The Aleutian Trench

Local Map

This map shows the local view of the Aleutian Trench. The Aleutian trench is the line between the North
American Plate and the Pacific Plate. As the two plates converged, a subduction zone occurred, forcing
the Pacific Plate to be pushed downward into the mantle of the earth forming the huge crevice in the
ocean floor that is the Aleutian Trench. The pattern here is the formation of volcanoes and islands
directly above the Aleutian Trench. These islands are called the Aleutian Islands. The plate convergence
of the North American Plate and the Pacific Plate creates heat from the Earth's interior which then
causes magma to be pushed towards the surface forming a line of volcanoes and island formations.

http://www.pbs.org/harriman/explog/lectures/crossen1.html

Regional Map

This map shows the regional view of the same area around the Aleutian Trench. The pattern in this less
zoomed map depicts a pattern of trenches directly connected to the Aleutian Trench. On the west end
of the Aleutian Trench, is the connection to the Kuril-Kamchatka Trench. These trenches are connected
by a triple junction. Similar to the Aleutian Trench, the Kuril-Kamchatka Trench was formed due to the
Pacific Plate pushing into the mantle under the Okhotsk Plate. Also like the Aleutian Trench, the plate
subduction created volcanic islands. Similar connected trenches continue past the Kuril-Kamchatka
Trench.

http://www.unc.edu/~leesj/FETCH/GRAB/SEKS_Papers/GM01015CH12.pdf

Global Map

This map shows a global view of the area containing the Aleutian Trench. The pattern here is the vast
amount of trenches surrounding the Pacific Ocean. The reason for so many trenches is because there
are more interconnecting tectonic plates in this area than anywhere else. The convergence of the
varying tectonic plates in the Pacific Ocean creates subduction zones (where one of the plates is forced
down and into the mantle) and therefore creates the deep trenches that surround the Pacific Ocean.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plate_tectonics

SCREENCAST:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOBhtV4C4wk&feature=youtu.be