New Guinea Trench
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Pacific Plate
| New Guinea Trench | |
|---|---|
 The New Guinea Trench runs parallel to the northern coast of New Guinea | |
| Location | northern coast of New Guinea |
| Country | Indonesia, Papua New Guinea |
| Tectonics | |
| Plate | Australian Plate Pacific Plate |
| Type | Subduction zone |
The New Guinea Trench is a trench along the northern coast of New Guinea. It may represent the seafloor expression of an active subduction zone. The trench generally reaches a depth of less than 4,000 m (13,000 ft) because of the subduction of thickened oceanic crust. However in the west, its depth extends to more than 5,000 m (16,000 ft).[1]
The tectonic regime in the Indonesian and Papua New Guinea region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean is dominated by oblique convergence between the Australian and Pacific Plates. The convergence resulted in the formation of several microplates to accommodate the tectonic strain. Convergence is mainly accommodated by either subduction along the New Guinea Trench or collision along the Highlands Fold and thrust belt on New Guinea. Subduction of oceanic plate beneath New Guinea occurs in a southwesternly direction.[2]