Negros Trench

Background

The Negros trench was formed from subduction of the Eurasian Plate underneath the Philippine Sea plate which initiated during the Early Miocene (23.03-20.44 million years ago), The trench was previously the site of a collision zone with the Palawan plate, which formed the Philippine Trench 8–9 million years ago, This trench is located west of the Visayan Islands. This trench moves 2–3 cm/year.

Although there are vast areas of subduction zones, some authors have considered this region to have low seismic activity. There has been a decent amount of earthquakes with a magnitude ≥6.4 in the region, with the most recent occurring in 2011. It hit the trench in a depth of 19.0 km. Areas adjacent to the subduction zones have experienced large seismic activity.