05/07/2025
The Mariana Trench is one of the most extraordinary places on Earth. Tucked away in the western Pacific Ocean, about 2,500 kilometers from Manila in the Philippines and just 200 kilometers southwest of Guam, it holds the title of the deepest point on our planet.
Its lowest section, known as Challenger Deep, plunges to an astonishing depth of about 10,916 meters—or roughly 35,760 feet—below sea level.
What makes the Mariana Trench even more fascinating is how little of it we’ve explored. The crushing pressure and extreme depth make it incredibly challenging to study, but scientists believe this hidden world holds valuable insights into Earth’s geology—and perhaps even life forms unlike anything we’ve seen before.
The trench was formed when the Pacific Plate was forced beneath the Mariana Plate, a geological process known as subduction. It’s part of the Pacific’s dramatic Ring of Fire, an area known for its intense seismic and volcanic activity.
