Middle America Trench

The trench is colored in dark blue, extending from central Mexico to Costa Rica in the Pacific Ocean
The trench lies at the convergence of the Cocos, Nazca, North American, and Caribbean plates

The Middle America Trench is a major subduction zone, an oceanic trench in the eastern Pacific Ocean off the southwestern coast of Middle America, stretching from central Mexico to Costa Rica. The trench is 1,700 miles (2,750 km) long and is 21,880 feet (6,669 m) at its deepest point. The trench is the boundary between the Rivera, Cocos, and Nazca plates on one side and the North American and Caribbean plates on the other. It is the 18th-deepest trench in the world. Many large earthquakes have occurred in the area of the Middle America Trench.[1]

  1. ^ Astiz, L.; Kanamori, H.; Eissler, H. (1987). "Source characteristics of earthquakes in the Michoacan seismic gap in Mexico". Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America. 77 (4): 1326–1346. Bibcode:1987BuSSA..77.1326A. doi:10.1785/BSSA0770041326.