Wanderlust World Wanderlust World The Mariana Trench is the deepest part of Earth's oceans. Located in the western Pacific, ~200 miles east of the Philippines. Its deepest point, Challenger Deep, is 36,201 ft (11,034 m) below sea level.
The trench is a vast undersea canyon (~1,500 miles long, 43 miles wide) formed by the Pacific Plate subducting under the Philippine Plate. It hosts unique life (giant squid, vent shrimp, anglerfish) and extreme environments (high pressure, cold, darkness).
In 2012, James Cameron became the first to reach Challenger Deep's bottom, collecting valuable data.