Emden Deep

[ em-duhn deep ]

noun

1. the third-deepest known portion of seafloor in the world, located in the western Pacific Ocean’s Philippine Trench at a depth of 34,580 feet (10,540 meters): site of a first-time crewed descent in 2021 that found extensive deposits of intact garbage from untold years of dumping refuse into the seas, furthering environmental and climatic concerns. Compare Challenger Deep ( def ), Horizon Deep ( def ).

Word History and Origins

Origin of Emden Deep¹

First recorded in 1925–30; named after its discovery by the German ship Emden in 1927