what is the deepest part of the ocean called

The deepest part of the ocean is called the Challenger Deep. This remarkable site lies at the southern end of the Mariana Trench in the western Pacific Ocean, plunging to around 10,984 meters (36,037 feet) below sea level, deeper than Mount Everest is tall. Imagine a place so profound that sunlight never reaches it, yet life clings to existence amid crushing pressure—explorers like Jacques Piccard and Don Walsh first descended there in 1960 aboard the Trieste bathyscaphe.

Location Details

The Mariana Trench stretches over 2,550 kilometers like a crescent-shaped scar east of the Mariana Islands, near Guam, within the ocean territory of the Federated States of Micronesia. Challenger Deep specifically sits at coordinates 11°22.4′N 142°35.5′E, marking Earth's lowest known point on the seabed. First sounded in 1875 by HMS Challenger—hence its name—this trench formed from tectonic plates colliding, creating an undersea canyon rivaling the Grand Canyon in drama but vastly deeper.

Key Depths Compared

Trench/Deep| Depth (meters)| Location| Notes 17
---|---|---|---
Challenger Deep (Mariana)| 10,920–10,984| Pacific Ocean| Deepest known; only ~27 humans visited
Horizon Deep (Tonga)| 10,820| Southern Pacific| Second deepest; Southern Hemisphere record
Emden Deep (Philippine)| 10,540| Western Pacific| Also called Galathea Deep
Milwaukee Deep (Puerto Rico)| 8,380| Atlantic/Caribbean| Named after USS Milwaukee ship

These measurements vary slightly due to tech advances, with modern subs like China's Fendouzhe confirming depths in the 10,900s as of recent expeditions.

Exploration Highlights

• 1960 : Piccard and Walsh's historic dive lasted 20 minutes on the bottom, proving life at extreme depths.

• 2012 : James Cameron solo-dived in Deepsea Challenger, collecting samples amid eerie, lightless life forms.

• Recent : In 2020, a five-person dive broke records; plastic pollution found even here shocks researchers.

Forums buzz about ocean depths' mysteries—like Reddit's awe at visualizations showing Everest fitting inside with room to spare—sparking viral "mind-blown" posts. No major 2026 updates shift this fact, though ongoing submersible missions probe further.

TL;DR: Challenger Deep in Mariana Trench—Earth's abyss at ~11 km deep. Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.