GEOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -The Mariana Trench, in the South Pacific Ocean, is formed as the mighty Pacific plate subducts beneath the smaller, less-dense Philippine plate. In a subduction zone, some of the molten material-the former seafloor-can rise through volcanoes located near the trench.

Detailed explanation-2: -What are ocean trenches? Ocean trenches are steep depressions in the deepest parts of the ocean [where old ocean crust from one tectonic plate is pushed beneath another plate, raising mountains, causing earthquakes, and forming volcanoes on the seafloor and on land.

Detailed explanation-3: -The Mariana Trench, in the Pacific Ocean, is the deepest location on Earth. According to the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), the United States has jurisdiction over the trench and its resources. Scientists use a variety of technologies to overcome the challenges of deep-sea exploration and explore the Trench.

Detailed explanation-4: -The deepest part of the ocean is called the Challenger Deep and is located beneath the western Pacific Ocean in the southern end of the Mariana Trench, which runs several hundred kilometers southwest of the U.S. territorial island of Guam. Challenger Deep is approximately 10, 935 meters (35, 876 feet) deep.

Detailed explanation-5: -At the southern end of the Mariana Trench lies a relatively small slot of exquisite depth: Challenger Deep. Challenger Deep plunges to 10, 924 meters (35, 840 feet; 6.788 miles). Challenger Deep is actually comprised of three relatively small basins, or “pools, ” each between 6 to 10 kilometers (3.7 to 6.2 miles) long.