10 Deepest Trenches and Seas in the World, Including Challenger Deep

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - As the biggest part of the Earth, the ocean holds the world’s greatest mysteries. One of these mysteries is the astonishing depth of its ocean trenches. Based on research from various trusted sources, here are the ten deepest trenches and seas in the world that bear witness to unspoiled natural wonders.

1. Sandwich Trench, South-Atlantic Ocean

Located just north of Antarctica, the South Sandwich Trench straddles the Southern and Atlantic Oceans. The latest survey shows the trench's deepest point is Meteor Deep at an 8,265-meter depth in the Atlantic Ocean. The recently named Factorian Deep, located at the southern end of the trench, has a depth of 7,432 meters.

2. Challenger Deep, Pacific Ocean

Quoted from World Atlas, Challenger Deep is the deepest region of the earth’s ocean. Challenger Deep is located beneath the western Pacific Ocean in the Mariana Trench. The British HMS Challenger’s 1875 expedition found the depth of this part of the trench reached 10,994 meters. 

3. Java Trench

The Java Trench is located in the eastern part of the Indian Ocean and is more than 4000 kilometers long. In April 2019, the Five Deeps Expedition (FDE) undertook the first crewed descent to the absolute bottom of the 7187-meter-deep trench. According to the British Geological Survey, this mission also resulted in the deepest dive carried out by a British citizen, Alan Jamieson, who was also the first British person to descend into the hadal zone.

4. Atacama Trench, Pacific Ocean

The Peru-Chile Trench, also known as the Atacama Trench, is located about 160 kilometers off the coast of Peru and Chile in the eastern Pacific Ocean. The Atacama Trench has a maximum depth of 8.06 kilometers below sea level. The deepest point of the trench is known as Richards Deep.

5. Cayman Trench

The Cayman Trough is the deepest part of the Caribbean Sea. According to Ecency, the depth of the Cayman Way ocean canyon reaches 7,686 square meters, making its sea routes the third deepest in the world. 

6. Caribbean Sea

The Caribbean Sea is the second largest sea in the Atlantic Ocean and the deepest sea in the world, with a maximum depth of 7,686 meters below sea level. This is the world's fifth deepest body of water and deeper than the Arctic Ocean.

7. Bering Sea

This deeper portion of the Bering Sea is divided by ridges into three basins; the Aleutian Basin, the Bowers Basin, and the Komandor Basin. Quoting World Atlas, the deepest point of the Bering Sea is located in the Bowers Basin at a depth of 4,097 meters.

8. Izu-Ogasawara Trench

Located in the western Pacific Ocean, the Izu-Ogasawara Trench has a maximum depth of 9.78 kilometers. Also known as the Izu-Bonin Trench, this deep trench stretches from Japan to the northernmost section of the Mariana Trench. The Izu-Ogasawara Trench is an extension of the Japan Trench. 

9. Tonga Trench, Tasman Sea

The Tonga Trench, located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean is one of the deepest trenches in the world, with its deepest point, known as the Deep Horizon, reaching 10,882 meters below sea level. This trough stretches 2,500 kilometers between New Zealand and Tonga. Inside this trench, scientists discovered a community of roundworms living in the Deep Horizon sediments.

10. Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean Sea is the sea that divides between three continents, namely Europe, Asia, and Africa. The deepest point of the Mediterranean Sea is 5,627 square meters.

PUTRI SAFIRA PITALOKA

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