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The Mariana Trench (or '''Marianas Trench''') is the deepest known Submarine Trench , and the deepest location in the Earth's Crust itself. It is located in the floor of the western North Pacific Ocean , to the east of the Mariana Islands at , which is near Guam . Genesis The trench is the boundary where two Tectonic Plate s meet, a Subduction Zone where the Pacific Plate is being subducted under the Philippine Plate . The bottom of the trench ( Challenger Deep ) is further below sea level than Mount Everest is above it. The trench has a maximum depth of 10,911 M (35,798 feet) below sea level. Taking into account its latitude and the Earth's Equatorial Bulge , this puts it at 6,366.4 km (3955.9 miles) from the centre of the Earth. The Arctic Ocean , on the other hand, is 4-4.5 km deep (13,123 ft-14,763 ft), which would put its floor at ~6,352.8 km (3947.4 miles) from the Earth's centre, 13.6 km (8.5 miles) closer. Exploration It was first surveyed in 1951 by the British Navy vessel, '' Challenger II '', which gave its name to the deepest part of the trench, the Challenger Deep. Using Echo Sounding , the ''Challenger II'' measured a depth of 5,960 Fathom s (10,900 m) at . This sounding was repeatedly made using earphones to hear the return of the signal as the stylus passed across the graduated depth scale, whilst the timing of the speed of the echo-sounding machine, a necessary part of the process, was made with a hand held stopwatch. For these reasons it was considered prudent to subtract one scale division (of 20 fm) when officially reporting a new greatest depth of 5,940 fm (10,863 m). In 1957, the Russian vessel ''Vityaz'' reported a depth of 11,034 m (36,201 ft), dubbed the ''Mariana Hollow''; this measurement has never been replicated and is not considered accurate. In , on March 24 , 1995 : 10,911 m (35,798 ft) 3 . , In an unprecedented dive, the , 1960 with U.S. Navy Lt. Don Walsh and Jacques Piccard on board. Iron Shot was used for Ballast , with gasoline for Buoyancy . The onboard systems indicated a depth of 37,800 ft (11,521 m), but this was later revised to 35,813 ft (10,916 m). At the bottom Walsh and Piccard were surprised to discover Soles or Flounder about one foot (30 cm) long, as well as shrimp. According to Piccard, "The bottom appeared light and clear, a waste of firm Diatom aceous ooze". At the bottom of the Mariana Trench, water exerts a Pressure of 1086 Bar (108.6 MPa or 15,751 psi), over 1000 times the Standard Atmospheric Pressure at sea level. In the fictional movie '' The Core '', the Mariana Trench is chosen as the entry point for the journey to the center of earth. See also |