We still know very little about our planet. This is especially true of the depths of the oceans and seas. But 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 this later.
Huge pits or cliffs are rarely found in everyday life, but our planet has a diverse landscape. Along with the highest mountain peaks there are also the deepest places of our planet - both of natural origin and created by human hands.
10. Lake Baikal | 1,642 m
It will be a mistake to believe that the deepest places on Earth are found only in the oceans and seas. Baikal has a depth of 1,642 meters and is the deepest among the lakes. Local residents therefore often call Baikal the sea. This depth is explained by the tectonic origin of the lake. This place has many other records and amazing discoveries. 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 25 million years old) and two-thirds of the flora and fauna of the reservoir are not found anywhere else.
9. Krubera-Voronya Cave | 2 196 m
There are giants among the caves. The Krubera-Voronya cave (Abkhazia) belongs to the deepest places on Earth. Its depth is 2 196 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, interconnected by passages and galleries. It was first opened in 1960. Then the cavers were able to go down to a depth of 95 meters. The two-kilometer line was crossed by the Ukrainian expedition of cavers in 2004.
8. TauTon Mine | 4,000 m
TauTona Mine in South Africa is the deepest mine on Earth. It is located in the Republic of South Africa, near Johannesburg. This world's largest gold mine goes into the ground for 4 kilometers. At this incredible depth there is a whole underground city with a network of kilometer tunnels. To get to their workplace, miners have to spend about an hour. Working at such a depth is fraught with a lot of dangers - this is humidity, reaching 100% in some branches of the mine, high air temperature, the danger of an explosion from gas leaked into the tunnels, and collapse from earthquakes, which occur quite often here. But all the dangers of work and the cost of maintaining the functionality of the mine are generously paid for by the extracted gold - in the entire history of the mine’s existence 1,200 tons of precious metal have been mined here.
7. Kola well | 12,262 m
The deepest well on Earth is the Kola superdeep well, which is located in Russia. This is one of the most unusual and interesting experiments made by Soviet scientists. Drilling began in 1970 and had only one task - to learn more about the Earth's crust. The Kola Peninsula was chosen for the experiment for the reason that here the oldest rocks of the Earth are about 3 million years old. They were also of great interest to scientists. The depth of the well is 12,262 meters. It allowed to make unexpected discoveries and forced to reconsider the scientific ideas about the occurrence of rocks of the Earth. Unfortunately, the well, created for purely scientific purposes, did not find application in the following years, and a decision was made to conserve it.
Further in the list of the deepest places of our planet there will be real giants - underwater gutters.
6. Izu-Boninskaya Depression | 9 810 m
In 1873–76, the Tuskarora American oceanographic vessel surveyed the seabed for laying an underwater cable. Lot thrown off the Japanese islands of Izu, recorded a depth of 8,500 meters. Later, the Soviet vessel “Vityaz” in 1955 established the maximum depth of the depression - 9810 meters.
5. Kuril-Kamchatka Trench | 10 542 m
Kuril-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 10 542 meters. A depression is located in the northwestern part of the Pacific Ocean. In the middle of the last century, Soviet scientists engaged in its study on the Vityaz vessel. More detailed studies have not been conducted. The gutter was opened by the American vessel Tuscarora and for a long time bore this name until it was renamed.
4. Gutter Kermadek | 10 047 m
Located in the Pacific Ocean near the islands of Kermadek. The maximum depth of the depression is 10,047 meters. Investigated by the Soviet vessel Vityaz. In 2008, a previously unknown species of sea slugs from the snail fish family was discovered at a depth of 7 kilometers in the Kermadek trench. Researchers were also surprised by other cloisters of this deepest place on Earth - huge 30-cm crustaceans.
3. Philippine Trench | 10 540 m
Philippine Trench opens the top three deepest points of the planet. 10 540 meters - such is its depth. It was formed millions of years ago as a result of a collision of earth plates. Located east of the Philippine archipelago. By the way, scientists have long believed that the Philippine Trench is the deepest point in the Pacific Ocean.
2. Tonga Trench | 10 882 m
Located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, near the islands of Tonga. This area is extremely interesting in that it is a very active seismic zone. Here, several strong earthquakes occur annually. The depth of the gutter is 10,882 meters. It is only 100 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. The Mariana Trench | 10 994 m
Located in the western part of the Pacific Ocean and in shape resembles a crescent. The length of the gutter is more than 2.5 thousand kilometers, and the deepest point is 10,994 meters. It is called the abyss of Challenger.
The deepest place on Earth was discovered in 1875 by the English ship Challenger. Today, the hollow 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. For the last time, director James Cameron descended all alone into the Mariana Trench. Most of all, the bottom of the gutter reminded him of a lifeless lunar surface. But, unlike the Earth’s satellite, the Mariana Trench is inhabited by living organisms. Researchers found toxic amoebas, mollusks and deep-sea fish here that look very intimidating. Since a full-scale study of the gutter, in addition to short-term dives, was not carried out, the Mariana Trench can hide a lot of interesting things.