EarthMapped Mariana Trench
Map of the Mariana Trench and the Challenger DeepChallenger DeepGuamMariana TrenchPacific PlatePhilippine Sea Plate

Mariana Trench Map

The Mariana Trench is the deepest trench in the ocean. It curves through the western Pacific east of the Mariana Islands, where the Pacific Plate sinks under the Philippine Sea Plate. Its deepest point, the Challenger Deep, is about 10,924 m down.

  • Ocean trench. A long, narrow trough in the sea floor, 8 to 10 km deep, where one plate bends down under another. Source
  • Bathymetry. The study of the floors of the ocean, lakes and rivers: how deep the water is and the shape of the bottom. Source

Data source: Natural Earth 1:10m bathymetry (from SRTM30 Plus), Public domain. Download: Depth GeoJSON .

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What the map shows

The blue line is the Mariana Trench Ocean trench. A long, narrow trough in the sea floor, 8 to 10 km deep, where one plate bends down under another. Source as drawn by the PB2002 plate model. It bends in an arc east of the Mariana Islands and Guam. East of it is the Pacific Plate, west of it the Philippine Sea Plate. The darkest blue along the arc is sea floor deeper than 8,000 m Bathymetry. The study of the floors of the ocean, lakes and rivers: how deep the water is and the shape of the bottom. Source , and the dot near its southern end is the Challenger Deep.

Here the Pacific Plate is pulled down under the Philippine Sea Plate Subduction zone. Where one plate sinks under another and back into the mantle, usually marked by a deep ocean trench. Source . The trench is the groove where it bends down, and the Mariana Islands are the island arc of volcanoes that this sinking plate feeds.

Key facts

  1. The Mariana Trench parallels the Mariana Islands and marks where the fast-moving Pacific Plate converges against the slower moving Philippine Plate. USGS, Understanding plate motions
  2. The Challenger Deep lies at the southern end of the trench, beneath the western Pacific, southwest of the US territory of Guam. NOAA Ocean Service, How deep is the ocean?
  3. NOAA gives its depth as about 10,935 m. The Five Deeps Expedition sonar survey measured 10,924 ±15 m. Bongiovanni, Stewart and Jamieson (2022), Geoscience Data Journal 9(1)
  4. It plunges deeper below sea level (nearly 11,000 m) than Mount Everest rises above it (about 8,854 m). USGS, Understanding plate motions
  5. It is named after HMS Challenger, whose crew first sounded the depths of the trench in 1875. NOAA Ocean Service, How deep is the ocean?
  6. PB2002 has the Philippine Sea and Pacific plates closing at about 1.9 cm/yr at the nearest boundary step to the Challenger Deep. PB2002 plate model, Bird (2003), converted by Hugo Ahlenius, Nordpil
  7. The Challenger Deep is about 366 km from Guam, measured on this map.

Challenger Deep at a glance

Challenger Deep
ItemValue
Position 11°N, 142°E
Depth (Five Deeps Expedition) 10,924 ±15 m
Depth (NOAA) about 10,935 m
Plates at the nearest PB2002 step Philippine Sea and Pacific
Convergence at that step 1.9 cm/yr
Distance from Guam about 366 km
Second deepest point measured Horizon Deep, Tonga Trench: 10,816 ±16 m

Data source: Bongiovanni, Stewart and Jamieson (2022), Five Deeps Expedition, CC BY 4.0. Download: Deepest points CSV .

Data source: PB2002 plate model, Bird (2003), converted by Hugo Ahlenius, Nordpil, ODC-By 1.0.

Compare it with every other trench on the ocean trenches map, see the whole sea floor on the ocean floor map, or follow the sinking plates on the subduction zones map. Read about the Pacific Plate and all tectonic plates.

Print this map Ocean currents worksheet. Label the currents and the five gyres, with an answer key

Glossary

Ocean trench
A long, narrow trough in the sea floor, 8 to 10 km deep, where one plate bends down under another. Source
Subduction zone
Where one plate sinks under another and back into the mantle, usually marked by a deep ocean trench. Source
Bathymetry
The study of the floors of the ocean, lakes and rivers: how deep the water is and the shape of the bottom. Source

All terms in the glossary

Mariana Trench FAQ

Where is the Mariana Trench?
In the western Pacific Ocean, east of the Mariana Islands. Its deepest point, the Challenger Deep, lies at the southern end, southwest of Guam.
How deep is the Mariana Trench?
NOAA gives the Challenger Deep as about 10,935 m (35,876 feet). The Five Deeps Expedition measured 10,924 m with an error of ±15 m.
Why is the Mariana Trench so deep?
It is a subduction zone: the Pacific Plate is sinking under the Philippine Sea Plate, and the trench is where it bends down. See the subduction zones map.
Is the Mariana Trench deeper than Mount Everest is tall?
Yes. USGS gives nearly 11,000 m for the Challenger Deep and about 8,854 m for Mount Everest, so Everest would fit inside with more than 2 km of water on top.
Which trench is the second deepest?
On the Five Deeps Expedition survey, the Tonga Trench: the Horizon Deep at 10,816 ±16 m. See the ocean trenches map.

Sources: NOAA Ocean Service, How deep is the ocean?; USGS, Understanding plate motions; Bongiovanni, Stewart and Jamieson (2022), Geoscience Data Journal 9(1).