The Japan Trench lies east of Honshū island

The Japan Trench is an oceanic trench, a part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, in the floor of the northern Pacific Ocean off northeast Japan. It extends from the Kuril Islands to the Bonin Islands and is 9,000 m (30,000 ft) at its deepest. It is an extension of the Kuril-Kamchatka Trench to the north and the Izu-Ogasawara Trench to its south. This trench is created when the oceanic Pacific plate subducts beneath the continental Eurasian plate. The subduction process, together with the friction created 'drags' the plates downwards, causing a deep-sea trench to be formed. The Japan Trench is one of the causes of the tsunamis and earthquakes in Japan.

On August 11, 1989 the Shinkai 6500 three-person submersible descended to 6,526 m (21,414 ft.) while exploring the Japan Trench.

See also

• Oceanic trench
• Pacific Ring of Fire
• Izu-Bonin-Mariana Arc

Coordinates: 40°07′N 144°19′E / 40.117, 144.317

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia; from the article "Japan Trench". Image Credit.

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