75 Mariana Trench Facts To Learn About The Deepest Place In the Ocean

Situated in the western Pacific Ocean, the Mariana Trench is the deepest part of the ocean bodies on the Earth.

Don Walsh, a lieutenant in the US navy; and Jacques Piccard, an engineer from Switzerland became the first research team to dive 7 mi (11.3 km) deep into the trench and reach this bottom part of the ocean. The Mariana Trench (also called Marianas Trench) is situated towards the east and south of the Mariana Islands.

The Mariana Trench is among the system of western Pacific oceanic trenches. The system coincides with the subduction zones or the zones of the meeting of two adjacent tectonic plates. The crescent-shaped trench latitudinally stretches about 1578.3 mi (2,540 km). The Challenger Deep is known to be the deepest part of the Mariana Trench. The Challenger Deep is a steeped, valley-like depression on the main trench, lying in the southwest direction of Guam. The Mariana Trench falls under the control of the United States. In 2009, it was designated as the United States national monument.

Did you know that the depth of the Mariana Trench is more than the height of Mount Everest? We have some more interesting facts about the deepest point on Earth. After you read these facts, also check out life in the Mariana Trench and Pacific Ocean facts.

Fun Facts About The Mariana Trench

The shape of the trench is crescent or semicircular. The water pressure in the Mariana Trench is 1,000 times more than the normal atmospheric pressure experienced at sea level.

The Challenger Deep is the deepest part of the Mariana Trench. The Challenger Deep got its name from the HMS Challenger II whose vessel was taken and used for the exploration and measurement of the Mariana Trench. According to a Japanese probe that measured the Challenger Deep in 1995, its depth is more than 35,790 ft (10,908.8 m).

Another interesting fact is that there are vents of hot water on the ocean floor of the trench. These vents release different minerals like hydrogen sulfide that is food for the barophilic bacteria. This bacteria is fed upon by microbes and the microbes are gulped by fish of the ocean.

The third person to reach the bottom of the Mariana Trench was the director of the historic film Titanic, James Cameron. The film director went deep down into the Mariana Trench in 2012. He came back with different scientific data, photos, and specimens.

An interesting fact about the great depth of the Mariana Trench is that it is deep enough to be free from sediment deposits of nearby rivers.

Scary Facts About The Mariana Trench

According to various research teams, the Mariana Trench is believed to be more than 180 million years old. It is also believed that the trench is among the oldest sea beds in the world.

The Mariana Trench is also considered one of the coldest places in the world. Waters of the Mariana Trench are expected to be freezing cold because it is impossible for the sunlight to go down so deep. The temperature of most of the water in the Mariana Trench is less than 1 C (33.8 F).

The ocean floor of the Mariana Trench is said to be slightly yellow in color because of deposits of decayed plants and animals, as well as shells and animal skeletons.

In 2011, Scripps Institution of Oceanography scientists discovered giant amoebas in the Mariana Trench. These creatures have a diameter of about 4 in (10.2 cm).

The scary part is that there are many dangerous new species in the Mariana Trench. Also, its enormous pressure can be a threat to human life. Therefore, human research in the Mariana Trench is next to impossible.

The normal pressure that a man experiences when he is on the ground is 1 atm (760 mm) of mercury. Human blood is circulated properly under this much pressure. When we go deep inside a sea or an ocean, we require a bodysuit to compensate for the heavy pressure under the sea. With the increase in the depth of the sea level, the pressure increases, and a thicker bodysuit is required.

Another dangerous fact is that the Mariana Trench is a residence to the deadliest species living on the Earth. More than 35,790 ft (10,908.8 m) under the oceanic waters, there is a home to different unknown creatures; survival under such terrific and extreme conditions is indeed rare.

Strange Facts About The Mariana Trench

The formation of the Mariana Trench occurred due to the shifting and movement of the Earth’s crust which in turn laid the formation of the oceanic floor.

If we could put the highest mountain of the world, Mount Everest, at the deepest point of the Mariana Trench, the Challenger Deep, the peak of Mount Everest would still remain around 1.2 mi (2 km) under the sea. Now you can imagine how deep the Mariana Trench is!

The temperature of the Mariana Trench is either extremely hot or extremely cold. When cold, the temperature is 1 C (33.8 F). But, the surprising fact is that the water can also get extremely hot because of hydrothermal vents that are present all around the Mariana Trench.

In 2009, President George W. Bush named the Mariana Trench the National Monument of the United States.

In spite of the horrifying darkness, extreme hot and cold temperatures, and the acidic situation in the Mariana Trench, it is home to more than 200 anonymous living microorganisms and little creatures like amphipods and crustaceans.

Facts About Expeditions To The Mariana Trench

Even though humans have been on this planet for many centuries now, the deepest parts of the Mariana Trench have been explored only by three people.

In 1960, the first expedition to the Challenger Deep was successfully completed by engineer Jacques Piccard and Navy Lieutenant Don Walsh who went inside the oceanic waters in a United States Navy submersible. Due to extreme pressure conditions, the two men were able to stay inside only for 20 minutes. They couldn’t take any pictures as there was complete darkness and when the submersible landed, dust from the seabed made the vision blurry.

More than 50 years later, after advancements in science and technology, the Challenger Deep was again visited for ocean exploration in 2012 when the filmmaker James Cameron decided to explore the trench all alone with a submarine that was designed by himself. He took pictures but the batteries of his devices died.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for 75 Mariana Trench facts to learn about the deepest place in the ocean then why not take a look at trash piles in the Pacific Ocean, or Atlantic Ocean animals.