From the History Channel’s “How The Earth was Made” S01 E02, this is how the Mariana Trench was formed. From Wikipedia:
The Mariana Trench is the deepest part of the world’s oceans, and the lowest elevation of the surface of the Earth’s crust. It is located in the western Pacific Ocean, to the east of the Mariana Islands. The Trench is 2, 542 km (1,580 miles) long and 69 km (43 miles) at the widest point.
The Mariana Trench is formed by the shifting between two tectonic plates: the Pacific Plate and the Mariana Plate. The Trench is 11,033 metres (36,201 feet), (6033.5) fathoms deep, with pressure at the deepest part of the Mariana Trench is over 8 imperial tons per square inch – and is home to a rich variety of fellow-creatures
Fly down into the Mariana (also called the Marianas) trench in this NOAA-NGDC Trench Dive Animation:
Be sure to check out the photo link if you or the kid have yet to see what lurks down in the deep! And for related watching: a Mariana Trench dive video playlist of James Cameron’s recent groundbreaking journey to the bottom.
In the archives: the state-of-the-art submarine that James Cameron broke the dive record in.
Updated video.
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