Of course, the Earth has not yet been thoroughly studied by us, but we already know that the Mariana Trench is the deepest place in the world’s oceans. However, the degree of study of the sea depths as a whole leaves much to be desired, and we do not even know what is happening at a depth of hundreds of meters. What can we say about many kilometers? After all, it is possible that somewhere, deep below, under the monstrous pressure of the water column, there is also life, strange, unusual and incomprehensible to us.
Interesting facts about the Mariana Trench
- Recent studies have found that in depth it does not reach the round figure of 11 km, only some 6 meters.
- Hollywood director Cameron, author of «Avatar», «Terminator» and «Titanic», personally descended to the bottom of the Mariana Trench in a special bathyscaphe. He became the third person to ever be there.
- Sunlight never hits the bottom of the Mariana Trench.
- With the latest technology, a full dive into the Mariana Trench takes more than 4 hours, and costs huge money, as this requires unique equipment.
- At the bottom of the Mariana Trench, the pressure is more than 1070 times higher than normal.
- When, in 1960, brave scientists plunged into the Mariana Trench inside the bathyscaphe, after the ascent, it turned out that the steel cable, which had a diameter of 20 cm, was almost half sawn through. How this could happen is still an unsolved mystery.
- Only three people in history have visited the deepest point of the Mariana Trench. This is much less than in space (interesting facts about space).
- Since the Mariana Trench has been given the status of a reserve, fishing and mining are prohibited within its boundaries.
- There are no official bans on diving into the trench, since it is almost impossible anyway.
- The first attempts to explore the bottom of the Mariana Trench and take measurements were made back in the 80s of the XIX century, but the first measurements showed a depth of only 8 kilometers.
- The length of the V-shaped Mariana Trench reaches 1.5 thousand kilometers.
- If you place Everest, the highest mountain in the world, at its bottom, there will be several more kilometers of water between its top and the surface of the water.
- Studies of the Mariana Trench have proven that life in the ocean is found at least at depths of up to 7 kilometers. Whether there is life at its very bottom is still unclear.
- Its deepest point is called «Challenger Abyss». It was named after the «Challenger» corvette, which was the first in history to explore it.
- Most of the inhabitants of the depths of the Mariana Trench feed either on each other or «cadaveric rain» – the remains of fish and marine animals slowly sinking down from the surface waters.
- During the dives into the Mariana Trench, new forms of life were discovered, apparently no less ancient than dinosaurs. But some of them could not be identified.
- The temperature of the water at its bottom averages +2 degrees.