# The lowest place on land **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 13, 2022, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lowest-place-on-land/976469 "2022-12-13T17:21:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![3AxisCtrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/ecd19e/32.png) [@3AxisCtrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3AxisCtrl)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2022, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lowest-place-on-land/976469/1 "2022-12-13T17:21:35Z")
As everyone knows, this is the shores of the Dead Sea: 430 m below sea level. But what if we allow the deepest parts of deep lakes? The Dead Sea has a maximum depth of 304 m, which thus is 734 m (2408 ft) below sea level. Lake Baikal - the largest (by volume), oldest and deepest lake in the world, has its surface at 455 m and a max depth of 1642 m, making its lowest point 1187 m (3894 ft) below sea level. Glaciers can do amazing things: plenty of glacially carved lakes extend well below sea level. Patagonina (where I’m currently located) has O’Higgins/San Martín Lake, with surface at 250 m and max depth of 836 m. Might there be some lakes-under-construction, say in Greenland or Antarctica, that could exceed Lake Baikal? ---
**Author:** ![kk\_fusion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kk_fusion/32/15276_2.png) [@kk\_fusion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kk_fusion)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2022, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lowest-place-on-land/976469/2 "2022-12-13T17:48:04Z")
It’s hard to tell exactly since it’s covered by almost four kilometers of ice, but some estimates say the bottom of [Lake Vostok](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Vostok) may be deeper than Baikal. ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2022, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lowest-place-on-land/976469/3 "2022-12-14T02:42:44Z")
The current candidate mot likely is: [Denman Glacier](https://www.sciencealert.com/the-world-s-deepest-canyon-has-been-discovered-underneath-antarctica-s-ice-sheet) in East Antarctica The BedMachine Antarctica map has estimated that the deepest canyon on Earth’s surface, plunging 3.5 kilometers below sea level, is under Denman Glacier in East Antarctica, nearly half as deep as Mount Everest is tall. ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2022, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lowest-place-on-land/976469/4 "2022-12-14T12:02:56Z")
> [@3AxisCtrl](#): > > But what if we allow the deepest parts of deep lakes? The Mediterraneans deepest part is 5109 metres below… so while its considered a sea, it could be considered a lake… or an ocean … ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2022, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lowest-place-on-land/976469/5 "2022-12-14T20:42:31Z")
> [@Isilder](#): > > The Mediterraneans deepest part is 5109 metres below… so while its considered a sea, it could be considered a lake Who considers the Mediterranean to be a lake? ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2022, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lowest-place-on-land/976469/6 "2022-12-15T11:15:57Z")
> [@penultima\_thule](#): > > The BedMachine Antarctica map has estimated that the deepest canyon on Earth’s surface, plunging 3.5 kilometers below sea level, is under Denman Glacier in East Antarctica, nearly half as deep as Mount Everest is tall. But isnt counting glacier-covered land the same as lake-covered or ocean-covered land? ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2022, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lowest-place-on-land/976469/7 "2022-12-15T11:23:53Z")
> [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > But isnt counting glacier-covered land the same as lake-covered or ocean-covered land? I am just proving a reasonable answer to the question as posed by the OP. I thought it was generally accepted that the deepest point on the Earth is the Mariana Trench. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2022, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lowest-place-on-land/976469/8 "2022-12-15T11:27:47Z")
Once, for 20 minutes in the 2020’s. 😁 ---
**Author:** ![MikeS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MikeS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeS)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2022, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lowest-place-on-land/976469/9 "2022-12-15T12:59:34Z")
I mean, it _was_ a lake until about 5 million years ago. Maybe @Isilder hadn’t heard the news. > **[Zanclean flood](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zanclean_flood)** > > The Zanclean flood or Zanclean deluge is a flood theorized to have refilled the Mediterranean Sea 5.33 million years ago. > This flooding ended the Messinian salinity crisis and reconnected the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean, although it is possible that even before the flood there were partial connections to the Atlantic Ocean. The reconnection marks the beginning of the Zanclean age. > According to this model, water from the Atlantic Ocean refilled the dried up basin through the modern-... ---
**Author:** ![am77494](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d2c977/32.png) [@am77494](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/am77494)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2022, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lowest-place-on-land/976469/10 "2022-12-15T21:37:34Z")
The lowest point on land will be the bottom of the Kola Superdeep Borehole The deepest reached 12,262 metres (40,230 ft; 7.619 mi) in 1989, the [deepest artificial point](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extremes_on_Earth#Lowest_artificial_points) on Earth. ([Kola Superdeep Borehole - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kola_Superdeep_Borehole)) Other Artificial lowest points are : > **[Extremes on Earth | Lowest artificial points](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extremes_on_Earth#Lowest_artificial_points)** > > 1.The lowest point underground ever reached was 12,262 m (40,230 ft) deep (SG-3 at the Kola Superdeep Borehole, which has since been enclosed). | > 2.The lowest human-sized point underground is 3,900 m (12,800 ft) below ground at the TauTona Mine, Carletonville, South Africa. | > 3.The lowest (from sea level) artificially made point with open sky may be the Hambach surface mine, Germany, which reaches a depth of 293 m (961 ft) below sea level. | > 4.The lowest (from surface) artificially made po