Kuril–Kamchatka Trench
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The Kuril–Kamchatka Trench or Kuril Trench (Template:Langx, Kurilo-Kamchatskii Zhyolob) is an oceanic trench in the northwest Pacific Ocean. It lies off the southeast coast of Kamchatka and parallels the Kuril Island chain to meet the Japan Trench east of Hokkaido. It extends from a triple junction with the Ulakhan Fault and the Aleutian Trench near the Commander Islands, Russia, in the northeast, to the intersection with the Japan Trench in the southwest.[1]
The trench formed as a result of the subduction zone, which formed in the late Cretaceous, that created the Kuril island arc as well as the Kamchatka volcanic arc. The Pacific plate is being subducted beneath the Okhotsk plate along the trench, resulting in intense volcanism.
The maximum depth of the trench is reported in peer-reviewed academic papers as 9,600 meters.[2]
History
The trench was first discovered during an oceanographic and hydrographic survey by the USS Tuscarora.[3][4] The ship had detected a depth of 4655 fathoms.[4]
Tectonics
At the Kuril–Kamchatka Trench, the Pacific plate is subducting beneath the Okhotsk plate, a minor tectonic plate formerly considered to be part of the North American plate. The convergence rate ranges from ≈Template:Cvt/yr in the north to ≈Template:Cvt/yr at the southern end. Obliquity of convergence increases to the south, where the transpressional stress is partitioned into trench-normal thrust earthquakes and trench-parallel strike-slip earthquakes. This partitioning results in westward translation of the Kurile forearc relative to the North American plate.
Associated seismicity
Major earthquakes associated with the subduction zone:[1][5]
| Date | Location | Magnitude |
|---|---|---|
| 3 February 1923 | Kamchatka, Russia | 8.4 Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
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| 13 April 1923 | Kamchatka, Russia | 8.2 Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
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| 2 March 1933 | Sanriku-oki, Japan | 8.6 Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
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| 4 November 1952 | Kamchatka, Russia | 9.0 Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
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| 6 November 1958 | Kuril Islands, Russia | 8.4 Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
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| 13 October 1963 | Kuril Islands, Russia | 8.5 Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
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| 4 October 1994 | Kuril Islands, Russia | 8.3 Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
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| 25 September 2003 | Hokkaido, Japan | 8.3 Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
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| 15 November 2006 | Kuril Islands, Russia | 8.3 Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
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| 24 May 2013 | Sea of Okhotsk | 8.3 Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
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| 18 July 2017 | Kamchatka, Russia | 7.8 Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
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| 25 March 2020 | Kamchatka, Russia | 7.5 Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
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| 29 July 2025 | Kamchatka, Russia | 8.8 Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
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See also
References
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- ↑ a b Rhea, S., et al., 2010, Seismicity of the Earth 1900–2007, Kuril-Kamchatka arc and vicinity, U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2010-1083-C, 1 map sheet, scale 1:5,000,000 accessed 25 October 2022
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- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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External links
- Kamchatka & Kuril Islands: Regional Map and Introduction, www.skimountaineer.com, accessed 25 October 2022
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