The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1922-05-18
GREATEST DEPTH OF SEA
IS EAST OF PHILIPPINES
OVER SIX MILEs-DEPTH WOULD
EASILY SUBMERoE MT.
EVEREST.

Explorers and geographers who have
been signing for new islands to con-
quer may find their best field of en-
deavor. paradoxically. in the sea. Now
that the United States navy has per-
fected a device for measuring the
depths of water by sound waves with
out going through the tedious process
of lowering sounding lines It should
be possible to add greatly to the rela
lively we know about the under-w water
portion of the earth. The Importance
of this little explored region is brought
out in the following bulletin issued
from the Washington d. c.. headquar-
ters of the National Geographical So
ciety:
when it is realized that nearly
three fourths of the surface of the
globe consists of water it is rather re-
markable how little we know of the
vast surface of the solid sphere which
lies under this screen of liquid The
greater portions of our continents are
mapped even to the smallest details
and our harbors and the shallow wa
ters closely off shore are fairly well
charted; but once the edge Of the con-
tinental shelves are passed the fea-
lures of the sea bottom are represent
ed only by few somewhat vague con-
tour lines laid down between rather
infrequent points of sOundings
Not Sure of Greatest Depth
I'VE know without a doubt that the
highest point on the earth is the peak
of Mt Everest which extends above
the sea-level for 29,OO2 feet-or 80 feet
less than five and one-half miles. On
the other hand we can only speak o.
the deepest abyss yet discovered for
one great pit hidden in the depths of
the ocean, has scarcely established its
title to first place in recent years when
it has been surpassed by a deeper me;
and it can hardly be believed that the
deepest of all has yet been discovered.
school children were taught few
years ago that the deepest depression
in the earth's surface was near the
Fiji Islands and that it was 301 fee
deep Since then the deepest hole in
the earth has been successfully Ker-
madee Deep. northeast of New Zea-
land, sO,93O feet: Nero Deep, south
east of Guam. S1.616 feet, and the
present holder of the record, Philip
pine Deep, east Of the Philippine ISL
ands S2.OS9 feet. This greatest known
depth therefore lies six miles and 400
feet below the surface of the sea.
Like Scratch on Billiard Ball.
1.-THE greatest range vertically of the
earth's surface is between the bottom
of the Philippine Deep and the top of
Mt Everest. a distance of approx
mately 11.6 miles. This seems ire
mendous distance until it is compared
with the diameter of the earth which
near the ATTITUDES of these great phys
ical features. is approximately 5000
miles On a globe with a diameter of
eight inches instead of 5000 miles. this
maximum range of a depression and
heights would be represented by a
scratch little more than n hlndredth
of an inch deep. The smallest division
on a household ruler is one-sixteenth
of an inch The scratch would be less
than fifth of such a division in depth. |
On a billiard ball one could hardly |
scratch lightly enough with a pin to |
represent the great Philippine Deep |
and a few grains of talcum powder
would stand for Mt Everest The
,moothest orange that grows has
much greater Irregularities on its skin
n proportion to its size than those
given to the earth by all its peaks and
'alleys.
Water and Land.
zone who studies the earth comes
o realize that in sense the CONT
tents are subordinate to the great
cean basins. The total volume Of
hese depressions below sea-level is
many times greater than the volume
f the land that rises above the sea !
f the entire land surface were leveled
own an ocean nearly two miles deep {
'ould sweep over every square foot of
he surface of the globe. The condi- S
on of the continent might at first I
lance be considered precariOus, but :
ry land has formed a considerable =
art of the surface of the earth for Y
billions of years and will probably re a
lain for long time to come. It has
cen estimated that less than four Gu
ic miles of solid material is carried c
ito the sea by water annually At
his rate. leaving out of consideration
pheavals and subsidences due to \
and other causes, it
-ould require more than 100000
ears for all the nresent land TO he \