Do you know where the tallest mountain on earth is? If you say Mount Everest, then you're only half right. Because Mount Everest is only the highest mountain from sea level, and from the center of the earth, the highest mountain is actually Mount Chimborazo in Ecuador. It surpasses Mount Everest because it is located near the equator, where the Earth's radius is larger than the poles.
Do you know where the deepest place on Earth is? If you say the Mariana Trench, then you are absolutely right. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, the Mariana Trench is the deepest trench on Earth and the deepest fissure. Its maximum depth reaches 11,034 meters, which is equivalent to putting Mount Everest upside down into the sea, and there is still some distance to go. If you want to see for yourself what the Mariana Trench looks like, then you need to take a submarine, dive along the edge of the trench, and after a journey of several hours, you will reach the deepest part of the trench - the Challenger Abyss.
How did the Mariana Trench form? Why is it so much deeper than other trenches? To answer these questions, we need to know a little bit about geology.
As you may already know, the Earth's surface is not monolithic, but is made up of many plates of different sizes. These plates are like pieces of a puzzle, tightly packed together to form the continents and oceans we see. These plates are not static, but move slowly driven by heat currents in the Earth's interior. Sometimes, these plates collide, separate or slide over each other, causing natural phenomena such as earthquakes, volcanoes, and mountains.
The Mariana Trench was formed by the collision of two tectonic plates. The two plates are the Pacific Plate and the Philippine Sea Plate. The Pacific Plate is one of the largest plates on Earth, covering the entire Pacific Ocean. The Philippine Sea Plate is a smaller plate located between the Philippine archipelago and the Japanese archipelago. The two plates began to approach each other millions of years ago, and because the Pacific Plate is heavier than the Philippine Sea Plate, it was forced to bend downward and slowly pushed into the Earth's interior. This creates a deep depression, the Mariana Trench.
The Mariana Trench is not the only one formed by plate collisions. In fact, there are many similar trenches around the Pacific Ocean, such as the Japan Trench, the Indonesia Trench, and so on. These trenches are the result of collisions between the Pacific Plate and other plates. The Mariana Trench is one of the deepest, why?
There are several possible reasons why the Mariana Trench is deeper than other trenches. First, the relative speed of the Pacific plate and the Philippine Sea plate is relatively fast, causing the Pacific plate to sink deeper. Second, the crust near the Mariana Trench is relatively thin and there is not enough resistance to resist the sinking of the Pacific plate. Third, the Mariana Trench is in a special position, near the Earth's equator. As we mentioned earlier, the radius of the Earth at the equator is larger than at the poles, which means that the surface of the Earth at the equator is farther from the center of the earth, and there is more room to accommodate the trench.
The Mariana Trench is not only the deepest place on Earth, but also one of the most mysterious. Because of its depth and pressure, it's hard for humans to get there, let alone explore it. There are only four successful dives recorded, in 1960, 2012, 2019 and 2020. The deepest one was on May 8, 2020, when American explorer Victor Veskovo made history by diving to a depth of 10,928 meters in a submarine.
In the depths of the Mariana Trench, there is an astonishing life. Although there is no sunlight, oxygen or plants, there are some exotic animals such as fish, shrimp, octopus, etc. These animals have special adaptations, such as luminescence, color change, pressure resistance, etc. They use the hot water and minerals that keep pouring out of the trench to survive. They are also among the oldest and most primitive life forms on Earth, potentially revealing secrets about the origin and evolution of life.
The Mariana Trench is an awe-inspiring and curious place that showcases the most extreme and beautiful sights on earth. It is also a place of challenge and exploration, which inspires humanity's desire for the unknown and the future. Perhaps one day, we will be able to better understand and protect this amazing marine world.