# Is Challenger Deep the deepest point on earth or merely the deepest point of the Pacific Ocean? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 3, 2014, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-challenger-deep-the-deepest-point-on-earth-or-merely-the-deepest-point-of-the-pacific-ocean/689977 "2014-06-03T23:42:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![davidmich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e56c9b/32.png) [@davidmich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidmich)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2014, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-challenger-deep-the-deepest-point-on-earth-or-merely-the-deepest-point-of-the-pacific-ocean/689977/1 "2014-06-03T23:42:48Z")
Hi Which statement is correct? Is Challenger Deep the deepest point on earth or merely the deepest point of the Pacific Ocean? I look forward to your feedback. davidmich Wikipedia > **[Challenger Deep](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Challenger_Deep)** > > The Challenger Deep is the deepest known point of the seabed of Earth, with a depth of 10,902–10,929 m (35,768–35,856 ft) by direct measurement from deep-diving submersibles, remotely operated underwater vehicles and benthic landers, and (sometimes) slightly more by sonar bathymetry. > The Challenger Deep is located in the western Pacific Ocean, at the southern end of the Mariana Trench, near the Mariana Islands. According to the August 2011 version of the GEBCO Gazetteer of Undersea Feature Nam... The Challenger Deep is the deepest known point in the Earth’s seabed hydrosphere, with a depth of 10,898 to 10,916m (35,755 to 35,814ft) by direct measurement from submersibles, and slightly more by sonar bathymetry (see below). National Geographic > **[National Geographic](https://www.nationalgeographic.com/)** > > Explore National Geographic. A world leader in geography, cartography and exploration. The Mariana Trench’s Challenger Deep—the deepest point on Earth—looks as bleak and barren as the moon, according to James Cameron, who successfully returned just hours ago from the first solo dive to the ocean abyss. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2014, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-challenger-deep-the-deepest-point-on-earth-or-merely-the-deepest-point-of-the-pacific-ocean/689977/2 "2014-06-04T00:09:41Z")
Actually the **five** deepest points on Earth are in the Pacific Ocean, and the [Challenger is the deepest of all.](http://www.marineinsight.com/marine/10-deepest-parts-of-the-ocean/) ---
**Author:** ![davidmich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e56c9b/32.png) [@davidmich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidmich)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2014, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-challenger-deep-the-deepest-point-on-earth-or-merely-the-deepest-point-of-the-pacific-ocean/689977/3 "2014-06-04T00:18:45Z")
Thank you kunilou. It’s surprising wikipedia doesn’t just say that. davidmich ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2014, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-challenger-deep-the-deepest-point-on-earth-or-merely-the-deepest-point-of-the-pacific-ocean/689977/4 "2014-06-04T00:39:57Z")
> [@davidmich](#): > > Thank you kunilou. It’s surprising wikipedia doesn’t just say that. > davidmich It seems to me that it does say it, right there in the bit you quote: “The Challenger Deep is the deepest known point in the Earth’s seabed hydrosphere”. The qualification to the hydrosphere is just to exclude such things as the [Kola Superdeep Borehole](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kola_Superdeep_Borehole), which is deeper, but in a rather different sense, and anyway is artificial. (I suppose in principle there might also be natural caves that go deeper, but I do not think any are actually known.) ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2014, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-challenger-deep-the-deepest-point-on-earth-or-merely-the-deepest-point-of-the-pacific-ocean/689977/5 "2014-06-04T00:43:42Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > … the [Challenger is the deepest of all.](http://www.marineinsight.com/marine/10-deepest-parts-of-the-ocean/) That website is interesting, but includes something strange: Item #7, the South Sandwich Trench, is illustrated with a picture of the island of Hawaii. This is among the original Sandwich Islands - indeed it’s the southernmost of these - but has nothing whatever to do with their southern-hemisphere cousins (located some 8500 miles southwest). ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2014, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-challenger-deep-the-deepest-point-on-earth-or-merely-the-deepest-point-of-the-pacific-ocean/689977/6 "2014-06-04T00:50:08Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > I suppose in principle there might also be natural caves that go deeper, but I do not think any are actually known. Not only is no such cave known (the deepest extends somewhat below 2000 meters), I don’t believe any natural process is known that could produce a cave anywhere near that deep. ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2014, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-challenger-deep-the-deepest-point-on-earth-or-merely-the-deepest-point-of-the-pacific-ocean/689977/7 "2014-06-04T01:32:43Z")
If it is on the wrong side of a subduction zone? Timing is everything. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2014, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-challenger-deep-the-deepest-point-on-earth-or-merely-the-deepest-point-of-the-pacific-ocean/689977/8 "2014-06-04T02:05:39Z")
“The deepest point on Earth” has no meaning in itself. You could easily say that the deepest point is the center of the Earth. Certainly there are billions of points deeper than the Mariana Trench. The Wikipedia quote is phrased much more precisely. The National Geographic article is an example of how common speech is too loose and depends too much on assumptions to be useful in a scientific context. Unless you already know and understand that the meaning is “deepest known point in the Earth’s seabed hydrosphere” it’s totally useless as a sentence. ---
**Author:** ![davidmich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e56c9b/32.png) [@davidmich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidmich)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2014, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-challenger-deep-the-deepest-point-on-earth-or-merely-the-deepest-point-of-the-pacific-ocean/689977/9 "2014-06-04T06:47:58Z")
Thanks Exapno Mapcase. That clarifies things much better. Thank you all. davidmich