Puerto Rico Trench

High school (ages 12+)
Geography

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/puerto-rico-trench

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. How deep is Puerto Rico Trench?8,740 meters (28,675 feet) at the Milwaukee Deep
2. How long is Puerto Rico Trench?810 kilometers (503 miles)
3. What is the Puerto Rico Trench?The Puerto Rico Trench is the deepest part of the Atlantic Ocean, located near Puerto Rico. It is a giant underwater canyon that stretches about 810 kilometers along the island’s northern coast.
4. Why is the Puerto Rico Trench important for earthquakes and tsunamis?Because the trench sits where the North American and Caribbean plates move against each other, it can cause big earthquakes and tsunamis. The 1918 San Fermín earthquake made a powerful tsunami that was linked to this trench.

Bathymetric: Relating to the measurement and study of the depths of bodies of water.
Tectonic Plate Boundary: The line where two or more of Earth's tectonic plates meet, often causing geological activity.
Strike-Slip Fault: A fault where the rocks on either side move horizontally past each other.
Oblique Subduction: A type of subduction where one tectonic plate slides beneath another at an angle, not directly perpendicular.