The Mariana Trench is one incredible place! It’s tucked away in the western Pacific Ocean, not too far from Guam, and it’s actually the deepest spot on our planet. The lowest part of the trench, called Challenger Deep, drops a jaw-dropping 10,916 meters (that’s around 35,760 feet) down below sea level. To give you some perspective, it's roughly 2,500 kilometers from Manila in the Philippines and about 200 kilometers to the southwest of Guam. The trench came to life because the Pacific Plate basically dove underneath the Mariana Plate. It’s part of a cool geological area known as the Ring of Fire, and what’s wild is that it’s one of the least explored spots on Earth. The crazy depth and insane pressure down there make it really tough for anyone to check it out, but this place has so much to teach us about the Earth's geology and the mysterious ecosystems that thrive deep in the sea!