Fun Facts about Trenches
Brian Barr
This blog post is the third in a series leading up to the release of Product 02: The Trench Mail Sorter. For a 10% discount visit our store page and preorder for just $27 today.
In researching oceanic trenches for Product 02: The Trench Mail Sorter, we naturally learned a lot of interesting facts about each of the trenches we chose for the mail sorter. Here are a few of the more interesting tidbits we came across.
Marianas Trench
At a depth of 10,994m or 6.831 miles (36,070 feet), the Marianas Trench is nearly a mile deeper than Mount Everest is tall.
The first trip to the bottom was made in 1960 by the bathysphere Trieste. Star Trek fans, Jean-Luc Picard was named after Jacques Piccard, the captain of the Trieste.
- In 2012, film director James Cameron set a solo dive record by taking his vessel, the Deepsea Challenger to the bottom of the Marianas Trench.
Tonga Trench
Located in the South Pacific, the Tonga Trench is 10,882m (35,702 ft) deep at its deepest point, known as the Horizon Deep.
The Tonga Trench is one of the Earth's most active seismic regions with a subduction rate of nearly 9 inches a year.
The Tonga is also the final resting place of the radioisotope thermoelectric generator from the Apollo 13 mission. If you've heard of an RTG it's probably because they feature heavily in the 2015 movie, The Martian. Or who knows, you might just be in to that type of thing.
Puerto Rico Trench
Located in the Caribbean, the Puerto Rico Trench is the boundary between the Caribbean Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean.
Maximum Depth of 8,648m (28,373 ft.) or 5.373 miles at the Milwaukee Deep.
The Puerto Rico Trench has the potential to generate earthquakes large earthquakes of magnitudes greater than 8 which could create a devastating tsunami.
Cayman Trench
Also located in the Caribbean, the Cayman Trench has a depth of 7,686 m (25,217 ft).
The Cayman Trench is home to the deepest undersea vents known to man. These so called Black Smokers operate at temperatures as high as 835 degrees Fahrenheit.
Those of a certain age will remember that this trench was featured in the James Cameron movie, The Abyss.