Joe Walsh and scientist Jacques Piccard, dropped to 10,918 meters. The first explorers claimed that below they saw fish that looked like flounder. However, no photographs were taken. Later, two more dives were carried out. It turned out that the largest depression in the world has mountains at its bottom that reach a height of about 2500 meters.

Tonga Trench

This trench is only slightly inferior to the Mariana trench and has a depth of 10,882 meters. Its characteristic feature is its movement speed, which reaches 25.4 cm per year (while the average value of this indicator is about 2 cm). An interesting fact about this trench is that at a depth of approximately 6 km, the Apollo 13 lunar landing stage is located here, which fell here from space.

Philippine Trench

It is located near the Philippine Islands and takes third place in such a rating as “The deepest depressions on Earth.” The depth of the Philippine Trench is 10,540 meters. This depression was formed as a result of subduction and is not fully studied due to the fact that the Mariana is of much greater interest.

Kermadec

The trench is connected in the northern part with the above-mentioned Tonga and reaches a depth of 10,047 meters. A thorough study of it, which took place at a depth of about seven and a half kilometers, was carried out in 2008. During the research, rare living creatures were discovered, distinguished by their original pink color.

Izu-Bonin Trench

The deepest depressions on Earth were predominantly discovered in the twentieth century. In contrast, the Izu-Bonin Trench, 9810 meters deep, was first discovered by humans at the very end of the nineteenth century. This happened when determining the bottom depth for laying a telephone cable. Later it turned out that the trench is part of a whole chain of depressions in the ocean.

Kuril-Kamchatka Trench

The depth of this depression is 9783 meters. It was discovered during the exploration of the previous trench and has a very small width (59 meters). On the slopes there are many valleys with ledges, terraces and canyons. At the bottom there are depressions separated by rapids. Detailed studies have not yet been carried out due to difficult access.

Puerto Rico Trench

The deepest depressions on Earth are not only in the Pacific Ocean. The Puerto Rico Trench formed on the border of the Caribbean Sea. Its deepest point is located at 8385 meters. The depression differs from others in its relatively high seismic activity, as a result of which underwater eruptions and tsunamis sometimes occur in this place. It should also be noted that the depression is gradually lowering, which is associated with the subsidence of the tectonic North American plate.

Where is the deepest place on Earth? How far is it from the center of the Earth? If Everest was placed there, would it rise above the surface of the Earth?

Today we will deal with the deepest places, holes, wells, caves, wells in the world, natural and man-made.

1.8 meters

Graves are usually dug at this depth. It is from this depth that the zombies will emerge when the time comes.

20 meters

Here are the famous Paris catacombs- a network of winding underground tunnels and artificial caves near Paris. The total length, according to various sources, is from 187 to 300 kilometers. Since the end of the 18th century, the remains of almost six million people have been buried in the catacombs.

40 meters

The Terme Millepini hotel in Italy chose this bold strategy, digging a 40-meter-deep tunnel for snorkelers and divers. This is the Y-40 pool. The most interesting thing about the deepest is that it is filled with thermal water and has a wonderful temperature of 33 degrees Celsius.

105.5 meters

This is the depth Kyiv metro station "Arsenalnaya", which is located on the Svyatoshinsko-Brovarskaya line between the Khreshchatyk and Dnepr stations. This is the deepest metro station in the world.

122 meters

Tree roots can penetrate to this depth. The tree with the deepest roots is a wild ficus growing at Echo Caves near Ohrigstad, South Africa. This tree is native to South Africa. Its roots go almost 122 meters deep.

230 meters

The deepest river. This Congo - river in Central Africa. In the lower reaches of the Congo breaks through the South Guinea Highlands in a deep narrow (in some places no more than 300 meters) gorge, forming the Livingston Falls (total drop 270 meters), the depths in this area are 230 meters or more, which makes the Congo the deepest river in the world .

240 meters

This is a railway tunnel with a length of 53.85 km. The tunnel descends to a depth of about 240 meters, 100 meters below the seabed. It is the deepest under the seabed and the second longest (after the Gotthard Base Tunnel) railway tunnel in the world.

287 meters

It is located even deeper, laid along the bottom of the Storfjord in the Norwegian province of Møre og Romsdal, connecting the cities of Eiksund and Rjanes. Construction began in 2003, the opening ceremony took place on February 17, 2008, full traffic opened on February 23, 2008. With a length of 7765 m, the tunnel goes to a depth of 287 m below sea level - this is the deepest tunnel in the world. The slope of the road surface reaches 9.6%.

382 meters

Woodingdean is an eastern suburb of Brighton and Hove, located in East Sussex, England. It is notable for the fact that on its territory there is deepest well in the world, dug by hand between 1858–1862. The depth of the well is 392 meters.

Of course, it doesn't look so picturesque, it's just an illustration.

603 meters

"Cave of Vertigo" Vrtoglavica in the Julian Alps. It is located on the territory of Slovenia, near the border with Italy). The cave was discovered by a joint Slovenian-Italian group of speleologists in 1996. Located in the cave the world's deepest karst well, its depth is 603 meters.

The North Tower can easily fit here (its height is 417 m, and taking into account the antenna installed on the roof - 526.3 m).

If you accidentally fall into this hole, you can reach the bottom in 11 seconds.

700 meters

33 miners were trapped under the rubble on August 5, 2010. They were held captive at a depth of 700 meters for more than 2 months and were listed as dead for almost 3 weeks. As a result of 40 days of work, a well was drilled to rescue Chilean miners.

970 meters

This largest dug hole in the earth, from the bottom of which you can still see the sky. The Bingham Canyon Quarry in Utah is one of the largest man-made (man-dug) formations in the world. After more than 100 years of mining, a large crater was formed, 970 meters deep and 4 km wide. This unique canyon was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1966.

This quarry will fit entirely into the tallest structure in the world ever created, whose height is 828 meters. And not only will it fit, but from its “top” there will be more than 140 meters to the surface.

On April 10, 2013, a giant block of earth broke off and rushed into a huge hole in the artificial Bingham Canyon in Utah. Approximately 65 - 70 million cubic meters of earth thundered along the walls of the mine, reaching speeds of up to 150 kilometers per hour. The event was so powerful that it shook the earth - seismic sensors were activated, recording the earthquake. Intensity was measured as 2.5 on the Richter scale.

1642 meters

The deepest lake on Earth. The current maximum depth of the lake is 1642 m.

1857 meters

One of the deepest canyons in the world. Located on the Colorado Plateau, Arizona, USA. Depth - more than 1800 m.

2199 meters

So we reached the deepest cave in the world. This is the only known cave in the world deeper than 2 kilometers. The main entrance to the cave is located at an altitude of about 2250 m above sea level.

3132 meters

To date, the deepest mine is located southwest of Johannesburg. Its depth is a little over 3 kilometers. The elevator takes 4.5 minutes to reach the very bottom, but you can speed up the process: if a person accidentally falls here, the flight to the bottom will take him 25 seconds.

3600 meters

A living organism was found at this depth. About a hundred years ago, the English scientist Edward Forbes argued that there are no living creatures deeper than 500 meters. But in 2011, nematode worms were found in a gold mine in South Africa. The second name for these 0.5 mm creatures is “worm from hell.”

4500 meters

The deepest mines in the world are located in South Africa: Tau-Tona, Witwatersrand - depth of more than 4500 m, Western Deep Levels Mine - 3900 m (De Beers company), Mponeng - 3800 m. For miners have to work in extreme conditions. The heat reaches 60 °C, and at such depths there is always the danger of water breakthrough and explosions. These mines produce gold. The journey here takes miners about 1 hour.

By the way, from 25 to 50% of the gold mined in the world is obtained from the Witwatersrand deposit. Extraction is carried out, among other things, from the deepest mine in the world, “Tau-Tona” - its depth is more than 4.5 km, the temperature in the workings reaches 52 degrees.

10994 meters

The Mariana Trench (or Mariana Trench) is an oceanic deep-sea trench in the western Pacific Ocean, the deepest known on Earth. Named after the nearby Mariana Islands. The deepest point of the Mariana Trench is the Challenger Deep. According to measurements in 2011, its depth is 10,994 m below sea level.

This is very deep. If Everest, 8848 meters high, could be placed here, then there would still be more than 2 km left from its top to the surface.

Yes, there is a place on Earth about which we know much less than about distant space - mysterious ocean floor. It is believed that world science has not yet really even begun to study it...

At a depth of 11 kilometers. At the bottom, the water pressure reaches 108.6 MPa, which is approximately 1072 times greater than normal atmospheric pressure at the level of the World Ocean.

12262 meters

We have reached the deepest well in the world. This . Located in the Murmansk region, 10 kilometers west of the city of Zapolyarny. Unlike other ultra-deep wells that were drilled for oil production or geological exploration, SG-3 was drilled solely for scientific research purposes in the place where the Mohorovicic boundary comes close to the surface of the Earth.

At a depth of five kilometers, the ambient temperature exceeded 70 °C, at seven - 120 °C, and at a depth of 12 kilometers, sensors recorded 220 °C.

Kola superdeep well, 2007:

The Kola Superdeep served as the source of the urban legend about the “well to hell.” This urban legend has been circulating on the Internet since at least 1997. The legend was first announced in English in 1989 on the American television company Trinity Broadcasting Network, which took the story from a Finnish newspaper report published on April Fool's Day. According to this legend, in the very thickness of the earth, at a depth of 12,000 meters, microphones of scientists recorded screams and moans. The tabloid newspapers write that this is “a voice from the underworld.” The Kola superdeep well began to be called “the road to hell” - every new kilometer drilled brought misfortune to the country.

If you drop something into this hole, it will take 50 seconds before that “something” falls to the bottom.

This is it, the well itself (welded), August 2012:

12376 meters

Which was drilled in Russia on the shelf of Sakhalin Island, it is considered the deepest oil well in the world. It goes to a depth of about 13 kilometers - this depth is comparable to the height of 14.5 skyscrapers Burj Khalifa, which remains the tallest in the world. This the deepest hole that humanity has been able to drill.

At the moment, this is deepest place in the world. And it is located only at a depth of about 12.4 km. Is this too much? Let us remember that the average distance to the center of the Earth will be 6371.3 kilometers...

Now we approximately know the internal structure of our planet. The outer hard shell of the Earth is called the crust. It makes up less than 1% of the planet's mass and has a thickness of 5 to 70 kilometers. Next comes the mantle (outer and inner), and then the core (outer and inner).

How close to the core do you think a person can go? Theoretically, in the future we can make devices that can withstand colossal loads and temperatures in order to get as close to the core as possible, but in practice we have not yet gotten to the areas that are under the crust.

Let's see what are the deepest places on the planet we know.

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Lake Zakaton

Depth 319 meters

The lake is the world's largest natural well. It is located in Central Mexico. Its depth is 319 meters and its diameter is about 100 meters. At the same time, a hole was found on one of the “walls” of the well, which may be the entrance to another, deeper “well” or even to a system of deep-sea underground caves.

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Depth 370 meters

This is a coal mine located in Elsdorf in Germany. It is considered the deepest open pit mine in the world. Its depth is about 370 meters and its area is about 33.9 sq. km. Next to the quarry there is an artificial hill, which was formed from the material taken from the quarry.

The hill has its own name Sophienhöhe and is the largest artificial hill in the world. Its height is 301 meters.

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Woodingdean Well

Depth 392 meters

Let's start with a man-made feat that appeared in 1862 in the English town of Woodingdean. It all started with the fact that in 1858, during the construction of a new building, a source of water was required. It was decided to dig a well. To reduce costs, the well was dug by workers. It was planned to go 122 meters into the ground, lining the walls of the well with bricks.

The workers lowered themselves into the well, and lifted the excess earth in buckets to the surface. After 2 years of digging, the depth of the well exceeded the design depth by 12 meters, but there was still no water. Despite the fact that this depth was slightly below sea level.

Then it was decided to dig four horizontal shafts at this depth to get to the water. But this also did not give any results. Then the construction organizers decided not to give up and get to the water at any cost. At the end of one of the horizontal shafts they began to dig deeper again. After another 2 years, in March 1862, workers felt the ground in the mine begin to rise. People began to rush to the surface. After 45 minutes, water rushed out.

This well is the deepest well in the world that was dug by hand.

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Lake Baikal

Depth 1642 meters

Reaching a maximum depth of 1,642 meters, Lake Baikal is the deepest lake in the world. The lake is a treasure not only of Russia, but of the whole world; it is a natural reservoir for the purest fresh water. It is home to many plants and animals that are unique.

An interesting fact is that if all the water from Lake Baikal is divided equally among all Russian citizens, then for each resident there will be approximately 2,780 railway tanks of 60 tons each.

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Depth 2199 meters

This is the deepest cave in the world located in Abkhazia near the city of Gagra. The cave has several entrances located at an altitude of above 2000 meters above sea level. It is a system of several wells, which are interconnected by manholes and galleries. Inside there are several high plumbs, the deepest of which are 110, 115 and 152 meters.

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Depth 3048 meters

The Mponeng mine in South Africa is considered the deepest mine in the world. Its depth is 4000 meters. However, a mine called Kidd Mine in Ontario, Canada, which has a depth of 3048 meters, is closer to the Earth's core than the Mponeng mine. This is because our planet does not have an ideal spherical shape. Due to the rotation of the Earth, the diameter in the equatorial part is slightly larger than at the poles. The difference in size is about 140 kilometers. So a person standing at the equator is on average 70 kilometers further from the core than a person standing at the pole.

The Kidd Mine opened in 1964 as an open pit mine and has gradually expanded underground. It is now the largest copper mine in the world. It employs 2,200 workers and produces millions of tons of ore annually.

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Litke Gorge

Depth 5449 meters

Litke's Gap (Litke's Trench) is an oceanic trench located northeast of Greenland, 350 km north of Spitsbergen, in the Eurasian Basin of the Arctic Ocean. This is the deepest point in the Arctic Ocean, its depth is 5449 meters.

The gorge was found and explored by a Soviet expedition on the icebreaker Fedor Litke in 1955.

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Milwaukee Depression

Depth 8385 meters

The Milwaukee Trench is the deepest part of the Atlantic Ocean. Its maximum depth is 8385 meters. The place is named after the American cruiser that discovered it in 1939.

The Milwaukee Trench is located in the Puerto Rican Trench, which is located at the boundary of two lithospheric plates. The Caribbean Plate moves east and the North American Plate moves west.

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Challenger Deep

Depth 10994 meters

The top five deepest sea trenches in the world include those located in the Pacific Ocean, and the most famous of them is the Mariana Trench, with a maximum depth of 10994 meters (Challenger Deep).

The name of the depression comes from the Mariana Islands, located nearby. The depression stretches for 1500 kilometers, they have a standard V-shaped profile. The bottom of the depression is flat, ranging from 1 to 5 km wide.

The water pressure at the bottom of the Challenger Deep is 108,600 Pa, which is 1,100 times higher than atmospheric pressure on the Earth's surface. People have dived to the bottom of the Mariana Trench twice. The first dive was made in 1960 by explorer Jacques Piccard and US Navy SEAL Don Walsh. Their bathyscaphe "Trieste" had walls 127 millimeters thick to resist the monstrous pressure. The second time the famous director James Cameron visited the bottom of the depression was in 2012. He plunged into the Challenger Deep in the single-seat deep-sea submersible Deepsea Challenger. During the dive, he filmed in 3D.

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Depth 12262 meters

This is the deepest man-made place on Earth. It is located in the Murmansk region near the city of Zapolyarny.

Work to begin drilling the well was timed to coincide with the centenary of the birth of V.I. Lenin in 1970. Unlike others, this well was drilled specifically for the purpose of studying the structure of the planet. The location was chosen specifically where the thickness of the earth's crust is supposed to be thinnest.

Up to 7000 meters drilling proceeded normally. The drill passed through a uniform granite layer of the lithospheric plate. But lower down the rock was less dense and crumbled, jamming the equipment. I had to change the drilling angles a little.

Thirteen years later, in 1983, drillers reached a level of 12,066 meters and stopped. But after drilling resumed, the drill string broke. Drilling had to be started again from a depth of 7,000 meters. By 1990, the drill crossed the 12,262 meter mark and the accident repeated. Then, for financial reasons, the project had to be frozen, and in 2008, the Kola Superdeep Well project was finally abandoned.

I really want to believe that Russian science will turn its attention to this project. He has many prospects. The lion's share of the work has already been completed, and to revive the project, several million rubles are required, a significant amount for a country with high scientific ambitions.

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Conclusion

It was an article about the deepest places on Earth. We hope that you learned something new and interesting from us. Thank you for your attention!

Incredible facts

The earth is still full of secrets even though many of them have been revealed scientists and researchersfor many years.

You can learn about several unusual places created by people, but mostly by nature, here.

Plunge into the depths of our planet and imagine how many undiscovered secrets our planet holds.

The world's deepest well (the deepest well in the USSR)

In the Murmansk region, in 1970, 10 kilometers west of the city of Zapolyarny, the Kola superdeep well SG-Z was located, the depth of which is 12,262 meters, which makes it the deepest well in the world. The cost of drilling work is equal to the cost of the project to fly to the Moon. In 1989, the Guinness Book of Records registered the well as the deepest on Earth. It was drilled to study the boundaries of the lithosphere of our planet.

The deepest metro

The Kyiv metro station "Arsenalnaya" ("Arsenalna") is the deepest in the world. It is located on the Svyatoshinsko-Brovarskaya line and was opened on November 6, 1960. The "English type" station has a short middle hall and its depth is 105.5 meters.

The deepest ocean

The Pacific Ocean is not only the largest ocean on our planet by area, but also the deepest.

The deepest trench (the deepest place in the ocean, the deepest depression)

The Mariana Trench (or Mariana Trench) is an oceanic deep-sea trench. Its name comes from the nearby Mariana Islands. The deepest part of the depression is called “Challenger Deep” and it goes down to 11,035 meters.

The deepest lake in the world

Lake Baikal, which many Russians call the sea, is a lake of tectonic origin and is located in the southern part of Eastern Siberia. In addition to being the world's deepest lake at 1,642 meters, Baikal is also the largest natural reservoir of fresh water. There is a unique diversity of flora and fauna here - more than 1,700 species of plants and animals, 2/3 of which cannot be found anywhere else on the planet. In addition, the lake is considered the oldest on Earth - its age is about 25 million years.

The deepest sea

The Philippine Sea, located near the Philippine archipelago, has an average depth of 4,108 meters, and is considered the deepest thanks to the Philippine Trench, the deepest point of which is 10,540 meters.

The deepest river

The length of the Congo River is 4344-4700 kilometers, the basin area is 3,680,000 square kilometers, and the maximum depth is more than 230 meters, making it the deepest in the world. It is also worth noting that this is the second most water-rich river on Earth after the Amazon and the only large river that crosses the equator 2 times. As the lower Congo begins to break through the South Guinean Highlands in a deep gorge, it forms the Livingston Falls, and it is here that the river reaches its greatest depths.

Deepest mine

At the moment, the deepest mine in the world can be called the Tau-Tona mine, which is located 70 kilometers from Johannesburg (South Africa). The name of the mine can be translated from one African language as “great lion”. Gold is mined here, and so far this deposit has a depth of about 4 km, but mining is carried out at a depth of 2.3 to 3.595 kilometers.

Deepest cave

The Krubera-Voronya cave, located in Abkhazia, can be called the deepest in the world (at least among the caves studied). The entrance to the cave is located at an altitude of approximately 2,256 meters in the Orto-Balagan tract. It is worth noting that the Krubera-Voronya cave was discovered by Georgian speleologists in 1960. At the moment it has been explored to a depth of 95 meters.