Continental Margin - Continental Shelf, The Continental Slope, Submarine Canyons, The Continental Rise
sections ocean
The continental margin is that portion of the ocean that separates the continents from the deep ocean floor. For purposes of study, the continental margin is usually subdivided into three major sections: the continental shelf, the continental slope, and the continental rise. In addition to these sections, one of the most important features of the continental margin is the presence of very large submarine canyons that cut their way through the continental slope and, less commonly, the continental shelf.
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The continental shelf is a portion of the continent to which it is adjacent, and not actually part of the ocean floor. As a result of continual earth movement, the shelf is continuously exposed and covered by water. Even when covered by water, as it is today, it shows signs of once having been dry land. Fossil river beds, for example, are characteristic of some slopes. Remnants of glacial action c…
At the seaward edge of the continental shelf, the ocean floor drops off abruptly along the continental slope. The break point between the shelf and slope is sometimes known as the continental shelf break. The continental slopes are the most dramatic cliffs on the face of the Earth. They may drop from a depth of 656 ft (200 m) to more than 9,840 ft (3,000 m) in a distance of about 62 mi (100 km). I…
The most distinctive features of the continental slopes are the submarine canyons. These are V-shaped features, often with tributaries, similar to canyons found on dry land. The deepest of the submarine canyons easily rivals similar landforms on the continents. The Monterrey Canyon off the coast of northern California, for example, drops from a water depth of 354 ft (108 m) below sea level near th…
Sediments eroded off continental land, after being carried across the shelf and down the continental slope, are finally deposited at the base of the slope in a region of the ocean known as the continental rise. By some estimates, half of all the sediments laid down on the face of the planet are found in the continental rise. In many regions, the continental rise looks very much like a river delta …
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