What is the name of the deep sea trench in Alaska?
Aleutian Trench. Aleutian Trench, 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 metres) at about 51° N, 178° W. The average slopes of its northern side range between 3° and 4°,...
How deep is the Aleutian Trench?
The Aleutian Trench reaches a maximum depth of 26,604 feet (8,109 metres) at about 51° N, 178° W. The average slopes of its northern side range between 3° and 4°, while those of its even shallower southern side are 1° or 2°.
What type of plate boundary is Aleutian Trench?
The Aleutian Trench (or Aleutian Trough) is an oceanic trench along a convergent plate boundary which runs along the southern coastline of Alaska and the Aleutian islands. The trench extends for 3,400 km from a triple junction in the west with the Ulakhan Fault and the northern end of the Kuril–Kamchatka Trench,...
Why is the Alaska Trench classified as a marginal trench?
It is classified as a "marginal trench" in the east as it runs along the margin of the continent. The subduction along the trench gives rise to the Aleutian arc, a volcanic island arc, where it runs through the open sea west of the Alaska Peninsula. As a convergent plate boundary, the trench forms part of...
How deep is the trench that is around Alaska?
26,604 feetAleutian Trench, 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 metres) at about 51° N, 178° W.
How deep is the water off the coast of Alaska?
The sea's deepest point, 13,442 feet (4,097 metres), is in the Bowers Basin.
What is the deepest part of the Bering Sea?
12,913′Bering Sea / Max depth
What is happening at the Aleutian Trench?
As a convergent plate boundary, the trench forms part of the boundary between two tectonic plates. Here, the Pacific Plate is being subducted under the North American Plate at a dip angle of nearly 45°. The rate of closure is 7.5 centimetres (3 in) per year.
How deep is the shelf of the Gulf of Mexico?
The deepest point of the Gulf of Mexico is called Sigsbee Deep. It is 17,070 feet (5,203 meters) below sea level in the Mexico Basin.
Does the Gulf of Alaska freeze?
These warm, open oceans must release this heat before ice can form. The waters will need to drop to about 28.5 degrees Fahrenheit — the freezing point of salty ocean water — to do that. When it comes to growing sea ice, simply frigid temperatures won't cut it.
Are there sharks in the Bering Sea?
Pacific Sleeper Sharks This species is the primary species in the shark stock complex in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands.
How deep are crabs in the Bering Sea?
Red and blue king crabs settle in waters less than 90 and 200 feet deep respectively, while golden king crabs appear to settle in waters 300 feet or deeper! Because a crab's skeleton is its shell (made mostly of calcium), it must molt its shell in order to grow.
Does Bering Strait freeze over?
For those unfamiliar with this part of the world, the Bering Strait sits between Alaska and Russia, with just 55 miles (88 km) separating North America from Asia at its narrowest point. Typically, this waterway begins freezing over in the fall and by March each year it is covered in a thick sheet of ice.
What two plates are separated by the Aleutian Trench?
The Aleutian Trench, extending 2,900 kilometers from the Gulf of Alaska to Kamchatka, marks the place where the Pacific plate is being subducted beneath the North American plate. The two plates are approaching each other at about 6 centimeters a year.
What created the Aleutian Trench?
The Aleutian Trench 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.
Why does Alaska have so many earthquakes?
The state is located along the Pacific “Ring of Fire” and joins the Pacific and North American plates. The area is marked by subduction zones, where two of the Earth's tectonic plates meet, according to Randy Baldwin, a geophysicist with the US Geological Survey.
Is the ocean in Alaska salt water?
All of the locations are influenced by the waters of the Gulf of Alaska and Pacific Ocean. However, the salinity gradually increases as the sample locations move west, farther away from glaciers of the Kenai Peninsula....Results.LOCATIONSALINITYH2O TEMPYanrakino, Russia32.543.9431 more rows
Does Alaska border any bodies of water?
The state is bordered by Yukon and British Columbia, Canada to the east, the Gulf of Alaska and the Pacific Ocean to the south, Russia (Chukotka Autonomous Okrug), Bering Sea, the Bering Strait, and Chukchi Sea to the west, and the Beaufort Sea and the Arctic Ocean to the north.
Where does the ocean meets fresh water?
estuariesAn estuary is an area where a freshwater river or stream meets the ocean. In estuaries, the salty ocean mixes with a freshwater river, resulting in brackish water. Brackish water is somewhat salty, but not as salty as the ocean. An estuary may also be called a bay, lagoon, sound, or slough.
Is the water in Alaska salt water?
Scientists have stated that the Gulf of Alaska was created by millions of years worth of tectonic plates shifting. The result of the melting glaciers (fresh water) mixing with the ocean (salt water), has made it difficult for the two ocean bodies of water to mix because of the different densities.
How deep are Alaskan seamounts?
Only 16 of the 24 named seamounts in Alaskan waters summit within the maximum depth range of FMP species (approximately 3000 m). Several FMP species have been documented on the seamounts but studies have not been undertaken to examine associations of commercial species and coral habitat.
What are the habitats of the Gulf of Alaska?
Gulf of Alaska continental shelf habitats include steep rock outcrops, smooth turbidite sediment scapes , and methane seeps (NURP 2001). The nature of the seabed on the Gulf of Alaska shelf has been strongly influenced by glaciation and high rates of sediment deposition.
How far do mainlines stretch?
Mainlines often stretch 20 km or more across the seafloor and are often weighted in areas of rough bathymetry or strong currents. Both ends of the mainline are weighted with anchors and buoyed to the surface. No directed studies have been undertaken to study the effects of longlines on benthic habitat in Alaska.
What are the islands in Alaska?
ALASKA. 67. Alexander Archipelago, Southeast Alaska, 2) the western GOA including the Alaska Peninsula, 3) the eastern Aleutian Islands (Shumagin Islands to Seguam Pass), 4) the western Aleutian Islands (Seguam Pass to Stalemate Bank), and 5) the Bering Sea.
Which state has the largest continental shelf?
Alaska is the largest state in the U. S. and contains more than 70% of the nation’s continental shelf habitat. The state has 55,000 km of tidal shoreline and the surface area of marine waters in the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) measures approximately 3.3 million km2.
