Which part of a continental margin is the shallowest?

Which part of a continental margin is the shallowest?

The continental shelf
The continental shelf is the shallowest part of the continental margin. Although they only make up 8% of the Earth’s ocean surface area, they are the most biologically rich part of the ocean containing the majority of the sea life.

What is the shallowest part of the continental margin extending seaward from the shore?

A continental shelf typically extends from the coast to depths of 100–200 metres (330–660 feet). It is gently inclined seaward at an average slope of about 0.1°. In nearly all instances, it ends at its seaward edge with an abrupt drop called the shelf break.

What is the gentle slope at the base of the continental slope that is formed by sediments deposited by turbidity currents?

continental rise
A continental rise is a wide, gentle incline from a deep ocean plain (abyssal plain) to a continental slope (Figure 15-13). A continental rise consists mainly of silts, mud, and sand, deposited by turbidity flows, and can extend for several hundreds of miles away from continental margins.

Which part of the continental margin is the flattest?

abyssal plain
After the rise comes the abyssal plain , or the deep ocean floor, lying between 4500 – 6000 m. The abyssal plain includes most of the ocean floor, and is the flattest region on Earth. It is flat due to millions of years of sediment accumulation on the bottom, which buries many bottom features (Figure 1.2. 2).

Which part of the ocean floor is the most extended?

Abyssal plains Continuing your journey across the ocean basin, you would descend the steep continental slope to the abyssal plain. At depths of over 10,000 feet and covering 70% of the ocean floor, abyssal plains are the largest habitat on earth.

What are the three parts of a continental margin?

The continental margins consist of three portions: (1) the continental shelf which has shallow water depths rarely deeper than 650 ft) and extends seaward from the shoreline to distances ranging from 12.3 miles to 249 miles, (2) the continental slope where the bottom drops off to depths of up to 3.1 miles, and (3) the …

What are the 4 main sections that make up the continental margin?

Major Continental Margin Features

• Continental shelf. This is very shallow water, and underlain by continental crust.
• Continental slope. This is much steeper than the shelf, usually about 3° but ranging from 1-10°.
• Continental rise.
• Abyssal plains.

Which is the best description of the continental margin?

The continental shelf, slope, and rise are collectively called the continental margin. Continental margins on the leading edges of tectonic plates, like those around the rim of the Pacific Ocean, are usually narrow and have steep continental slopes and either poorly developed continental rises or none at all.

Which is steepest part of the continental slope?

This steeper portion of the margin is the , and it extends from the shelf break down to 3000-5000m. In some parts of the ocean, large submarine canyons have been carved into the continental slope; for example, Monterey Canyon in Monterey Bay, California, is a submarine canyon similar in size to the Grand Canyon!

How big is the passive margin of an ocean?

Figure 1.2.1 shows an idealized passive margin. When examining this figure, and others like it, note that there is significant vertical exaggeration; the depth scale covers approximately 5000 m, while the horizontal scale extends around 300 km. This makes the features look much steeper than they actually are.

Where does the continental crust meet the ocean floor?

. This area represents where the continental crust meets the oceanic crust, as the slope begins to level off to become the deep ocean floor. The rise consists of a thick layer of accumulated sediment coming from the continent, so it is difficult to tell where the slope ends and the rise begins.