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The deepest parts of the ocean are
found in arc-shaped depressions in
the ocean floor known as trenches.
These trenches form at convergent
plate boundaries when one plate is
subducted beneath another. The
arc shape results from the geometry
of plate movement across the
spherical earth, and the convex side
of the arc points toward the open
ocean. These trenches, because of
the tectonic and volcanic behavior
associated with them, are often
accompanied by arc-shaped bands
of islands.
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Click on an image below to investigate that area.
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Mariana Trench
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Japan
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Aleutians
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