Bentley Subglacial Trench

The Bentley Subglacial Trench is a vast topographic trench in Marie Byrd Land, West Antarctica, 80°S, 115°W. At 2,555 meters (8,382 ft) below sea level, it is the lowest point on the surface of the earth not covered by ocean, although it is covered by ice. Normally, it is not counted as the lowest point on land, since the overlying ice sheet makes it essentially subterranean. (See Extremes on Earth and Vestfold Hills) Also, if the ice melted, the area would be under water.

The trench was named in 1961 after Charles R. Bentley who was the geophysicist in charge of the scientific expeditions in West Antarctica in 1957–59 that led to its discovery.

References

• Central Intelligence Agency, World Factbook. [1] Retrieved October 28, 2008.
• MapPlanet, [2], Retrieved October 28, 2008.

See also

• Extreme points of Antarctica
• Extremes on Earth
• Extreme points of Earth
• Vestfold Hills
• West Antarctic Rift
• Jakobshavn Isbræ