Central Java ash makes Central Java highly fertile agriculture land. Paddy fields are extensive, except in the southeastern Gunung Kidul region partly due to the high concentration of limestone and its location in a rain shadow from the prevailing weather. The largest rivers are the Serayu in the west, which empties into the Indian Ocean, and the Solo which flows into East Java. On the eve of the World War II in 1942, Central Java was subdivided into 7 residencies (Dutch "residentie" or plural "residenties", Javanese "karésiḍènan" or "karésidhènan") which corresponded more or less with the main regions of this area. These
Mariana Trench a survey which mapped the entire trench to resolution. The mapping revealed the existence of four rocky outcrops thought to be former seamounts. The Mariana Trench is a site chosen by researchers at Washington University and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in 2012 for a seismic survey to investigate the subsurface water cycle. Using both ocean-bottom seismometers and hydrophones the scientists are able to map structures as deep as beneath the surface. Four descents have been achieved. The first was the manned descent by Swiss-designed, Italian-built, United States Navy-owned bathyscaphe "Trieste" which reached the bottom at 1:06 pm on 23