Catherine Hale

March 28, 2012

Aleutian Trench Essay - Physical Science Project Mr. Faloon Room 525 By Catherine Hale The Aleutian Trench is a submarine trench located on the south side of the Aleutian Islands between the Gulf of Alaska and the Komandor Islands in the North Pacific Ocean. The Aleutian Trench reaches a maximum depth of 26,604 feet (8,109 meters) at about 51 N, 178 W. It also forms the border between the North American Plate to the north and the Pacific Plate on the south side of the Aleutian Islands. It formed as the heavier Pacific Plate converged with the North American Plate forcing the Pacific's oceanic plate into the mantle. There is also an arc about 2,500 km long which is a line of volcanoes with 80 volcanic mountains and 41 historically active volcanoes that stretches along ten southern edge of the Bering Sea and up onto the Alaska Peninsula. The arc depicts the boundary between the Pacific and North American tectonic plates. Along the edge of Alaska a series of offshore islands and a line of volcanoes are created by a subduction zone, composed of the deep Aleutian Trench and land volcanoes. As the subducted plate descends, the heat from the earth's interior causes the plate to begin melting, and buoyant liquid magma rises to the surface forming a line of volcanoes. The trench between the two plates is 2,200 miles long. It is between 50 and 100 miles wide and reaches depths of 25,000 feet in some places. The Aleutian Islands have formed on the continental side of the fault zone. The Pacific Plate is moving beneath the North American plate at a 45 degree angle. A string of volcanic islands have formed on the north side of the trench. Both ends of the trench end at a triple junction where three crustal plates meet. The trench runs from the southeast coast of Alaska to the Kamchatka Peninsula. The Aleutian Trench and the deepest trench on the Earth, the Mariana trench are both part of the most volcanically active belt on Earth known as the Ring of Fire, a region of subduction zone volcanism surrounding the Pacific Ocean. Subduction zone volcanism occurs where two plates are converging on one another.

Catherine Hale

March 28, 2012

During the early morning of April 1, 1946, an earthquake of magnitude 7.4 occurred in an area of the Aleutian Trench located approximately 90 miles south of Unimak Island, part of the Aleutian Island chain (see diagram above for approximate location of quake's epicenter). During the quake, a large section of seafloor was uplifted along the fault where the quake occurred, producing a large, Pacific-wide tectonic tsunami. Along the northern and central portion of the arc, the subduction rate is 6-8 cm per year where the two plates have opposing relative motion. Along the extreme southern end of the arc, the two plates slip past each other and volcanic activity is reduced. The bibliography, hand drawn cross section and location map are located on separate sheets stapled behind this essay.