Editing Geography of Japan (section)

===Oceanic trenches===
[[File:Japan_Trench_Map.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|The map depicts the [[Kuril–Kamchatka Trench]], [[Japan Trench]], [[Izu–Ogasawara Trench]], and [[Mariana Trench]].]]
East of the Japanese archipelago are three oceanic trenches.
* The [[Kuril–Kamchatka Trench]] is in the northwest Pacific Ocean. It lies off the southeast coast of [[Kamchatka Peninsula|Kamchatka]] and parallels the Kuril Island chain to meet the Japan Trench east of Hokkaido.<ref name=USGS>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 http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2010/1083/c/ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171209203950/https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2010/1083/c/ |date=2017-12-09 }}</ref>
* The [[Japan Trench]] extends {{convert|8000.|km|mi|abbr=on}} from the Kuril Islands to the northern end of the Izu Islands. Its deepest part is {{convert|8046|m|ft|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.gmrt.org/about/index.php |title=GMRT Overview |last=O'Hara |first=Design by J. Morton, V. Ferrini, and S. |website=www.gmrt.org |access-date=2018-05-27 |archive-date=2023-03-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230308011339/https://www.gmrt.org/about/index.php |url-status=live }}</ref> The Japan Trench is created as the oceanic Pacific Plate subducts beneath the continental Okhotsk Plate. The subduction process causes bending of the down-going plate, creating a deep trench. Continuous movement on the subduction zone associated with the Japan Trench is one of the main causes of tsunamis and earthquakes in northern Japan, including the [[Megathrust earthquake|megathrust]] 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. The rate of subduction associated with the Japan Trench has been recorded at about {{cvt|7.9|–|9.2|cm}}/year.<ref name="revel"/>
* The [[Izu–Ogasawara Trench]] is south of the Japan Trench in the western Pacific Ocean. It consists of the Izu Trench (at the north) and the Bonin Trench (at the south, west of the Ogasawara Plateau).<ref>{{cite web |title=Locator map |url=http://www.soest.hawaii.edu/expeditions/mariana/images/regional_locator.jpg |website=Expedition to the Mariana forearc |publisher=School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology at the University of Hawaii |access-date=2018-10-01 |archive-date=2016-03-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303201252/http://www.soest.hawaii.edu/expeditions/mariana/images/regional_locator.jpg |url-status=live }}</ref> It stretches to the northernmost section of the [[Mariana Trench]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.agu.org/pubs/crossref/2000/1999JC900324.shtml |title=Deep current structure above the Izu-Ogasawara Trench |access-date=2018-10-01 |archive-date=2012-03-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120301205341/http://www.agu.org/pubs/crossref/2000/1999JC900324.shtml |url-status=dead}}</ref> The Izu–Ogasawara Trench is an extension of the Japan Trench. There, the Pacific Plate is being subducted beneath the Philippine Sea Plate, creating the Izu Islands and Bonin Islands on the [[Izu–Bonin–Mariana Arc]] system.<ref name="izu-ogasawara-arc">{{cite web |url=http://www.terrapub.co.jp/journals/EPS/pdf/2006e/5808e033.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171029065154/http://www.terrapub.co.jp/journals/EPS/pdf/2006e/5808e033.pdf |archive-date=October 29, 2017 |title=Crustal structure of the ocean-island arc transition at the mid Izu–Ogasawara (Bonin) arc margin |publisher=Earth, Planets and Space |access-date=October 2, 2018}}</ref>