Challenger Deep

The Challenger Deep is the deepest known point of the seabed of Earth, located in the western Pacific Ocean at the southern end of the Mariana Trench, in the ocean territory of the Federated States of Micronesia. According to the GEBCO Gazetteer of Undersea Feature Names the depression's depth is 10,920 ± 10 m (35,827 ± 33 ft) at 11°22.4′N 142°35.5′E / 11.3733°N 142.5917°E / 11.3733; 142.5917,^[1] although its exact geodetic location remains inconclusive and its depth has been measured at 10,902–10,929 m (35,768–35,856 ft) by deep-diving submersibles, remotely operated underwater vehicles, benthic landers, and sonar bathymetry. The differences in depth estimates and their geodetic positions are scientifically explainable by the difficulty of researching such deep locations.

The depression is named after the British Royal Navy survey ships HMS Challenger, whose expedition of 1872–1876 first located it, and HMS Challenger II, whose expedition of 1950-1952 established its record-setting depth.^[2] The first descent by any vehicle was by the bathyscaphe Trieste in January 1960. In March 2012, a solo descent was made by film director James Cameron in the deep-submergence vehicle Deepsea Challenger.^[3][4][5] As of July 2022, 27 people have descended to Challenger Deep.