Our world is full of surprises and eye popping or brain tickling facts and figures are quite galore everywhere around us. I had always been intrigued by one quite famous general knowledge factoid about the deepest part of the world's oceans. It is called Mariana Trench and is located in the Western Pacific Ocean. It has been named Mariana because of its proximity to Mariana Islands.
The Mariana Trench is said to be about 2550 kms long and has a width of only 69 kms. However, the lowest recorded depth point recorded here is at 10.994 kms below the surface and is named as Challenger Deep.
We can compare the distance by many comparison factors. It is said that if we can somehow put the Mount Everest inside it, we would still have some good half a mile empty space. Also, it is said that the pressure of any material thing reaching this deepest point would be like sustaining the pressure of being squeezed from all sides by around 50 jumbo jets.
Challenger Deep got its name from the British survey ship Challenger II which pinpointed the location first. On January 23, 1960, US Navy sent a submersible, called Trieste, to touch down the deepest part with 2 people on it, Don Walsh (a US Navy Lieutenant) and Jacques Piccard (son of the boat's designer).
The whole descent took around 4 hours 47 minutes at a speed of 3 feet/sec. After passing 30000 feet, one of the outer window panes cracked which shook the whole boat. However, there was another inner protective layer of window pane which was still intact. The two men decided to descend further and spent almost 20 minutes in the ocean floor. The temperature in the cabin was recorded as 7ยบ C at the lowest point.
The two men further recorded that they could view fishes swimming beside the submersible which brought forth the theory that there are aquatic life which could withstand and survive immense pressure at such depths of oceans. The ascent took 3 hours 15 min.
The Mariana Trench is said to be about 2550 kms long and has a width of only 69 kms. However, the lowest recorded depth point recorded here is at 10.994 kms below the surface and is named as Challenger Deep.
We can compare the distance by many comparison factors. It is said that if we can somehow put the Mount Everest inside it, we would still have some good half a mile empty space. Also, it is said that the pressure of any material thing reaching this deepest point would be like sustaining the pressure of being squeezed from all sides by around 50 jumbo jets.
Challenger Deep got its name from the British survey ship Challenger II which pinpointed the location first. On January 23, 1960, US Navy sent a submersible, called Trieste, to touch down the deepest part with 2 people on it, Don Walsh (a US Navy Lieutenant) and Jacques Piccard (son of the boat's designer).
The whole descent took around 4 hours 47 minutes at a speed of 3 feet/sec. After passing 30000 feet, one of the outer window panes cracked which shook the whole boat. However, there was another inner protective layer of window pane which was still intact. The two men decided to descend further and spent almost 20 minutes in the ocean floor. The temperature in the cabin was recorded as 7ยบ C at the lowest point.
The two men further recorded that they could view fishes swimming beside the submersible which brought forth the theory that there are aquatic life which could withstand and survive immense pressure at such depths of oceans. The ascent took 3 hours 15 min.
