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Sea floor
Ocean floor and sea floor terms
Question | Answer |
---|---|
continental shelf | continent's rim, extends from the shoreline, sealife is abundant here, 10-100 miles long, gradually slopes |
continental slope | The big frop-off to the ocean floor, plunges from the continental shelf, can be more than 10,000 feet deep |
abyssal plain | Begins at the base of the continental slope, usually 2 miles (10,000 feet) deep, much of the floor is the abyssal plain, form much of the ocean basins of the world |
guyot | flat topped underwater seamounts, many are found in Pacific Ocean |
trench | deepest areas of the oceans, depressions, the Marianas Trench is more than 7 miles deep |
ridge | Chains of undersea mountain ranges, the Mid-Ocean Ridges extend about 42,000 miles and covers 23% of the earth's surface, occur where mantle material rises to the top of the earth's crust and spreads out to create a NEW ocean floor |
rift | a split, break or crack |
island | tops of ocean floor mountains, rise above the surface, Hawaiian islands are highest peaks of a volcanic mountain range |