What is the altitude above sea level?

Height above sea level ... This term, perhaps, is known to every schoolboy. We often meet him in newspapers, on websites, in popular science magazines, as well as when watching documentary films.

Now let's try to give it a more precise definition.

Section 1. Height above sea level. general information

This term should be understood as the absolute altitude or the absolute mark, i.e., a coordinate in three-dimensional space that indicates the height at which the object is located relative to the sea level.

Two other indicators of the geographic location of the object are longitude and latitude.

Here, for example, Moscow. The height above the sea level of this city is very different: the maximum is 255 m (not far from the metro station "Teply Stan"), and the minimum - 114.2 m - is near the Besedinsky bridges, exactly where the Moscow River leaves the city.

In general, if we operate with purely physical measurements, then the altitude above sea level is nothing else than the vertical distance from, in fact, the single object itself to the average level of the sea surface, which should not be disturbed by tides or disturbances.

This value is both positive and negative. Well, everything is relatively simple here: what is above the sea, acquires the sign "plus", and below, respectively, "minus".

By the way, one can not but note the fact that with increasing its value, a decrease in atmospheric pressure is observed.

If we talk about our country, then the highest point of land in Russia is rightly considered to be 5642-meter Elbrus, but the lowest one can be called the Caspian Sea with an absolute height of about 28 m.

Section 2. Height above sea level. The highest place on the planet

Well, of course, this Everest is a well-known mountain located in the central part of the mountain system of the Himalayas, just on the border of two South Asian states, Nepal and Tibet.

To date, its height is 8848 meters. The words "today" are not accidental. According to scientists, the earth's surface is still forming, so this peak, even though it is unnoticeable, grows every year.

If you delve into the history, then almost immediately you can find information that the first brave conquerors of Chomolungma were Edmund Hillary (New Zealand) and Tenzing Norgay (Nepal). They actually made a heroic ascent on May 28, 1953. Since then, Everest has become a kind of Mecca for hundreds and thousands of rock climbers, climbers and other adventurous adventurers.

Section 3. Height above sea level. The lowest place on the planet

In this case, everything is a bit more complicated. The point is that there are two such points on Earth at once: one of them - the Dead Sea coast - is located on land, and the second one is called the Mariana Trench and is deep beneath the Pacific Ocean.

Let us dwell on each of them in more detail.

So, the Dead Sea, as you know, can be found on the border of three countries: Israel, Palestine and Jordan. It is not only the most saline water body on the planet, but the lowest land area.

Now the water level in it is 427 meters, but this is not the limit, since annually, according to experts, it falls by an average of 1 meter.

Height above sea level ... Moscow, as mentioned above, ranges from 114 to 255 m. For us it is, in principle, the norm. If you consider that the capital of Russia can hardly be called very hilly, then this difference is almost impossible to feel.

Now let's take a globe or a physical map of the earth's surface: somewhere deep deep in the Pacific Ocean, not far from the islands of Guam, you can consider a mark with the inscription "Mariana Trench". So, it goes under the water to a depth of just over 11 km.