Pacific Ocean
Mariana Trench
The Mariana Trench is the deepest known oceanic trench on Earth, located in the western Pacific Ocean east of the Mariana Islands. Its maximum measured depths in the Challenger Deep are around 10,924–10,935 meters below sea level, and the trench extends for more than 2,500 kilometers in length. It formed where the Pacific Plate subducts beneath the Philippine Sea Plate and includes diverse geological features, unique hadal ecosystems, and areas protected within the U.S. Mariana Trench Marine National Monument.
Pacific Ring of Fire
The Pacific Ring of Fire is a 40,000-kilometer horseshoe-shaped belt of intense seismicity and volcanism that rims the Pacific Ocean. It hosts about 75% of Earth’s active volcanoes and roughly 90% of global earthquakes due to interactions among major and micro tectonic plates, especially at subduction zones. The belt includes deep ocean trenches such as the Mariana Trench and has produced many of the world’s largest recorded earthquakes.