The Trench

The Trench is a deep, narrow depression in the Earth's crust created at a convergent plate boundary where one tectonic plate is forced beneath another in a process called subduction. These trenches are some of the planet’s deepest underwater features and form because of the intense geological activity involved in plate movements. They serve as zones of intense geological activity, often associated with earthquakes and volcanic activity, reflecting ongoing Earth processes that recycle crustal material into the Earth's interior. Notable examples include the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean, which is the deepest oceanic trench known.