How Is The Continental Slope Formed?
Over geologic time the continental slopes are temporary depositional sites for sediments. During lowstands of sea level rivers may dump their sedimentary burden directly on them. Sediments build up until the mass becomes unstable and sloughs off to the lower slope and the continental rise.
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What is a continental slope?
A continental slope is the slope between the outer edge of the continental shelf and the deep ocean floor. … The continental slope marks the seaward edge of the continental shelf. Continental slopes typically follow the boundary between continental crust and oceanic crust.
What is continental slope short answer?
Solution. After the extent of the continental shelf is over there is a sharp drop in the ocean floor. The gradient of slope in this region can be between 2° to 5°. This is called the continental slope. The depth of this slope extends from 200 m up to 4000 m from sea level.
Where is a continental slope found?
Continental slopes are regions of steeply sloping seafloor that lie between continental shelves and the deep ocean basins (Figure 2).
What is the continental slope quizlet?
Continental slope. the steep gradient that leads to the deep-ocean floor and marks the seaward edge of the continental shelf.
What happens in the continental slope?
The continental slope (often referred to simply as “the slope”) is commonly dissected by submarine canyons faulting rifting and slumping of large blocks of sediment can form steep escarpments relatively flat terraces and (under certain conditions) basins perched on the slope.
What is continental slope Wikipedia?
From Coastal Wiki. Definition of Continental slope: The sloping sea bottom of the continental margin that begins at a depth of about 100 to 150 meters at the shelf edge and ends at the top of the continental rise or in a deep-sea trench.
How steep are continental slopes?
Which of the following types of slope does the continental slope have?
Answer: Although the continental slope averages about 4° it can approach vertical on carbonate margins on faulted margins or on leading-edge tectonically active margins. Steep slopes usually have either a very poorly developed continental rise or none at all and are called escarpments.
How are abyssal plains formed?
How is a continental slope formed quizlet?
How is the continental slope formed? They are formed when muddy sediments are washed away or scraped off of the top of the continental plate. The structure then becomes unstable. When the edge becomes unstable the sediments slough off and forms a continental slope.
Where is the continental rise quizlet?
A steep underwater slope that reaches from the edge of the continental shelf to the continental rise. What is a continental rise? The transition between a continental slope and an abyssal plain that slopes gently.
What are continental shelves quizlet?
continental shelf. the sloping shelf of land consisting of the edges of the continents under the ocean.
How are active continental margins formed?
What animals live in the continental slope?
Different Slope Communities
Dover sole sablefish and rockfish (fig. 4) have this type of life history however most species living deeper such as rattails deep-sea soles and slickheads have young that live in the same depths as adults. Relatively few species occur at all or most depths on the Continental Slope.
How does the continental slope and continental rise differ from each other?
The continental rise on a passive continental margin is a zone of sediment deposition on slopes that are typically between 1 : 50 and 1 : 500 and occurs beyond the steeper continental slope which is commonly incised by canyons. The continental rise consists principally of submarine fans.
What is the continental slope of the Pacific ocean?
Why is the continental slope considered to be the boundary of continents?
The continental slope is the transitional region connecting the continental shelf and the ocean basin. … The continental crust (30km) is thicker than oceanic crust (7-10km) thus continental slope is considered to be the boundary of continents.
How are trenches formed?
How are abyssal plains formed quizlet?
How are abyssal plains formed? Abyssal plains are deep extremely flat features of the ocean floor. They are formed as sediments from coastal regions are transported far out to sea and settle to the ocean floor and as materials from the water column above settle to the bottom.
How are hydrothermal vents formed?
What forces control the shape of the continental shelf A continental slope a continental rise?
Sediments typically control the shape of the continental slopes. A continental rise is the sediment that forms the gentle transition from the outer (lower) edge of the continental slope and the abyssal plain.
What marks the true edge of a continent?
The continental slope marks the true edge of the continent where the rock that makes up the continent stops and the rock of the ocean floor begins. Beyond this slope is the abyssal plain (C) a smooth and nearly flat area of the ocean floor.
What is the flat vast deep sea ocean floor called?
What is continental rise quizlet?
continental rise. gently sloping accumulation of sediments deposited by a turbidity current at the foot of a continental margin. abyssal plain. smooth flat part of the seafloor covered with muddy sediments and sedimentary rocks that extends seaward from the continental margin. deep-sea trench.
What are the two types of continental margins?
How are submarine canyons formed?
How can you best describe the continental shelf?
What are the three primary agents that act to deposit sediments which may eventually become sedimentary rocks?
Sedimentary rocks are formed on or near the Earth’s surface in contrast to metamorphic and igneous rocks which are formed deep within the Earth. The most important geological processes that lead to the creation of sedimentary rocks are erosion weathering dissolution precipitation and lithification.
What is the most prominent feature on the ocean floor?
oceanic ridge system
Individually ocean ridges are the largest features in ocean basins. Collectively the oceanic ridge system is the most prominent feature on Earth’s surface after the continents and the ocean basins themselves.
What separates the continental shelf from the continental slope?
How are active continental margins related to plate tectonics? Active continental margins are located along convergent plate boundaries where oceanic lithosphere is being subducted beneath the leading edge of a continent (all around the ring of fire).
What do active continental margins have?
Active margins are marked by earthquakes volcanoes and mountain belts. Unlike passive margins they lack a continental rise and abyssal plain. Instead the continental slope ends in an oceanic trench and beyond the trench the topography is hilly and irregular often dotted with rugged volcanic seamounts.
Are there plants in the continental slope?
Sunlight penetrates the shallow waters and many kinds of organisms flourish—from microscopic shrimp to giant seaweed called kelp. Ocean currents and runoff from rivers bring nutrients to organisms that live on continental shelves. Plants and algae make continental shelves rich feeding grounds for sea creatures.
Ocean Floor Features
Ocean Floor Features
Geography Ch 12 Part 1/2- The Oceans
Vodcast 9.3: Passive & Active Continental Margins