In those places where rays of sunlight will never penetrate, to get there, researchers, risking their lives, make a lot of effort and effort, mysterious creatures live there that look more like aliens than ocean inhabitants - all these are deep-sea depressions (trenches) World ocean.

Geographical feature (meaning)

Ocean trenches are deep cracks on the ocean floor, the length of which reaches at least five thousand meters. They play an important role in shaping climatic conditions and the climate in general.

The depressions of the World Ocean act as the main sinks for the most common carbon gas, CO2, which is a major component in the biochemical processes of the globe. Depressions - catchers organic matter, which is intensively processed by bacteria. Much more bacterial organisms are concentrated in the depressions than on the ocean plains (up to 6000 meters), which were previously considered the main utilizers of organic matter. In addition, such peculiar traps can act in the opposite direction global warming, which helps maintain the planet’s ecological system in a balanced state.

Characteristics of sea and ocean depressions

Oceanic cracks and faults also include depressions in marginal seas that develop in oceanic conditions. Sea depressions are deep cracks that are located at the bottom of the seas, where complete darkness and high pressure reign. The most famous are the sea depressions that stretch along the eastern shores of Eurasia.

Oceanic depressions are the most common relief elements in the intermediate sector between the ocean and the continental part of the continent. These long, narrow depressions of the ocean floor are located on the outer part of the oceanic ridges of continental arcs.

Deep-sea depressions of the World Ocean

The deepest faults are concentrated in the Pacific region and reach up to 11 km. The deepest place on earth is the Mariana Trench with a recorded depth of 11,022 meters. The length of the trench is 1500 km, the slopes are steep and the bottom is flat (width from 1 to 5 km).

In the Indian Ocean, the deepest is the Java Trench with a depth of 7,730 meters, a length of more than 4,000 kilometers, and a width of 10 to 50 km. It is located near the island of Bali. The bottom of the depression is indented with ledges and underwater canyons, there are active volcanoes, and earthquakes occur.

The Peruvian-Chilean trench is considered the longest in the world, its depth reaches 6000 km. This depression is the widest rift in the World Ocean and is recognized as one of the 7 wonders of the world (more than 90 km wide).

The Aleutian Trench, 7,700 m deep, stretches from Alaska to Kamchatka. The depression was formed during the collision of two plates, the Pacific and North American.

Mariana Trench interesting facts

(Contour of Mount Chomolungma (Everest) on the Marina Basin diagram)

If only high mountain world Chomolungma (Everest) ended up in the Mariana Trench, it would have been covered with water for another 2 km.

At a depth of about one and a half kilometers from the bottom of the Pacific Ocean there are thermal springs, so the water warms up to 450 C.

Recently, giant amoebas (up to 10 cm) were discovered at the bottom of the Mariana Trench, which are of such size due to the environment in which they live.

The most deep place on Earth, this is an oceanic depression that is located near the Mariana Islands.

The Mariana Trench is located in the Pacific Ocean, east of the 14 Mariana Islands near Japan. As you probably already know, this is the deepest ocean trench and also the deepest place on Earth. It was created as a result of the opposition of two tectonic plates.

The deepest place in Mariana Trench The Challenger Deep point is considered (which means “Challenging”), it is also the deepest point of the world’s oceans. According to various deep-sea research vehicles, the maximum recorded depth is 11,521 m.

The Mariana Trench was first explored in 1951 by the British naval vessel Challenger II, hence the name of the deepest point on Earth.

The first people to personally dive to the bottom of the Mariana Trench were Swiss oceanographer Jacques Picard and US soldier Don Walsh. This happened in January 1960 on a special round submersible called Trieste. The scientists were greatly surprised when, at such a great depth, they encountered flat fish and other living organisms. Later in 1995, a Japanese deep-sea vehicle dived to the point of maximum depth and recorded a distance from the bottom to the surface of 10,911.4 meters. According to the most recent studies in 2011, using the newest locators, the depth was named 10,994 meters. website - Interesting Facts about everything, read on and learn something new.

The size of the Mariana Trench is enormous; it extends along 1500 km. The width at the very bottom is only 1-5 km, the bottom is flat and surrounded by steep cliffs. The water pressure at the very bottom of the depression is 108.6 MPa, which in turn is 11,074 tons/m2, or 1,107 kg/cm2.
For comparison, here are some facts.

123 meters. The record maximum diving depth for a person without scuba gear and breathing apparatus is 123 m. This record was achieved by a diver from Monaco and is officially registered.

100 m. The blue whale is the largest animal on earth and has a diving depth of no more than 100 meters.

1000 m. Does not penetrate below this mark sunlight.

2000 m. The sperm whale is the only mammal that is capable of diving to a depth of two kilometers.

4000 m. Water pressure reaches 402 kg per cm2. Temperature environment no higher than +2 degrees. Fish are blind or have underdeveloped eyes.

6000 m. The pressure is 584 times greater than the pressure on the Earth's surface. Despite this, life exists here.

10994 m. Bottom of the Mariana Trench. There is a complete absence of light, water pressure is 1072 times higher than the surface pressure, 1 ton 74 kilograms presses per 1 square centimeter. Hellish conditions. But there is life here. Small fish similar to flounder up to 30 centimeters long.

Below we provide photographs of deep-sea fish. Most of these creatures live at depths between 500 and 6,500 meters.

Do you think this monkfish fish has legs? I hasten to disappoint you. These are not legs at all, but two males that are stuck to the female. The fact is that at great depths and in the complete absence of light it is very difficult to find a partner. Therefore, as soon as a male monkfish finds a female, he immediately bites into her side. This hug will never be broken. Later it fuses with the female’s body, loses all unnecessary organs, merges with her circulatory system and becomes only a source of sperm. Below is another photo of this fish.

This is a deep-sea octopus measuring only 20 cm. Its habitat depth is from 500 to 5000 meters.

This is a fish with a transparent head. For what? At depth, as we know, there is very little light. The fish has developed defense mechanism, her eyes are located in the center of her head so that they cannot be injured. In order to see, evolution has awarded this fish with a transparent head. The two green spheres are the eyes.

We hope you liked the photos of fish living in the depths of the Mariana Trench.

Among the deepest places on the planet there are both natural and man-made. Whatever the history of their appearance, this does not make these depressions and mines any more mysterious.

No. 10. Lake Baikal - 1,642 m

Baikal has a depth of 1,642 meters and is the deepest among the lakes. Therefore, local residents often call Baikal the sea. This depth is explained by the tectonic origin of the lake.

There are many other records associated with this place and amazing discoveries. Baikal can be called the largest natural reservoir fresh water on the ground. 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.

Source: baikalia.com

No. 9. Krubera-Voronya Cave – 2,196 m

The Krubera-Voronya cave (Abkhazia) is one of the deepest places on Earth. AND we're talking about only about the explored 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.

Source: travel.ru

No. 8. TauTona Mine - 4,000 m

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 involves big amount dangers are humidity, reaching 100% in some branches of the mine, high air temperature, 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, 1,200 tons of the precious metal were mined here.

Source: hetaqrqir.info

No. 7. Kola well - 12,262 m

Located on the territory of 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 learn 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. She allowed me to do 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.

No. 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 explored and established the maximum depth of the depression - 9810 meters.

Source: ethnonet.ru

No. 5. Kuril-Kamchatka Trench - 10,542 m

The Kuril-Kamchatka Trench 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.

Source: skybox.org.ua

No. 4. Kermadec Trench - 10,047 m

Located in the Pacific Ocean near the Kermadec Islands. Maximum depth 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.

Of the 5 existing oceans in the world, only the Pacific can boast of its size and depth. Its area extends from the Arctic to the Southern oceans and amounts to 169.2 million km².

It owns almost half (46%) of the world's water space. If we take the entire globe as 100%, then the Pacific Ocean accounts for 30% of the entire surface on the planet.

Which ocean is the deepest? Still the same Quiet! And only thanks to the Mariana Trench, which, according to scientists, was formed as a result of the collision of two oceanic plates. The depth of the Mariana Trench is impressive - 11035 meters!

It is noteworthy that the deepest point of the ocean is further away from sea level than the highest point on the planet - Mount Everest above it.

5 water deserts of the world

There is much more water on Earth than land. People have discovered continents and islands, but most of the globe is hidden under water.

All Earth covered by the waters of five oceans: Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Arctic and Southern. The single water element of the world ocean changes its properties as latitude changes.

As we see from the table, Pacific Ocean considered the largest and deepest by right. "Challenger Deep" is the most deep point Mariana Trench, its depth is 11035 meters.

The oceanic trench is named Mariana because of the islands of the same name located around it.

And the smallest ocean is the Arctic Ocean, whose area is 11 times smaller than the Pacific. But it ranks second after Quiet in terms of the number of islands on it, one of which, Greenland, is the largest in the world.

Great and varied

Previously, the deepest ocean in the world was called “Great”, since it accounts for 50% of the surface of the world’s oceans. It is located north and south of the equator, and it is at the equator that its width is maximum. That's why it's the warmest.

The Pacific Ocean affects almost all climatic zones, so here we present different types flora and fauna.

The ocean does not live up to its name; it is far from quiet. But this is not surprising; at one time they could call Greenland a green country, and Iceland an icy one.

IN different parts It is blown by different winds called trade winds, monsoons, hurricanes constantly sweep over its surface, and storms very often rage in the temperate part of the ocean. Waves reach 30 meters in height, and raging typhoons can raise huge columns of water.

The temperature regime of the water surface varies greatly; in the north it can drop to -1˚С, and at the equator it can reach +29˚С.

In addition, more precipitation falls over the surface of the giant than moisture evaporates, so the water in the ocean is less salty than usual.

Due to the fact that it is located in many climatic zones, the world of flora and fauna here is very rich and diverse.

The diversity of nature gives rise to incredible fertility of water masses: in different places, researchers have discovered large schools of fish - from salmon to herring. The Pacific fleets are famous for the industrial fishing of horse mackerel, mackerel, butterfish, flounder, pollock and other species.

The abundance of fish is an important condition life of seabirds. Therefore, penguins, pelicans, cormorants and seagulls will always find something to eat. There are also famous whales here, which can be recognized from afar by the huge fountains of water on the sea surface. There are a lot of seals and sea beavers.

A wide variety of shellfish, crabs, squid, and urchins. The largest mollusk that lives only in the Pacific Ocean, the tridacna, weighs about a quarter of a ton. There are many sharks, huge tuna and sailfish living in it.

The ocean also boasts its own mountain range. It was created over millions of years by living organisms and has the same height, only under water, as the Ural ridge. This is the largest natural complex on earth, called the Great Barrier Reef.

The variety of colors, different shades in which coral colonies are painted create for diving Magic world, ready to captivate anyone. These include quaint castles, colorful floral arrangements, and mysterious mushrooms. The diversity of echinoderms, different breeds of crayfish, mollusks, and exotic fish is amazing.

There are fifty countries located on the shores of the Pacific Ocean, representing half the world's population.

Above us there is a boundless sky, billions of stars and a mass of unknown planets that may one day become closer to us. However, space is not the biggest mystery for us. About a dozen people have visited the moon, but only three have visited some points on our earth (ocean trenches). This is associated with a huge risk to life. These places are the deepest and most inaccessible corners of our earth, these are depressions and cracks in the oceans, the secrets of our planet that are closed from the eyes of all humanity, where sunlight does not penetrate, where no human has set foot.

An ocean trench is a long, significant (at least 5 km) crack or depression on the ocean floor, formed due to the convergence of plates, constantly changing in shape, depth and length. Volcanic eruptions are usually recorded in such places and powerful earthquakes. Despite the development of technology, scientists have not been able to establish the exact depth of many depressions, but nevertheless, research is constantly being conducted in this area, and data on the coordinates and depth of the deep-sea depressions of the world ocean is regularly collected.

The Challenger Deep is the last frontier of humanity, one of the amazing mysteries of our planet and the deepest place on earth. This point on the planet is located near the Mariana Islands, in the trench of the same name, which is impressive with its length (almost 70 km in length) and depth values ​​(almost 11 km). The Abyss is located at the site of the largest tectonic Pacific plate, docking with the Marianas.

The Mariana Trench hides the secrets of the origin of life on our Earth and how geological processes, flowing in the ocean depths, influence the evolution and formation of the entire planet. In this place there is a slow movement of plates (only a few cm per year), resulting in the formation of a huge fault. It is so wide that it could easily swallow Mount Everest, and there would still be 2 km left to the surface of the water.

At the very bottom of the depression live animals that do without photosynthesis, they do not need sunlight, they withstand lethal pressure, which for us is comparable to three SUVs placed on the little toe. Scientists studying the abyss have proven that it is hostile and dangerous place with its unknown oases of life. It beckons and makes you rethink everything known about life on our planet.

According to existing data, today the second place in depth (more than 10.8 km) belongs to the Tonga Trench, whose length is 860 km (the length of the underwater ridge of the Southern Hemisphere). This trench is unusual in that the lithospheric plates in this part of the planet move at a speed of 25.4 cm per year, which exceeds all known ones. Thus, the nearby islet of Niautoputanu changes its location by 25 cm every year.

This area of ​​the ocean is very attractive both for deep-sea explorers and for lovers of comfortable relaxation. The temperature of the surface waters of the depression in the winter months does not fall below 21° C, which ensures the richness and diversity of the flora and fauna of the ocean.

Philippine Trench

The Pacific Ocean holds the record for the presence of deep places, one of which is located in the Philippine Islands. This outstanding place is the Philippine Trench, which is more than 10.5 km deep from the surface of the water.

Until the 70s, scientists believed that the Philippine Trench was the deepest place on our planet, until the entire Mariana region was explored.

Puerto Rico Trench

The Caribbean Sea borders the deepest and highest seismically active place in the Atlantic Ocean - the Puerto Rican Trench. The depth of the depression is more than 8.3 km. Residents of islands located near the active trench regularly suffer from underwater volcanic eruptions and tremors that bring destructive tsunamis to their home.

Our planet is a living organism, most of which is located at depth, which means that all the secrets and their answers are hidden under the thickness of the ocean water, which occupies almost three-quarters of the entire surface. But the moment will come when even the most remote and inhospitable places on our Earth will be explored and humanity will receive answers to the questions that concern it.