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The Puerto Rico Trench, which contains the deepest point of its ocean, is located in the:
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Answer: Option B — Atlantic Ocean
Detailed Solution
The Puerto Rico Trench lies in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the boundary between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic, about 120 km north of the island of Puerto Rico. It contains the deepest point of the Atlantic Ocean.
The Milwaukee Deep:
- The deepest part of the Puerto Rico Trench, called the Milwaukee Deep, is about 8,400 metres deep.
- It is named after the US Navy ship USS Milwaukee, which discovered it in 1939.
- In 2018, Victor Vescovo made the first crewed dive to its bottom, as part of the Five Deeps Expedition.
Formation of the trench:
- It formed at a complex boundary between the Caribbean Plate and the North American Plate.
- The North American Plate is moving beneath the Caribbean Plate at a low angle, while the two plates also slide past each other horizontally.
- This combination of sinking and sliding motion makes the region tectonically complex.
Hazards:
- The region can produce large earthquakes and tsunamis that could affect Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and other Caribbean islands.
- In 1918, an earthquake near Puerto Rico triggered a deadly tsunami.
Gravity anomaly:
The Puerto Rico Trench region has one of the largest negative gravity anomalies on Earth, meaning that gravity there is slightly weaker than expected.
Deepest points of each ocean:
- Pacific Ocean: Challenger Deep, Mariana Trench (about 10,900 to 11,000 m).
- Atlantic Ocean: Milwaukee Deep, Puerto Rico Trench (about 8,400 m).
- Indian Ocean: Java (Sunda) Trench (about 7,200 m or more).
- Southern Ocean: South Sandwich Trench (about 7,400 m).
- Arctic Ocean: Molloy Deep (about 5,550 m).
Features of the Atlantic Ocean floor:
- The Mid-Atlantic Ridge runs down the centre of the ocean.
- The Atlantic has relatively few deep trenches compared with the Pacific, because subduction is less common there.
About Puerto Rico:
Puerto Rico is a Caribbean island and an unincorporated territory of the USA.
Why not the other options?
- ✗The Pacific, Indian and Arctic Oceans have their own deepest points, as listed above.
Quick tip
Remember: Deepest points: Pacific = Challenger Deep; Atlantic = Puerto Rico Trench (Milwaukee Deep); Indian = Java Trench.
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Oceans & Hydrosphere — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Oceans & Hydrosphere, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers the hydrosphere: the oceans and seas of the world, ocean relief features such as trenches and ridges, ocean currents, tides, waves, salinity, and the world's major lakes, straits, gulfs and islands. Questions commonly ask about the largest and deepest ocean (the Pacific, with the Mariana Trench), warm and cold ocean currents, the causes of tides, and which water bodies a strait connects. For example, the Palk Strait separates India and Sri Lanka, and the Strait of Gibraltar connects the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. Practise the oceans and hydrosphere questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.