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We still know very little about our planet. This is especially true of the depths of the oceans and seas. But even on land there are places that amaze 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 rare in everyday life, but our planet has a varied 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 assume that the deepest places on Earth are only in the oceans and seas. Baikal has a depth of 1 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. 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 642 million years old) and two thirds of the flora and fauna of the reservoir are found nowhere else.
9. Kruber-Voronya Cave | 2 m
There are also giants among the caves. The Krubera-Voronya cave (Abkhazia) belongs to the deepest places on Earth. Its depth is 2 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 196. Then cavers were able to descend to a depth of 1960 meters. The two-kilometer barrier was overcome by the Ukrainian expedition of speleologists in 95.
8. Towton Mine | 4 m
Tau Tona Mine in South Africa is the deepest mine on earth. It is located in the Republic of South Africa, not far from Johannesburg. This world’s greatest gold mine goes into the ground for 4 kilometers. At this incredible depth, there is a whole underground city with a network of kilometer-long tunnels. To get to their workplace, the miners have to spend about an hour. Working at such a depth is associated with a large number of dangers – this is humidity, which reaches 100% in some branches of the mine, high air temperature, the risk of explosion from gas seeping into the tunnels and collapse from earthquakes, which occur quite often here. But all the dangers of work and the costs of maintaining the functionality of the mine are generously paid off by the mined gold – in the entire history of the mine’s existence, 1200 tons of precious metal have been mined here.
7. Kola well | 12 m
The deepest well on Earth is the Kola superdeep well, which is located on the territory of Russia. This is one of the most unusual and interesting experiments performed 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 of the 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 meters. It made it possible to make unexpected discoveries and forced to reconsider scientific ideas about the occurrence of the Earth’s rocks. Unfortunately, the well, created for a purely scientific purpose, did not find application in subsequent years, and a decision was made to conserve it.
Further in the list of the deepest places on our planet, there will be real giants – underwater trenches.
6. Izu-Bonin Trench | 9 810 m
In 1873-76, the American oceanographic ship Tuscarora conducted surveys of the seabed for the laying of an underwater cable. A lot, abandoned off the Japanese islands of Izu, recorded a depth of 8 meters. Later, the Soviet ship “Vityaz” in 500 set the maximum depth of the depression – 1955 meters.
5. Kuril-Kamchatsky Trench | 10 m
Smoked Kamchatka Trench – this is not only one of the deepest places on Earth, the depression is also the narrowest in the Pacific Ocean. The width of the gutter is 59 meters, and the maximum depth is 10 meters. The basin is located in the northwestern part of the Pacific Ocean. In the middle of the last century, Soviet scientists were engaged in its study on the Vityaz ship. No more detailed research has been done. The gutter was opened by the American ship Tuscarora and bore this name for a long time until it was renamed.
4. Trench Kermadec | 10 m
Located in the Pacific Ocean off the Kermadec Islands. The maximum depth of the depression is 10 meters. Investigated by the Soviet vessel “Vityaz”. In 047, at a depth of 2008 kilometers in the Kermadec Trench, a previously unknown species of sea slugs from the snail fish family was discovered. The researchers were also surprised by other abodes of this deepest place on Earth – huge 7-centimeter crustaceans.
3. Philippine Trench | 10 540 m
Philippine Trench opens the top three deepest points on the planet. 10 meters – this 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 of the Pacific Ocean.
2. Trench Tonga | 10 882 m
It is located in the southwestern part of the Pacific Ocean, near the islands of Tonga. This area is extremely interesting because it is a very active seismic zone. Several strong earthquakes occur here every year. The depth of the gutter is 10 meters. It is only 882 meters smaller than the Mariana Trench. The difference is about a percent, but it puts the Tonga Trench in second place on the list of the deepest places 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 gutter is more than 2,5 thousand kilometers, and the deepest point is 10 meters. It is called the Challenger Deep.
The deepest place on Earth was discovered in 1875 by the English ship Challenger. To date, the depression is the most studied of all the 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 trough reminded him of the lifeless lunar surface. But, unlike the Earth’s satellite, the Mariana Trench is inhabited by living organisms. Researchers have found toxic amoebae, mollusks and deep-sea fish here that look very frightening. Since there has not been a full-scale study of the trench, except for short-term dives, the Mariana Trench may still hide a lot of interesting things.