# Where is the most quiet place on earth? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 6, 2012, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-most-quiet-place-on-earth/608666 "2012-01-06T21:12:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2012, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-most-quiet-place-on-earth/608666/21 "2012-01-06T23:23:38Z")
It seems that Talkeetna, Alaska, and Medford, Oregon, have the lowest average wind speeds in the United States at 4.8 mph. I can’t find any similar international measurements. I can only imagine that if one wanders out of Talkeetna after a snow, it’s going to be pretty damn quiet out there. ETA: Antarctica doesn’t seem like a particularly non-windy place. The cite below says that average winds at the South Pole are almost 10mph, which is about as windy as your average place in the US. > **[Klikhoki: Situs Judi Slot Gacor Online Terbaru Dan Terpercaya](https://www.antarcticconnection.com/)** > > Klikhoki adalah situs Agen Slot Online resmi dan terbaik di Indonesia yang bekerja sama dengan perusahaan judi online terkemuka. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2012, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-most-quiet-place-on-earth/608666/22 "2012-01-06T23:32:42Z")
Since the OP is asking for a science-based answer, maybe this could be a interesting GIS exercise. Maybe someone with GIS know-how can find a place that: - Has low average wind speeds - Has little vegetation (thus supporting less animal life) - Is sparsely populated - Is relatively geologically stable (maybe measured by detected quakes) - Has low annual rainfall ---
**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-most-quiet-place-on-earth/608666/23 "2012-01-07T15:18:06Z")
> [@obbn](#): > > I said my bedroom … _tap, tap, tap_ … is this thing on? 😃 See the OP; specifically the part ruling out ‘indoor environments’. ---
**Author:** ![lawoot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/35a633/32.png) [@lawoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lawoot)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-most-quiet-place-on-earth/608666/24 "2012-01-07T15:55:26Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > But that depends on how fast the wind is and what the obstructions are. I can’t give specifics but I seem to recall being in some fairly windy places where the wind wasn’t making noise (except for our big flappy tent). So, I think some places you can have winds, just not HIGH winds and be ok. But wouldn’t your own body (with your clothes flapping the wind) constitute a pretty substantial noise obstruction - especially to your own ears? ---
**Author:** ![UFC\_Is\_Sux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/46a35a/32.png) [@UFC\_Is\_Sux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UFC_Is_Sux)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-most-quiet-place-on-earth/608666/25 "2012-01-07T16:02:40Z")
My guess would be the bottom of the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean. But the caveats in the OP are so confusingly written and contradictory that I honestly don’t know if it would qualify or not. It isn’t on the “surface” but it is technically an “outdoor” environment “(“Surface” ruling out indoor environments, caves, orbitals or similar places.)” Nope, not an indoor environment, cave, orbital, or similar place. And it has water but it isn’t “splashing” water as specified in the OP. So, who knows? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-most-quiet-place-on-earth/608666/26 "2012-01-07T17:43:39Z")
Any desert is all-but-silent when the wind isn’t blowing. You only have to go a few miles outside Las Vegas & it’s silent. Rivers & seashores are only audible for a couple of miles tops unless you’re near something Niagara Falls. Freeways are audible for ~10 miles in otherwise-silent conditions. Most airliners at cruise altitude are inaudible, but those climbing or descending are not. So take a map of the southwest US, draw a 10-20 mile buffer around any freeway or state highway and any town and any river with water. Draw a 50 mile buffer around anyplace with an airliner-served airport. Viola; everyplace else is silent when windless. There are millions of acres of that silence. ---
**Author:** ![Gymnopithys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/fbc32d/32.png) [@Gymnopithys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gymnopithys)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-most-quiet-place-on-earth/608666/27 "2012-01-07T18:30:13Z")
> [@TerpBE](#): > > I’d guess Northeastern Siberia, as long as you’re not near the coast. This map shows that areas of it have very low average winds, and it likely has less humans and wildlife than areas that are similarly low: But you can’t silence those darned birds. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-most-quiet-place-on-earth/608666/28 "2012-01-07T18:43:12Z")
[Aokigahara](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aokigahara) in Japan is known for being extremely quiet. ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-most-quiet-place-on-earth/608666/29 "2012-01-07T19:24:53Z")
It appears LSLguy has described my property in NE AZ. Boyoboyoboy, though, when the wind is blowing, get your earplugs. The view of the night sky, though, is beyond amazing. Stars all the way down to the horizon! On moonless nights, you can actually cast a shadow by starlight! ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-most-quiet-place-on-earth/608666/30 "2012-01-07T20:16:04Z")
Would anywhere out at sea qualify? Say the Doldrums. On a calm day, you wouldn’t even have the sound of waves lapping against your boat. And doesn’t NE Siberia have a bit of a problem with volcanoes? I imagine they’re pretty noisy. ---
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-most-quiet-place-on-earth/608666/31 "2012-01-07T20:20:26Z")
Pripyat? When you’re out in the open, wind is a major noise maker. Being surrounded by buildings (while still being outdoors) cuts down on the amount of wind you hear. And there won’t be many people to bother you. Granted, it wouldn’t be a fun or healthy vacation, but it would indeed be quiet. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-most-quiet-place-on-earth/608666/32 "2012-01-07T21:00:57Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Balloons are real quiet. Except for when the pilot fires the burners. Those are very loud. And they get used every couple of minutes. > > The Antarctic dry valleys are famous for very high winds that blow for weeks at a time. Not quiet at all. > OP: Once you get away from humanity, wind is your noisiest thing. The problem is wind blows darn near everywhere. In a lot of open desolate plains it blows darn near non-stop. Then how about a helium balloon ride? ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2012, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-most-quiet-place-on-earth/608666/33 "2012-01-08T00:21:30Z")
> [@cjepson](#): > > I’m guessing it would be hard to find a quieter place than the [dry valleys](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McMurdo_Dry_Valleys) of Antarctica. From your cite: > [@](#): > > The unique conditions in the Dry Valleys are caused, in part, by katabatic winds; these occur when cold, dense air is pulled downhill by the force of gravity. The winds can reach speeds of 320 kilometres per hour (200 mph), heating as they descend, and evaporating all water, ice and snow. I would think think might qualify as one of the NOISIEST places in the world. ---
**Author:** ![Mangosteen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mangosteen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangosteen)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2012, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-most-quiet-place-on-earth/608666/34 "2012-01-08T01:53:47Z")
The day I went up to Kala Pattar to take a look at Mount Everest, it was very quite. I’m sure it can get very windy there, but there wasn’t any wind at all when I was there. Its over 18,000 feet, way above the tree line. No birds. The wind at the peak of Everest was blowing the snow off the mountain, but that was over 10,000 feet above me and over 2 miles away. [![](https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v61/GarySiegel/amounteverest2.jpg) ](https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v61/GarySiegel/amounteverest2.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2012, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-most-quiet-place-on-earth/608666/35 "2012-01-08T02:11:23Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > Maybe the bottom of a quarry ?🙂 Perhaps this calls for a scientific experiment! Let’s go down to the quarry and… Just kidding. ---
**Author:** ![ataraxy22](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ataraxy22/32/307_2.png) [@ataraxy22](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ataraxy22)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2012, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-most-quiet-place-on-earth/608666/36 "2012-01-08T02:13:33Z")
the northern part of Death Valley is the quietest place I’ve ever been. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2012, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-most-quiet-place-on-earth/608666/37 "2012-01-08T02:41:20Z")
Not answering the OP directly, but where I live is the quietest place I’ve ever been. I currently live in the jungle on top of a hill on an island with no motorized transport. During the day there are noises of the jungle fauna, dogs barking, people talking, radios, planes flying overhead, distant ships’ horns, and delivery carts putting by. During the night in the summer you can hear a/c units, cicadas and crickets. During the night in the winter there is… nothing. Literally nothing audible. I’ve lain there at night listening for anything to be heard at all, but there is just the sound of my own breathing. It’s reminded me that I have tinnitus. But otherwise it’s bliss, and I’ve never slept so well in my life. ---
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2012, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-most-quiet-place-on-earth/608666/38 "2012-01-08T02:52:47Z")
> [@VOW](#): > > It appears LSLguy has described my property in NE AZ. > > Boyoboyoboy, though, when the wind is blowing, get your earplugs. > > The view of the night sky, though, is beyond amazing. Stars all the way down to the horizon! On moonless nights, you can actually cast a shadow by starlight! > ~VOW There have been many times out in Canyonlands where I could hear my own heartbeat. Not sense it; HEAR it. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2012, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-most-quiet-place-on-earth/608666/39 "2012-01-08T05:55:15Z")
Personally I was surprised to find that, even with tourists carrying on in the parking area, [White Sands National Monument](http://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&hl=en&source=hp&biw=1920&bih=950&q=white+sands+national+monument&gbv=2&oq=white+sands+&aq=0&aqi=g10&aql=&gs_sm=c&gs_upl=2977l5121l0l8456l12l12l0l1l1l0l179l1360l4.7l11l0) was astonishingly quiet if I walked a few dozen yards to put a couple of dunes between the noisy rabble and myself. The white dunes are composed of gypsum sand, and [sound-absorbing panels are made of gypsum board](http://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/eng/ibp/irc/ctus/ctus-n1.html), although I can’t say if the dunes work the same way exactly. It was, however, eerily quiet – most of the desert life is nocturnal and/or very small. Presumably the white sands area is much larger than the parking lot, and far enough out in the dunes it ought to be pretty quiet. Maybe not the quietest place on earth – it IS in the United States, not exactly a quiet zone – and there’s a missile test range [nearby](http://maps.google.com/maps?pq=gypsum+sound+absorption&hl=en&cp=12&gs_id=2i&xhr=t&gs_upl=&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&biw=1920&bih=950&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=white+sands+missile+range&fb=1&gl=us&hq=white+sands+missile+range&cid=0,0,5184712727821594281&ei=4y4JT6H1F-Lo0QHEnNCyDw&sa=X&oi=local_result&ct=image&sqi=2&ved=0CAgQ_BI). Also, I am compelled to point out there have been some pretty [loud noises](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity_%28nuclear_test%29) in the area in the past. But it might be one of the quieter places in the US. . ---
**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:** [January 8, 2012, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-most-quiet-place-on-earth/608666/40 "2012-01-08T08:26:26Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > - Has low average wind speeds > - Has little vegetation (thus supporting less animal life) > - Is sparsely populated > - Is relatively geologically stable (maybe measured by detected quakes) > - Has low annual rainfall Suggestion: [Surveyor Generals Corner](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surveyor_Generals_Corner), which is the (almost) intersection of the Australian state boundaries of South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory. It was thought that until 1968 fewer people had been there than have walked on the moon. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-most-quiet-place-on-earth/608666.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-most-quiet-place-on-earth/608666.md?page=3)