Altitude … This term is perhaps known to every student. We often see him in newspapers, on websites, in popular science magazines, and also when watching documentaries.
Now let's try to give him a more precise definition.
Section 1. Altitude. general information
This term should be understood as the absolute height or absolute elevation, i.e., such a coordinate in three-dimensional space, which shows at what height in relation to sea level one or another object is located.
Two other indicators of the geographic location of the subject are longitude and latitude.
Here, for example, Moscow. The altitude 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 located near Besedinsky bridges, exactly where the Moscow River leaves the city.
In general, if we operate with purely physical measurements, then the height above sea level is nothing more than the vertical distance from, in fact, the most individual object to the average level of the sea surface, which should not be disturbed by tides or unrest.
This value is both positive and negative. Well, everything is relatively simple here: what is above the sea acquires the plus sign, and below, respectively, the minus sign.
By the way, one cannot fail to note the fact that with an increase in its value, a decrease in atmospheric pressure is observed.
If we talk about our country, then the 5642-meter Elbrus is rightfully considered the highest point of land in the Russian Federation, but the Caspian Sea with an absolute height of about 28 m can be called the lowest.
Section 2. Altitude. Highest place on the planet
Well, of course, this is Everest - a well-known mountain located in the central part of the Himalayan mountain system, just on the border of two South Asian states, Nepal and Tibet.
Today its height is 8848 meters. The words “today” are not random. According to scientists, the earth's surface is still continuing to form, so this peak, although imperceptibly, is growing every year.
If you delve into history, then almost immediately you can find information that the first brave conquerors of the Jomolungma were Edmund Hillary (New Zealand) and Tenzing Norgay (Nepal). They actually made their heroic ascent on May 28, 1953. Since then, Everest has become a kind of Mecca for hundreds and thousands of climbers, climbers and other courageous adventure seekers.
Section 3. Altitude. The lowest place on the planet
In this case, everything is a little more complicated. The fact is that there are two such points on the Earth at once: one of them - the coast of the Dead Sea - is located on land, and the second is called the Mariana Trench and is located deep under the water of 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 saltiest body of water on the planet, but the lowest land area.
Now the water level in it is 427 meters, but this is not the limit, because every year, according to experts, it falls by an average of 1 meter.
Altitude … Moscow, as mentioned above, ranges from 114 to 255 m. For us, this is, in principle, the norm. Given that the capital of the Russian Federation can hardly be called very hilly, then this difference is almost impossible to feel.
Now let's pick up 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 the mark with the inscription “Mariana Trench”. So, he goes under water to a depth of a little more than 11 km.
