Earth's surface

0.7m Rabbit warrens
and mole burrowsMoles can dig 20m of tunnel per day

1m A pig can sniff out truffles up to this depthBut the largest truffle ever found was sniffed out by a dog. It weighed 1.48kg

1.8m Standard grave depth in Western cultureActual depths can vary, but the term 'six feet under' originated in 1665 in plague-ridden England as a stipulation from the Mayor of London to avoid further infection

3m Deep-burrowing earthworm speciesOne giant species, Drawida grandis, can be more than a metre long

4m Tutankhamun's tombDiscovered in 1922 by archaeologist Howard Carter in Egypt's Valley
of the Kings

5m Olympic diving poolStandard depth for a 10m platform

6m Maximum range of most metal detectorsA car buried this deep could be picked up by a high-end metal detector but smaller items would be missed

7m Maximum depth of plant roots in a tropical forestTropical forest trees store water in their deep roots and move it up to the surface during dry periods

8m Mole manWilliam Lyttle of Hackney, London, burrowed 8m under his own house over a 40-year period starting in the 1960s

8m Seven Pagodas of Mahabalipuram, IndiaSuspected location of the submerged coastal remains

10m Nitrogen narcosis equal to 1 MartiniCompressed nitrogen in divers' air tanks causes 'drunken' effects similar to having a martini for every 10m in descent

12m Deepest animal burrowsDug by Nile crocodiles

18m Beijing's underground citySubterranean bomb shelter network under the Chinese capital

20m Paris catacombsOpened in the late 18th Century, they hold the remains of approximately six million people

20m Shallow coral reefsFound in tropical waters

Nitrogen narcosis: 2 MartinisSymptoms: mild task impairment, mild euphoria

30m Kelp forestsIn temperate and polar regions

Nitrogen narcosis: 3 MartinisSymptoms: delayed responses, coordination and reasoning affected, overconfidence

33m Underground urban farmA former World War Two bomb shelter under Clapham, London, now used to grow herbs and vegetables

35m Plunge pool under Niagara FallsNearly two-thirds of the height of the falls themselves

40m Nitrogen narcosis: 4 MartinisSymptoms: impaired judgement, anxiety

42m Deepest swimming poolY-40 diving pool in Montegrotto Terme, Italy

50m European spider crabFound in the Mediterranean, can grow up to 20cm

Nitrogen narcosis: 5 MartinisMaximum safe depth for experienced professional divers breathing air

60m Killer whalesOr orcas, considered apex predators

Nitrogen narcosis: 6 MartinisSymptoms: sedation, hallucinations

61m World War Two US SubmarinesNormal operating depth

67m Deepest underwater cyclingVittorio Innocente of Italy in 2008

70m Whale sharksLargest known fish species still in existence

Nitrogen narcosis: 7 MartinisSymptoms: sleepiness, sometimes terror

80m MS EstoniaCruise ship sank in 1994 in the Baltic Sea

Nitrogen narcosis: 8 MartinisSymptoms: confusion, memory loss

85m Derinkuyu underground city, TurkeyOne of several underground complexes found throughout Cappadocia, possibly dating back as far as the 7th Century

90m Nitrogen narcosis: 9 martinisSymptoms: blackouts, risk of death

100m SarlaccHow far the hole-dwelling Star Wars creature would reach

Buried nuclear wasteStorage of low-level radioactive waste

100m Giant Pacific octopusCan weigh up to 70kg

106m Deepest metro stationArsenalna, on the Sviatoshynsko-Brovarska Line, Kiev, Ukraine

108m K-141 KurskRussian nuclear submarine, sank in 2000 after an accident during a naval exercise

115m Channel TunnelMaximum depth below sea level

120m Antikythera wreckShipwreck from the 1st Century BC. The Antikythera Mechanism, regarded as the first analogue computer, was discovered here

122m Deepest known tree rootsA wild fig tree at Echo Caves, near Ohrigstad, South Africa

130m Deepest underwater weddingBetween diving instructors Hiroyuki Yoshida and Sandra Smith in 2013

155m Deepest hotel roomAt the Sala Silvermine, Sweden

171m RMS CarpathiaShip famous for its involvement in the rescue of Titanic survivors, sunk by torpedo attack in 1918

200m Giant oarfishCan grow to be over 7m long. Inspired many sea serpent sightings

Sunlit Zone
Twilight Zone

212m Deepest half marathonTook place in Bochnia Salt Mine, Poland, in 2004

214m Deepest free-diveSet by Herbert Nitsch of Austria using banned sled and inflatable method

219m Greenbrier nuclear bunkerWest Virginia, US. Kept secret for 30 years, designed for Congress to use in an emergency

240m Deepest railway tunnelMaximum depth of Seikan Tunnel, Japan, opened in 1988

287m Deepest undersea road tunnelThe Eiksund Tunnel, Norway

300m Japanese spider crabCan reach 3.8m across and weigh 19kg

305m B82 earth-penetrating nuclear warheadMaximum destructive depth

332m Deepest SCUBA diveSet by Ahmed Gabr of Egypt in 2014

392m Deepest water well dug by handWoodingdean Well, near Brighton, UK

396m Thresher US submarineNormal operating depth

406m Bottom of Lake SuperiorShared between Canada and the US, the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface area

500m Methane hydrate drillingJapanese operation to extract natural gas from the southeastern Nankai Trough region

Deepest dive by a blue whaleRemaining submerged for up to 50 minutes

535m Deepest dive by a penguinA small female Emperor penguin near McMurdo Sound in Antarctica

600m Start of SOFAR channelLayer of water used by whales and submarines for long-distance sonic communication

610m Deepest dive in an ADS suitAtmospheric Diving System suit, which keeps the diver at normal air pressure

643m Cave with deepest natural shaftVrtoglavica Cave, Slovenia. Vrtoglavica means vertigo in Slovenian

660m Deepest underwater nuclear testOperation Wigwam, detonated in 1955 in the north Pacific. Underwater nuclear tests are now banned under the Partial Test Ban Treaty

700m Chilean miners33 miners were trapped for 69 days in 2010 in the San José copper and gold mine, Chile

700m European eelCritically endangered species found in Europe. Can grow up to 1.5m in length

750m Cuban AtlantisLost city supposedly discovered in 2001, but its pyramid-like structures are too deep to be man-made

800m Deepest proposed public railway stationPorta Alpina, in the Gotthard Base Tunnel in southern Switzerland

900m Giant squidDeepest documented sighting. Can grow to enormous sizes, up to 13m, due to deep-sea gigantism

1,000m MonkfishBony, grotesque fish characterised by its bulbous head and wide, fanged mouth

Twilight Zone
Midnight Zone

1,000m Pressure330 atmospheres - same as 4 elephants balanced on your head, weighing 28 tonnes

1,030m Bottom of Caspian Sea, Central AsiaThe largest enclosed body of water on Earth

1,100m Deepest recorded active volcanoWest Mata in the Pacific

1,160m Deepest bat colony1,000 brown bats spend each winter in a New York zinc mine

1,200m End of SOFAR channel

1,270m Deepest concertAgonizer, in Pyhäsalmi Mine Oy, Finland in 2007

1,280m Great white sharkFast, ferocious sharks that can live over 70 years

Deepest dive by a reptileLeatherback turtle, the largest living turtle species, known for its lack of a hard shell

1,300m Devil wormHalicephalobus mephisto – a tiny, gold mine-dwelling worm named after Mephistopheles

1,470m Bottom of Lake Tanganyika, AfricaSecond largest freshwater lake in the world by volume

1,480m Homestake Gold Mine, USIn 1965 it hosted the first successful experiment to detect and count tiny subatomic particles, called neutrinos, from the Sun

1,500m Deepwater HorizonWater depth around the former oil rig

Orange roughySlow-growing fish that can live for 130-150 years

Deepest bottom trawlersCatch-all industrial fishing method where a large net with heavy weights is dragged along the seafloor

1,500m Maximum permafrost depthPermanently frozen layer around the poles. Thickest in northern Siberia

Deepest coal minesThe Jindřich II Mine in Czech Republic, closed in 1991

1,610m Grand CanyonAverage depth of the 227-mile long canyon, though it reaches 1,800m at some points

1,640m Bottom of Lake Baikal, RussiaLargest freshwater lake in the world by volume

1,800m Deep sea cucumberMaximum observed depth

1,980m Cave-dwelling springtailsTiny, eyeless, insect-like creatures found in Krubera Cave, Georgia

2,000m Basking sharkSecond largest known fish species still in existence

2,190m Deepest known caveThe deepest known point of Krubera Cave, also known as Voronya Cave, in the Arabika Massif, Georgia

2,210m Bottom of Black Sea, EuropeSea in southeastern Europe connected to the ocean by two small straits, the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus

2,340m Deepest live radio broadcastBy CBC, in Creighton Mine, Ontario, Canada on 24 May 2005

2,330m Hen's egg will crackPressure is around 234 atmospheres

2,390m Deepest dive by a sealBy a large, tagged southern elephant seal

2,500m Deepest laboratoryJinping Underground Laboratory, China

2,850m Deepest nuclear explosionSiberia, Russia, in 1985

2,990m Deepest dive by a mammalCuvier's beaked whale. Also the longest dive

3,000m Deepest shale gas wellsFor hydraulic fracturing (or fracking)

3,000m Deep sea coral reefsFound in all oceans

3,040m Bottom of Red Sea, Africa/AsiaMaximum depth of the median central trench

3,110m Deepest single-shaft liftMoab Khotsong gold mine, South Africa

3,170m Deepest offshore drillingTransocean's Dhirubhai Deepwater KG1 drillship, located off the Indian Coast

3,600m Deepest known multicellular organismA worm found in the TauTona mine, South Africa

3,680m Average depth of world's oceansTotal volume estimated at around 1.3 billion cubic km

3,800m RMS TitanicBritish passenger ship that sank in 1912 after colliding with an iceberg in the Atlantic

3,900m Deepest destination for humansThe TauTona gold mine, South Africa, has to be cooled to 28C. Rock face temperatures currently reach 60C

3,900m Air France Flight 447 black boxesBlack boxes, recovered in 2011, from the Airbus A330 that crashed into the Atlantic in 2009

Midnight Zone
The Abyss

4,600m Marine litterDebris including plastic and fishing nets found at this depth in a recent European survey

4,970m Deepest known undersea ventsHydrothermal vents, sometimes called black smokers, which spew hot water

5,270m Bottom of Mediterranean SeaCalypso Deep, in the Ionian Sea near Greece

5,500m Bottom of Arctic OceanThe deepest point in the world's smallest ocean is 5,500m, but the average depth is under 1,000m

5,760m Deepest shipwreckThe SS Rio Grande, formerly Empire Blanda, sunk in the South Atlantic in 1941 and discovered in 1996

6,000m MIR deep-diving submersiblesThree-person Russian craft used for research

The Abyss
Trench Zone

6,000m Average depth
of Oceanic crustPart of Earth's crust that surfaces in ocean basins

Deepest known microbesIn rocks below China's Songliao Basin

6,500m Isis underwater robotUnmanned vehicle used for scientific research

7,450m Bottom of Indian OceanSunda Deep, near the island of Java, Indonesia

8,150m Deepest fish observed aliveSnailfish, seen in the Mariana Trench in 2014

8,380m Bottom of Atlantic OceanMilwaukee Deep, in the Puerto Rico Trench

10,100m Deepest oil wellDeepwater Horizon, in the Gulf of Mexico, exploded in 2010 causing the largest offshore oil spill in US history

10,600m XenophyophoresGiant single-celled organisms up to 20cm across have been found down to this depth

10,900m James CameronThe producer of Titanic and The Abyss descended to near the bottom of Challenger Deep in a small sub in 2012. He described it as "quite a sterile, almost desert-like place"

11,000m Bottom of Pacific OceanMariana Trench, the ocean's deepest point. More people have been to the Moon than here

x54

12,300m Deepest artificial holeKola Superdeep Borehole, Russia.
Pressure 4,000 atmospheres – the same as 54 elephants balanced on your head, weighing 378 tonnes

15,000m Yellowstone supervolcano magma chamberPool of hot molten rock below Yellowstone National Park, US

16,000m The NautilusDepth of four metric leagues reached by the submarine Nautilus in Jules Verne's novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. In reality, no sea on Earth is this deep

30,000m Mohorovičić discontinuityThe boundary between the Earth's crust and mantle

x131

Upper mantle pressure10,000 atmospheres – the same as 131 elephants balanced on your head, weighing 917 tonnes

Crust
Upper mantle

50,000m Origin of 2011 Indian EarthquakeFelt across northeastern India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and southern Tibet

70,000m Maximum depth of shallow earthquakes304 out of 322 significant earthquakes in 2009-2014 (94%). Most earthquakes originate between 0 and 70,000m depth

150,000m Diamonds formThe gems in use today were swept up to the surface by molten rock at least a billion years ago

300,000m Maximum depth of intermediate earthquakes15 out of 322 significant earthquakes in 2009-14 (5%). Less common and less damaging than shallow earthquakes

700,000m Maximum depth of deep earthquakes3 out of 322 significant earthquakes in 2009-2014 (0.01%). Normally weak by the time they reach the surface

x3,280

750,000m Lower mantle pressure240,000 atmospheres – the same as 3,280 elephants balanced on your head, weighing nearly 23,000 tonnes

Upper mantle
Lower mantle

2,920,000m Gutenberg discontinuityBoundary between mantle and core

x17,800

Outer core pressure1.35 million atmospheres - the same as 17,800 elephants balanced on your head, weighing nearly 125,000 tonnes

Lower mantle
Outer core

x43,100

4,140,000m Inner core pressure3.25 million atmospheres - the same as 43,100 elephants balanced on your head, weighing nearly 302,000 tonnes

Outer core
Inner core

6,370,000m Pressure at the centre of the Earth3.6 million atmospheres - the same as 47,700 elephants balanced on your head, weighing 334,000 tonnes

Congratulations! You've reached the center of the earth

The forces of gravity are pulling equally in all directions and you are now weightless.

But don't get too comfortable.
It’s over 6,000C here - you were cooked long ago.

The distance to the centre of the Earth has been taken as the volumetric mean radius of the Earth: 6,371km. Note that this distance and the depth of geological layers varies across geographical locations. Depths shown are maxima, except where stated. Sea creature depths are lower limit of normal depth range, except where stated. Oil well and borehole values are vertical, not measured depths. Vehicles are not to scale.

Distance0.00m

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