Mariana Trench | In Pursuit of the Abyss

The depths of the Mariana Trench conceal many peculiar creatures. This deep sea film is sponsored by NordVPN. Go to or use code naturalworldfacts to get a 2-year plan plus a bonus gift with a huge discount. Check out the NordVPN YouTube channel here: The Mariana Trench sits like a crescent-shaped dent in the floor of the Pacific. A 2,550 km long, 69 km wide fracture that plummets down into a pure black void of the Hadal Zone. At the bottom, it hosts the deepest known location on Earth. The Challenger Deep, 11,033 metres or 36,200 feet beneath the waves. The trench itself is but one part of a global network of deep scars that cut across the ocean floor. Features that formed from a process called subduction. In the case of the Mariana Trench, the western edge of the Pacific Plate was thrust beneath the smaller Mariana Plate to the west, creating the deep fracture. Molten material then rose through volcanoes near the trench, building the nearby Mariana Islands. 00:00 - Introduction 01:18 - Chapter 1: Gates of the Underworld - How the Trench Formed 02:41 - Chapter 1: Gates of the Underworld - An ’Impossible’ Frontier 03:40 - Chapter 1: Gates of the Underworld - The HMS Challenger 04:11 - Chapter 2: In Pursuit of the Abyss - The Bathyscape Trieste, 1960 05:51 - Chapter 2: In Pursuit of the Abyss - The Deepsea Challenge, 2012 06:38 - Chapter 3: Discoveries in the Dark - The Kaiko Mission 07:56 - Chapter 3: Discoveries in the Dark - The Hadal Amphipod 09:00 - Chapter 3: Discoveries in the Dark - Abyssal Sea Cucumbers 09:45 - Chapter 3: Discoveries in the Dark - The Mariana Snailfish 10:17 - Chapter 3: Discoveries in the Dark - Denizens of the Abyss 11:05 - Conclusion CHECK OUT OUR DEEP SEA WEBSITE: I do not own any of the footage. I write the script, narrate, and edit what footage I can find, which is allowed due to YouTube’s ’Fair Use’ policy. Footage used is from various YouTube sources, MBARI, NatGeo, the Ocean Exploration Institute and the Schmidt Ocean Institute, as well as other sources. Music Used: Blue Danube by Strauss Bach Cello Suite No. 1, G Major, Predule, performed by Cooper Cannell Always (Hebridean Mix) by Jessica Curry This Godforsaken Aerial by Jessica Curry Ode to Joy performed by Cooper Cannell #deepsea #wildlife #nature #documentary #ocean #marinebiology #science #biology Resources: