Oceanic Trough
geology
oceanic trough, an elongate depression in the seafloor that is characteristically shallower, shorter, narrower, and topographically gentler than oceanic trenches. Maximal depths of oceanic troughs range between 2,300 m (7,500 feet) in the Papuan Trough and 7,440 m in the Banda Trough. More typical maximum depths lie between 4 and 5 km (2.5 and 3 miles) below sea level. Lengths of the 25 best-known troughs range between 270 and 2,300 km and average about 700 km; their widths are from 20 to 100 km and average about 50 km. Unlike trenches, oceanic troughs probably owe their origins to a wide variety of geologic mechanisms.
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