Highest and lowest points on Earth | Earth | EarthSky

(Dammit. Wish I could post the graphic. Damn ancient phone)

This fascinating infographic on Earth’s highest and lowest points – and the information below – comes from Chiltern Thrust Bore in the UK. On the page where this graphic was originally posted, they added more detail:

ABOVE SEA LEVEL

29,035ft – Mount Everest

Nepal is home Mount Everest, the Earth’s highest point – and to put into perspective just how high it stands, consider that commercial aeroplanes fly at a height of 30,000 – 35,000 ft.

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26,000 ft – Death Zone

Known as the ‘death zone’ after 26,000 ft above sea level, oxygen levels are insufficient to sustain human life. That’s why mountain climbers must carry oxygen tanks with them when they climb high peaks like Mount Everest.

22,595 ft – Ojos del Salado

The world’s highest active volcano is located in the Andes on the Argentina-Chile border. The most recent eruption occurred around 1300 years ago, however there is also some evidence of a minor ash emission in 1993.

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2,717 ft – Burj Khalifa

Located in Dubai, the Burj Khalifa is the tallest building and free-standing structure in the world, with 160 stories.

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BELOW SEA LEVEL

3,182 ft – Bingham Canyon Mine

The Bingham Canyon Mine (also known as the Kennecott Copper Mine) is the largest open-pit mine in the world. Located in the Oquirrh Mountains outside Salt Lake City, it has been the site of a massive copper extraction since 1906.

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10,000 ft – Cuvier’s Beaked Whales

The Cuvier currently holds the record for the deepest dives, according to the Cascadia Research Collective. Diving deeper than the Sperm Whale (which can reach depths of around 7,300 ft), these whales have also been recorded to “hold their breath” and stay underwater for up to 38 minutes!

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30,000 ft – KTB Borehole

The KTB Borehole, also known as the German Superdeep Hole, was originally conceived as one of the most ambitious geoscientific projects ever. Scientists were eager to study the effects of stress on layers of rock, abnormalities in the Earth’s crust, and how heat and stress were conducted through it, amongst over geoscience things.

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37,318 ft – Sakhalin-I Project

The Sakhalin-1 project is a consortium to locate and produce oil and gas on Sakahalin Island, Russia and immediately offshore.

Since drilling began in 2003, six of the world’s 10 record-setting extended reach drilling wells have been drilled. On 27 August 2012, one of their wells known as the ERD well reached a measured total depth of 40,604 ft (12,376 meters), making it the longest well in the world.

However, despite being the longest drilled hole in the world, the ERD well isn’t actually the deepest. That record belongs to the Kola Borehole.

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More
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