Challenger Deep

High school (ages 12+)
Geography

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/challenger-deep

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the hydrostatic pressure?Approximately 1,086 bars (15,750 psi), over 1,000 times that at sea level
2. How deep is Challenger Deep?It is more than 10,900 meters below sea level, which is about 35,900 feet. That depth is deeper than any mountain on land.
3. Why is Challenger Deep so dark and cold?There is no sunlight at that depth, so it is completely dark. The water is also very cold, usually between 1 and 4 degrees Celsius, almost like a freezer.

Hadal Zone: The deepest region of the ocean, below 6,000 meters, characterized by extreme pressure and darkness.
Subduction: The geological process where one tectonic plate moves under another and sinks into the mantle.
Bathymetry: The measurement of the depth of water in oceans, seas, or lakes.
Extremophile: An organism that thrives in physically or geochemically extreme conditions detrimental to most life on Earth.