Day 36: Challenger Deep (deepest point in the entire ocean)
The deepest known point of ocean on the entire planet is roughly 35,827ft. That’s about 6,800ft more than the height of Mt. Everest. Whoa.
It’s located in the western Pacific Ocean, in the Mariana Trench, near Micronesia. The name comes from the ship that initially recorded its depth — HMS Challenger, of the British Royal Navy.
Twenty-seven people have been down there, the first of which were Jacques Piccard and Don Walsh, in 1960… 1960. Way earlier than I would have guessed.
The pressure at that depth is about 15,750 psi. To put that into perspective, the deepest a human has ever gone SCUBA diving is 1,082 feet, and the pressure at that depth is 485 psi. And even then, most people would not be able to survive.
The ocean is unfathomably (deep water pun!) deep. A great illustration of that is this fun little site I found on Twitter recently where you can scroll from the surface to the deepest point and see facts and wildlife along the way. Highly recommend.
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