Manila Trench

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The Manila Trench is an ocean trench in the South China Sea, west of the Philippines. It reaches a depth of about 5,000 m, in contrast with the average depth of the South China Sea of about 1,500 m. It is created by subduction, in which the Eurasian Plate is slipping underneath the Philippine Plate.

The Manila Trench is associated with frequent earthquakes, and the plate movements which give rise to it are also responsible for the arc of volcanoes on the west side of the Philippine island of Luzon, including Mount Pinatubo.