The Mariana Trench, is a deep sea channel (deep sea trench) It is located in the Pacific Ocean between Japan and Papua New Guinea, just east of the Northern Mariana Islands,The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands is a commonwealth in political union with the United States of America. Located in the western Pacific Ocean.
The Mariana Trench is 11,022 m deep and 2,550 km long. Its bottom is located 6366.4 km from the center of the Earth. The Mariana Trench is the boundary where two tectonic plates intersect – the Pacific below the Philippine.
It is called the “fourth pole of the planet” and is the least studied part of the hydrosphere. On January 23, 1960, in the Mariana Trench, the Deep-submergence vehicle. “Trieste” descended to the bottom with the Swiss scientist Jacques Picard and the American lieutenant from the Air Force Don Walsh.
The Mariana Trench was first explored in 1951 by the Royal Warship Challenger (Challenger). The deepest part of the depression is named after him – The Challenger Deep. Using an echo locator, Challenger II recorded a depth of 10,900 m at 11 ° 19’N, 142 ° 15’E.
Access : Coordinates: 11.35, 142.2 / Marianas Trench located in the western Pacific Ocean about 200 kilometres (124 mi) east of the Mariana Islands.
Highlights :
- On January 23, 1960, aboard the Deep-submergence vehicle Trieste, the Swiss Jacques Piccard, son of Auguste Piccard and US Navy Lieutenant Don Walsh, reached the bottom of the pit at 1:06 p.m., after a 4:30 a.m. descent. The on-board instruments indicated a depth of 11,521 m, a value which was subsequently revised downwards to 10,916 m
- In 2010, a manned Deep-submergence vehicle dive into the pit earned co-pilot Don Walsh the Hubbard Medal, the National Geographic Society’s highest honor for research and discovery.
- On March 25, 2012, director James Cameron became the first man to explore the Mariana Trench alone, for several hours, at a depth of 10,898m7. Aged 57, he dived alone aboard an 8 m long mini-submarine, the Deepsea Challenger, also nicknamed “the vertical torpedo”.
- On January 18, 2009, President George W. Bush declared the Mariana Trench a United States National Monument.
- In May 2019, American entrepreneur Victor Vescovo plunged into the pit and reached 10,928 m, breaking the record for the deepest dive.
- On November 10, 2020, the Fendouzhe submersible, “fighter” in Chinese, descended through China to the bottom of the pit at 10,909 m with three scientists on board. For the first time, videos were then broadcast live on China’s central television.
- In 1957, the Russian cruiser Vityaz measured a depth of 11,034 meters, but this information was not confirmed by subsequent expeditions, which had more accurate and modern equipment.
- Like the Mariana Islands, it was named after the Spanish Queen Maria Anna of Austria.
Go next : Northern Mariana Islands , part of the Mariana archipelago,in the Pacific Ocean, located south of Japan and north of Guam.
