Editing Challenger Deep (section)

{{Short description|Deepest known point of Earth's seabed}}
{{For|the book|Challenger Deep (novel){{!}}''Challenger Deep'' (novel)}}
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[[File:Marianatrenchmap.png|thumb|upright=1.3|Location of Challenger Deep within the [[Mariana Trench]] and western Pacific Ocean]]

The '''Challenger Deep''' is the [[List of submarine topographical features#List of oceanic trenches|deepest known point]] of the [[seabed]] of [[Earth]], located in the western [[Pacific Ocean]] at the southern end of the [[Mariana Trench]], in the ocean territory of the [[Federated States of Micronesia]].

The [[General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans|GEBCO]] Gazetteer of Undersea Feature Names indicates that the feature is situated at {{coord|11|22.4|N|142|35.5|E}} and has an approximated maximum depth of {{cvt|10920|±|10|m|ft|0}} below [[sea level]].<ref name="GEBCO Gazetteer of Undersea Feature Names">{{Cite news|url=http://www.gebco.net/data_and_products/undersea_feature_names/#feature_links4|title=IHO-IOC GEBCO Gazetteer of Undersea Feature Names, August 2011 version|date=August 2011|publisher=GEBCO|access-date=20 March 2012|archive-date=6 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211106222714/https://www.gebco.net/data_and_products/undersea_feature_names/#feature_links4|url-status=live}}</ref> A subsequent study revised the value to {{cvt|10935|±|6|m|ft|0}} at a 95% [[confidence interval]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Greenaway |first1=Samuel F. |last2=Sullivan |first2=Kathryn D. |last3=Umfress |first3=S. Harper |last4=Beittel |first4=Alice B. |last5=Wagner |first5=Karl D. |date=2021-10-26 |title=Revised depth of the Challenger Deep from submersible transects; including a general method for precise, pressure-derived depths in the ocean |journal=Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers |volume=178 |doi=10.1016/j.dsr.2021.103644 |issn=0967-0637 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2021DSRI..17803644G }}</ref> However, both the precise geographic location and depth remain ambiguous, with contemporary measurements ranging from {{Convert|10,903 to 11,009|m|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Loranger |first1=Scott |last2=Barclay |first2=David |last3=Buckingham |first3=Michael |date=2021-04-19 |title=Implosion in the Challenger Deep: Echo Sounding with the Shock Wave |url=https://tos.org/oceanography/article/implosion-in-the-challenger-deep-echo-sounding-with-the-shock-wave |journal=Oceanography |volume=34 |issue=2 |pages=156–165 |doi=10.5670/oceanog.2021.201 |access-date=2024-08-20 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2021Ocgpy..34b.201L |hdl=1912/27739 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

The depression is named after the British [[Royal Navy]] survey ships {{HMS|Challenger|1858|6}}, whose [[Challenger expedition|expedition of 1872–1876]] first located it, and [[HMS Challenger (1931)|HMS ''Challenger II'']], whose expedition of 1950–1952 established its record-setting depth.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Gaskell |first=Thomas F |title=Under the Deep Oceans: Twentieth Century Voyages of Discovery |publisher=Eyre & Spottiswoode |year=1960 |location=London |pages=24–25}}</ref> The first descent by any vehicle was conducted by the [[United States Navy]] using the [[bathyscaphe]] ''[[Bathyscaphe Trieste|Trieste]]'' in January 1960. {{As of|2022|July}}, there were 27 [[list of people who descended to Challenger Deep|people who have descended to the Challenger Deep]].