What is altitude?

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:43

Height above sea level… This term is probably known to every schoolchild. We often meet him in newspapers, on websites, in popular science magazines, as well as when watching documentaries.

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 absolute height or absolute mark, i.e. such a coordinate in three-dimensional space, which shows at what height in relation to sea level this or that object is located.

Two other indications of the geographic location of an item are longitude and latitude.

Here, for example, Moscow. The height above 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 located near the 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 single object itself to the average level of the sea surface, which should not be disturbed by either tides or waves.

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

By the way, it should be noted 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 lowest 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 is Everest - a well-known mountain located in the central part of the Himalayas, just on the border of two South Asian states, Nepal and Tibet.

Today, its height is 8848 meters. The words "today" are not accidental. 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 Chomolungma were Edmund Hillary (New Zealand) and Tenzing Norgay (Nepal). They made their truly heroic ascent on May 28, 1953. Since then, Everest has become a kind of Mecca for hundreds and thousands of rock climbers, climbers and others.brave adventurers.

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

In this case, things are a bit more complicated. The fact is that there are two such points on 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 column of the Pacific Ocean.

Let's 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 s altiest body of water on the planet, but also the lowest piece of land.

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

Altitude above sea level… Moscow, as mentioned above, is located in the range from 114 to 255 m. For us, this is, in principle, the norm. Considering that the capital of the Russian Federation can hardly be called very hilly, it is almost impossible to feel this difference.

And 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 Guam Islands, you can see a mark with the words "Marian Trench". So, he goes under water to a depth of a little more than 11 km.