Tonga Plate

The Tonga Plate holds the record for the fastest subduction rate on Earth, diving beneath the Australian Plate at an extraordinary 24 cm per year. This rapid convergence creates the Tonga Trench, one of the deepest ocean trenches, reaching depths of over 10,800 meters. The subduction fuels intense volcanic activity in the Tonga island arc and generates some of the world's deepest earthquakes, occurring at depths exceeding 600 kilometers.