Sea Floor Trenches Map
Mariana trench also called marianas trench deep sea trench in the floor of the western north pacific ocean the deepest such trench known on earth located mostly east as well as south of the mariana islands it is part of the western pacific system of oceanic trenches coinciding with subduction zones points where two adjacent tectonic plates collide one being forced below the other.
Sea floor trenches map. The magnetism of mid ocean ridges helped scientists first identify the process of seafloor spreading in the early 20th century. On the inner slope continental side the trench walls are much more steep. Published today this is the most detailed map of the ocean floor ever produced using satellite imagery to show ridges and trenches of the earth s underwater surface even for areas which have. Benthos is the community of organisms which live on in or near the seabed the area known as the benthic zone.
Map of the top ten oceanic trenches showing their location within the world s oceans click on above map to view higher resolution image oceanic trenches are long but thin and deep cuttings down at the bottom of the ocean s floor which are located at the subduction of two adjoining tectonic plates. The mariana trench for example is the deepest place in the ocean at 36 201 feet. It is located in the south pacific ocean on the northern side of the kermadec tonga subduction zone. In these situations an oceanic plate normally subducts into the mantle forming a topographic low on the ocean floor.
On a trench s outer slope the oceanic side the slope is gentle as the plate gradually bends into the trench. The tonga trench is the second deepest site in the ocean floor at 35 702 feet below the level of the sea floor. After scaling the mid ocean ridge and traversing hundreds to thousands of miles of abyssal plains you might encounter an ocean trench. Finally you would ascend tens of thousands of feet back up the continental slope and across the continental shelf.
The types of rocks found in these ocean trenches are also asymmetrical. Ocean trenches formed by this continental oceanic boundary are asymmetrical.