| Question |
Answer |
| continental landmass |
large land area rising above the ocean level |
| continental slope |
sharp drop-off going down to the ocean bottom |
| mid-ocean ridge |
huge underwater chain of mountains |
| seamount |
submerged volcano rising up from the sea floor |
| island |
peak of an undersea mountain which shows through the surface |
| guyot |
old and worn, flat-topped seamount, always under water |
| continental shelf |
gently sloping extension of he land mass, covered by a few hundred feet of ocean |
| abyssal plain |
large, very flat area on the ocean floor |
| rift valley |
huge crack in the middle of the undersea mountain chain |
| trench |
deepest parts of the ocean, where a valley is formed by sections of the earth's crust coming together |
| ocean basin |
lower parts of the earth's surface where the oceans are found |
| ocean floor |
bottom of the ocean basin |
| ooze |
organic sediment on the ocean floor |
| turbidity current |
moving water which carries mud and sand down a slope |
| red clay |
non-organic sediment on the ocean floor |
| submarine canyons |
huge cut in the undersea shelf and slope, caused by moving mud and water (underwater landslide) |
| sediment |
sand, gravel, clay and other materials which settle out of the ocean water and cover the ocean floor |
| plate tectonics |
theory that the surface of the earth isnot one solid shell, but is made up of seven huge pieces called plates |
| oceanography |
the study of the ocean |
| How much of earth is covered by oceans? |
70-75 percent |
| How deep is the ocean floor? |
9,000-11,000 feet |
Science Vocab 147928
