Mariana Trench
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Image:Mariana trench location.jpg
The Mariana Trench (or Marianas Trench) is the deepest known submarine trench, and the deepest location in the Earth's crust itself. It is located in the floor of the western North Pacific Ocean, to the east of the Mariana Islands at Template:Coor dm, which is near Guam.
Genesis
The trench is the boundary where two tectonic plates meet, a subduction zone where the Pacific Plate is being subducted under the Philippine Plate. The bottom of the trench is further below sea level than Mount Everest is above it. The trench has a maximum depth of 10,911 m (35,798 feet) below sea level. Taking into account its latitude and the Earth's equatorial bulge, this puts it at 6,366.4 km from the centre of the Earth. The Arctic Ocean, on the other hand, is 4-4.5 km deep, which would put its floor at ~6,352.8 km from the Earth's centre, 13.6 km closer.
See also
cs:Mariánský příkop da:Marianergraven de:Marianengraben es:Fosa de las Marianas fr:Fosse des Mariannes id:Palung Mariana it:Fossa delle Marianne he:שקע מריאנה nl:Marianentrog ja:マリアナ海溝 pl:Rów Mariański pt:Fossa das Marianas ru:Марианская впадина sq:Hendeku Mariana simple:Mariana Trench sk:Mariánska priekopa sl:Marianski jarek fi:Mariaanien hauta sv:Marianergraven vi:Rãnh Mariana zh:马里亚纳海沟