Download Continental Slope

• Continental Margin: the portion of the
seafloor adjacent to the continents; it
may include the continental shelf,
continental slope, and continental rise.
• Continental Shelf: the gently sloping
submerged portion of the continental
margin, extending from the shoreline
to the continental slope.
• Continental Slope: the steep gradient
that leads to the deep ocean floor and
marks the seawards edge of the
continental shelf.
• Continental Rise: the gently sloping
surface at the base of the continental
slope.
• Ocean Basin Floor: area of the
deep-ocean floor between the
continental margin and the mid-ocean
ridges
• Deep-Ocean Trench: long,
narrow creases in the ocean
floor, form at sites of plate
convergence
• Abyssal Plains: very level area of
the deep-ocean floor, usually lying at
the foot of the continental rise.
• Seamounts: an isolated volcanic
peak that rises at least 1000 meters
above the deep-ocean floor.
• Mid-Ocean Ridge: system of
underwater mountains,
exceeds 70,000 km in length
and has widths from 1,0004,000 km.
• Seafloor Spreading: the process by
which tectonic plates produce new
oceanic lithosphere at ocean ridges.