Benue Trough the Central African Shear Zone and for the volcanic island of St. Helena in the Atlantic ocean. Three periods of magmatic activity (volcanic action) have been identified, 147–106 Ma, 97–81 Ma and 68–49 Ma. The first is prominent in the north of the trough, and contemporary with magmatism in Brazil, probably occurring during a period of crustal extension before the Atlantic started to open. The second is found only in the south of the trough, and may belong to a period when the extension of the Atlantic had slowed down, ending with a period of compression. The third and last
Mariana Trough Mariana Trough The Mariana Trough is an active back-arc basin in the western Pacific Ocean . It is an integral part of the Izu-Bonin-Mariana Arc system. The Mariana Trough stretches 1300 km from north to south, about the distance from Los Angeles CA to Portland OR, Tokyo, Japan to Seoul, Korea, or London, England to Rome, Italy. The Mariana Trough has roughly the dimensions and areal extent of Japan or California. The Trough is crudely crescent-shaped, opening on the south; it is bounded to the east by the active Mariana arc, to the west by the remnant arc of the