Cayman Trench

trench, Caribbean Sea

Also known as: Bartlett Deep, Bartlett Trough

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Also called:: Bartlett Deep, or Bartlett Trough

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Cayman Trench, submarine trench on the floor of the western Caribbean Sea between Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. It extends from the Windward Passage at the southeastern tip of Cuba toward Guatemala. The relatively narrow trough trends east-northeast to west-southwest and has a maximum depth of 25,216 feet (7,686 metres), the deepest point in the Caribbean Sea. The Cayman Ridge separates the trough from the Yucatan Basin in the north, and the Jamaica Ridge, which supports the island of Jamaica, separates it from the Colombian Basin farther south. Submarine earthquakes sometimes occur around the edges of the trench.

Some of the world’s deepest deep-sea vents are found in the Cayman Trench some 5 km (3.1 miles) below the surface of the ocean.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by John P. Rafferty.