The highest, lowest and deepest points on Earth

The highest, lowest and deepest points on Earth Name: _____________________________________________ Period: _____ Date: ___________ Essential Question: How do the highest, lowest and deepest points on Earth form? Earth's geology and tectonics has created amazing geology and geologic features. This article briefly describes the deepest points and the highest points on Earth. There are actually two deepest points on Earth: the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean, and the Dead Sea in Israel. The Marianas Trench in the Pacific Ocean is the deepest point on Earth at about 11 km (6.8 mi). The highest mountain above sea level, Mount Everest, can fit neatly into the Marianas Trench with more than a mile to spare. The Marianas Trench is in the western North Pacific Ocean, southeast of the Mariana Islands, near Guam. The trench is actually the point where the Pacific and the Philippine tectonic plates meet or converge ( convergent boundary ), and the Pacific plate is forced under the Philippine plate. The Pacific plate is denser than the Philippine plate that is why is sinks or undergo the process of subduction. The deepest area of the Marianas Trench is Challenger Deep, at 10,900 meters, 35,760 ft. The sea pressure at that depth is 108.6 MPa, over one thousand times the standard atmospheric pressure at sea level. The Marianas Trench has been measured by American, British, Soviet, and Japanese vessels using echosounding devices, pressure depth devices, and bathyspheres. The Dead Sea in Israel is the deepest point on land at 418 meters (1,371 feet) below sea level. The Dead Sea is inside the Jordan Rift Valley, which was formed when the Arabian tectonic plate moved away or diverged from the African tectonic plate ( divergent boundary). At that time the Mediterranean Ocean flooded the rift, but the flow of water was stopped when the Jordan Rift Valley rose to form the prehistoric Lake Gomorrah. As the freshwater lake evaporated and became saltier, the lake turned into Lake Lisan. Continued evaporation has shrunken the lake into the present-day Dead Sea, one of the saltiest bodies of water on Earth. There are no streams that flow out of the Dead Sea, and the Jordan River is the only river that flows into the Dead Sea. There are two highest points: Mount Everest on the border of Tibet and Nepal, and Mauna Kea in Hawaii, a volcano. Mount Everest is the highest mountain above sea level on Earth, at 8,848 meters (29,029 feet). Mount Everest is part of the Himalayan mountain range, and is located on the border of Sagarmatha Zone, Nepal, and Tibet, China. The Himalaya were formed by the titanic collision ( convergent boundary) of the Indian tectonic plate with the Eurasian tectonic plate 50 million years ago, causing the crust to fold and up thrust to form the Himalayan mountains. The Indian plate is still moving, making the Himalayan mountains Clarifying Questions: 1. What are the deepest points on Earth? The deepest points on Earth are found in ocean trenches, such as the Mariana Trench. ________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ 2. How deep is the Marianas trench? The Mariana Trench reaches a depth of approximately 10,984 meters (36,037 feet). __________________________________________________________________________ 3. What is the highest point on Earth? It is one of the mountains in the Himalayas. The highest point on Earth is Mount Everest, located in the Himalayas. _________________________________________________________________________ 4. Where is the Marianas trench? The Mariana Trench is located in the western Pacific Ocean, to the east of the Mariana Islands. __________________________________________________________________________ 5. What is the deepest point of the Marianas trench? How deep is it? The deepest point of the Mariana Trench is called the Challenger Deep, which reaches a depth of about 10,984 meters (36,037 feet). __________________________________________________________________________ 6. What is the deepest point on land? The deepest point on land is the Challenger Deep, located within the Mariana Trench. __________________________________________________________________________ 7. Where is the deepest point on land located? The Challenger Deep, the deepest point on land, is located in the western Pacific Ocean, specifically within the Mariana Trench. ________________________________________________________________________________ Why is the Dead Sea so salty? The Dead Sea is actually a lake. Think! The Dead Sea is exceptionally salty because it has a high rate of evaporation, limited inflow of freshwater, rich mineral ________________________________________________________________________________ content in its surroundings, and no outlet to flush out accumulated salts and minerals. __________________________________________________________________________ 8. What are the highest points on Earth? The highest points on Earth include Mount Everest in the Himalayas, K2 (also known as Mount Godwin-Austen) on the China-Pakistan border, and Kangchenjunga, also in the Himalayas. __________________________________________________________________________ 9. Where is Mt. Everest? Mount Everest is located in the Himalayas, on the border between Nepal and China. __________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ 10. How did the Himalayas form? The Himalayas formed as a result of the collision between the Indian Plate and the Eurasian Plate. The Indian Plate, ________________________________________________________________________________ moving northward, collided with the Eurasian Plate, leading to the uplift of the Himalayan mountain range. __________________________________________________________________________ 11. What is Mauna Kea and where is it located? Mauna Kea is a dormant volcano located on the Big Island of Hawaii. ________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ 12. TYPES OF PLATE BOUNDARIES: Choose from the following: A. convergent B. divergent A ____a. Marianas trench A ____b. Himalayas A ____c. Mt. Everest D ____d. Dead Sea ( lake ) B ____e. Mauna Kea (Hawaiian volcano) C. transform or strike slip D. no plate boundary B ____f. Hotspot ( Hawaii) D ____g. Appalachian mountains ( West NC ) C ____h. Charleston fault ( South Carolina) C ____i. Madrid fault ___ j. San Andreas fault ( California) C Challenge! ( 10 pts ) Why do volcanoes form near the subduction zones? Volcanoes form near subduction zones because when one tectonic plate ____________________________________________ is forced beneath another (subduction), the descending plate melts as it ____________________________________________ sinks into the Earth's mantle due to the intense heat and pressure. This ____________________________________________ molten material, or magma, rises through weaknesses in the overlying ____________________________________________ plate, leading to volcanic activity. Subduction zones are characterized by ____________________________________________ deep ocean trenches, where the descending plate is subducted beneath ____________________________________________ the overriding plate, creating the conditions necessary for volcanic activity ____________________________________________