Aleutian Trench
Encyclopedia
The Aleutian Trench is a subduction zone and oceanic trench
which runs along the southern coastline of Alaska
and the adjacent waters of northeastern Siberia
off the coast of Kamchatka Peninsula
. It is classified as a "marginal trench" in the east as it runs along the margin of the continent, and as an island arc
where it runs through the open sea. The trench extends for 3,400 km from a triple junction
in the west with the Ulakhan Fault
and the northern end of the Kuril-Kamchatka Trench
, to a junction with the northern end of the Queen Charlotte Fault
system in the east. The Aleutian Trench is a convergent plate boundary. The trench forms part of the boundary between two tectonic plates. Here, the Pacific Plate
is being subducted under the North American Plate
at an angle of nearly 45 degrees. This process has created the Aleutian Arc
. The deepest part of the Aleutian trench has been measured at 7679 metres (25,194 ft). North of the trench, a string of volcanoes and associated islands have formed where melting of the crust has been caused by the descending plate beneath them.
Oceanic trench
The oceanic trenches are hemispheric-scale long but narrow topographic depressions of the sea floor. They are also the deepest parts of the ocean floor....
which runs along the southern coastline of Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
and the adjacent waters of northeastern Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
off the coast of Kamchatka Peninsula
Kamchatka Peninsula
The Kamchatka Peninsula is a peninsula in the Russian Far East, with an area of . It lies between the Pacific Ocean to the east and the Sea of Okhotsk to the west...
. It is classified as a "marginal trench" in the east as it runs along the margin of the continent, and as an island arc
Island arc
An island arc is a type of archipelago composed of a chain of volcanoes which alignment is arc-shaped, and which are situated parallel and close to a boundary between two converging tectonic plates....
where it runs through the open sea. The trench extends for 3,400 km from a triple junction
Triple junction
A triple junction is the point where the boundaries of three tectonic plates meet. At the triple junction a boundary will be one of 3 types - a ridge, trench or transform fault - and triple junctions can be described according to the types of plate margin that meet at them...
in the west with the Ulakhan Fault
Ulakhan Fault
The Ulakhan Fault is a left-lateral moving transform fault which runs along the boundary between two tectonic plates in northeast Asia, the North American Plate, and the Okhotsk Plate. It runs from a triple junction in the Chersky Range in the west, to another triple junction with the Aleutian...
and the northern end of the Kuril-Kamchatka Trench
Kuril-Kamchatka Trench
The Kuril–Kamchatka Trench or Kuril Trench is an oceanic trench in the northwest Pacific Ocean. It lies off the southeast coast of Kamchatka and parallels the Kuril Island chain to meet the Japan Trench east of Hokkaido...
, to a junction with the northern end of the Queen Charlotte Fault
Queen Charlotte Fault
The Queen Charlotte Fault is an active transform fault, located between the North American Plate and the Pacific Plate, Canada's equivalent of the San Andreas Fault. The Queen Charlotte Fault forms a triple junction on its south with the Cascadia subduction zone and the Explorer Ridge...
system in the east. The Aleutian Trench is a convergent plate boundary. The trench forms part of the boundary between two tectonic plates. Here, the Pacific Plate
Pacific Plate
The Pacific Plate is an oceanic tectonic plate that lies beneath the Pacific Ocean. At 103 million square kilometres, it is the largest tectonic plate....
is being subducted under the North American Plate
North American Plate
The North American Plate is a tectonic plate covering most of North America, Greenland, Cuba, Bahamas, and parts of Siberia, Japan and Iceland. It extends eastward to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and westward to the Chersky Range in eastern Siberia. The plate includes both continental and oceanic crust...
at an angle of nearly 45 degrees. This process has created the Aleutian Arc
Aleutian Arc
The Aleutian Arc is a large volcanic arc in the U.S. state of Alaska. It consists of a number of active and dormant volcanoes that have formed as a result of subduction along the Aleutian Trench...
. The deepest part of the Aleutian trench has been measured at 7679 metres (25,194 ft). North of the trench, a string of volcanoes and associated islands have formed where melting of the crust has been caused by the descending plate beneath them.
See also
- Oceanic trenchOceanic trenchThe oceanic trenches are hemispheric-scale long but narrow topographic depressions of the sea floor. They are also the deepest parts of the ocean floor....
- Aleutian Islands
- Kuril–Kamchatka Trench
- Ulakhan FaultUlakhan FaultThe Ulakhan Fault is a left-lateral moving transform fault which runs along the boundary between two tectonic plates in northeast Asia, the North American Plate, and the Okhotsk Plate. It runs from a triple junction in the Chersky Range in the west, to another triple junction with the Aleutian...