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? | 4 - 5 kilometers |