Mariana Trench Marine National Monument
IUCN category V (protected landscape/seascape)[1]
Mariana Trench Marine National Monument
Mariana Trench Location of Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean Show map of Pacific Ocean Mariana Trench Mariana Trench (Northern Mariana Islands) Show map of Northern Mariana Islands
Location	Mariana Archipelago,Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands andGuam
Nearest city	Capitol Hill,Saipan,Northern Mariana Islands
Coordinates	18°N148°E / 18°N 148°E /18; 148
Area	95,216 sq mi (246,610 km2)[2]
Designation	National monument
Designated	January 5, 2009 (2009-01-05)
Named for	Mariana Trench
Governing body	U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Website	Marianas Trench Marine National Monument

TheMariana Trench Marine National Monument is a United StatesNational Monument created byPresidentGeorge W. Bush by thepresidential proclamation no. 8335^[3] on January 6, 2009.^[4][5][6][7] The monument includes no dry land area, but protects 95,216 square miles (246,610 km²) of submerged lands and waters in various places around theMariana Archipelago, including theMariana Trench and submerged volcanos. The United States could create this monument under international law because the maritimeexclusive economic zones of the adjacentNorthern Mariana Islands andGuam fall within its jurisdiction.

The Mariana Trench Marine National Monument consists of 95,216 square miles (60,938,240 acres). The monument consists of submerged lands and waters of the Mariana Archipelago. It includes three units:^[8]

• Islands Unit – the waters and submerged lands of the three northernmostMariana Islands (Farallon de Pajaros or Uracas, Maug, and Asuncion)
• Volcanic Unit (Mariana Arc of Fire National Wildlife Refuge) – the submerged lands within 1nautical mile of 21 designated volcanic sites
• Trench Unit (Mariana Trench National Wildlife Refuge) – the submerged lands extending from the northern limit of theExclusive Economic Zone of the United States in theCommonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) to the southern limit of the Exclusive Economic Zone of the United States in the Guam.

No waters are included in the Volcanic and Trench Units, and CNMI maintains all authority for managing the three islands within the Islands Unit above the mean low water line. TheInterior Secretary placed the Mariana Trench and Volcanic Units within theNational Wildlife Refuge System, and delegated his management responsibility to theFish and Wildlife Service.

TheSecretary of Commerce, through theNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, has primary management responsibility forfishery-related activities in the waters of the Islands Unit.

In the Islands Unit, uniquereef habitats supportmarine biological communities dependent onbasalt rock foundations, unlike those throughout the remainder of thePacific. These reefs and waters are among the most biologically diverse in the Western Pacific and include the greatest diversity ofseamount andhydrothermal vent life yet discovered. They also contain one of the most diverse collections of stonycorals in the Western Pacific, including more than 300 species, higher than any other U.S. reef area.

The submerged caldera atMaug is one of only a few known places in the world wherephotosynthetic andchemosynthetic communities of life coexist. Thecaldera is some 1.5 miles wide and 820 feet deep, an unusual depth forlagoons. Thelava dome in the center of thecrater rises to within 65 feet of the surface. Hydrothermal vents at about 475 feet in depth along the northeast side of the dome spewacidic water at scalding temperatures near the coral reef that quickly ascends to the sea surface. Thus, coral reefs andmicrobial mats are spared much of the impact of these plumes and are growing nearby, complete with thrivingtropical fish. Asocean acidification increases across the Earth, this caldera offers scientists an opportunity to look into the future and ensure continuation of coral reef communities.

The Mariana Arc of Fire National Wildlife Refuge (Volcanic Unit) – an arc of 21 underseamud volcanoes and thermal vents – supports unusual life forms in some of the harshest conditions imaginable. Here species survive in the midst of hydrothermal vents that produce highly acidic boiling water. Three of the volcanos are also within the Islands Unit.

• TheChampagnehydrothermal vent, found at the Northwest Eifukusubmarine volcano produces almost pure liquidcarbon dioxide, one of only two known sites in the world.^[9]
• A pool of liquidsulfur at the Daikoku submarine volcano is unique.

TheChallenger Deep, located just outside the Trench Unit, is the deepest point in theEarth's oceans, deeper than the height ofMount Everest above sea level. It is five times longer than theGrand Canyon and includes some 78,956 square miles (204,500 km²) of virtually unexplored underwater terrain. TheSirena Deep, about 6.6 miles beneath the surface, is the deepest point of the Mariana Trench Marine National Monument.

While the actual text of the proclamation establishing it gives it the official nameMarianas Trench Marine National Monument, it also refers to the trench as the Mariana Trench.^[3] Both NOAA and FWS websites call itMariana Trench Marine National Monument, though older documents retain the plural spelling. Some news reports erroneously used the nameMarianas Marine National Monument, omitting the word "Trench".

• List of national monuments of the United States

Wikimedia Commons has media related toMarianas Trench Marine National Monument.

• Mariana Trench Marine National Monument - US Fish and Wildlife Service
  • Draft Monument Management Plan and Environmental Assessment
• Mariana Trench Marine National Monument – NOAA
• Mariana Arc of Fire National Wildlife Refuge
• Mariana Trench National Wildlife Refuge
• official map (PDF)

• IUCN Category V
• National monuments in insular areas of the United States
• Protected areas established in 2009
• Protected areas of Guam
• Protected areas of the Northern Mariana Islands
• 2009 establishments in the Northern Mariana Islands
• 2009 establishments in Guam
• Mariana Islands

• Pages using gadget WikiMiniAtlas
• Webarchive template wayback links
• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Coordinates on Wikidata
• Commons category link is on Wikidata