The Mariana Trench is the deepest part of the world’s oceans, located in the western Pacific Ocean, to the east of the Mariana Islands. It’s approximately 2,550 km (1,580 mi) long but has an average width of only 69 km (43 mi), with a maximum-known depth of 10.911 km or 6.831 mi at the Challenger Deep, a small slot-shaped valley in its floor, at its southern end. At the bottom of the trench the water column above exerts a pressure of 1,086 bars (15,750 psi), over 1000 times the standard atmospheric pressure at sea level and temperatures at the bottom range from 1 to 4°C. Continue reading to see more strange creatures found near or at the bottom.
