Tiffany Holmes, age 13, of Tacoma, Wash., for her question:

WHERE IS THE DEEPEST SPOT IN THE OCEAN?

The deepest spot in the ocean was first discovered in 1951 by the British survey ship Challenger in the Marianas Trench in the Pacific Ocean. The depth was measured by echo sounder and published as 5,960 fathoms or 35,760 feet. The spot was named the Challenger Deep.

Subsequent visits to the Challenger Deep have resulted in claims and corrections that the actual depth of the ocean there is 36,198 feet.

A metal object, such as a pound ball of steel, dropped into the water above the Challenger Deep would take nearly 63 minutes to fall to the sea bed 6.85 miles below.

The average depth of the Pacific Ocean is 14,000 feet.

Other deep trenches lie near the Aleutian Islands and off the west coast of Central and South America. Here the trenches range from 20,000 feet to 30,000 feet.