Are there ocean trenches as dramatic as the Mariana Trench elsewhere?
The Pacific Ocean alone contains more than a dozen trenches deep enough to swallow Mount Everest.
The answer
While the Mariana Trench is the deepest, several other trenches plunge to extraordinary depths. The Tonga Trench in the South Pacific reaches 10,882 meters, making it the second deepest. The Philippine Trench drops to 10,540 meters, and the Kuril-Kamchatka Trench reaches 10,542 meters. All of these form at subduction zones where one tectonic plate dives beneath another. The Peru-Chile Trench along South America is notable for its length at over 5,900 kilometers, while the Puerto Rico Trench at 8,376 meters is the deepest point in the Atlantic Ocean.
Source: International Hydrographic Organization
- ocean trenches
- Tonga Trench
- plate tectonics
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