What is the largest continental shelf?
The world’s largest continental shelf extends 1,500 km (about 930 miles) from the coast of Siberia into the Arctic Ocean. Continental shelves are usually covered with a layer of sand, silts, and silty muds.
What is called continental shelf?
The term “continental shelf” is used by geologists generally to mean that part of the continental margin which is between the shoreline and the shelf break or, where there is no noticeable slope, between the shoreline and the point where the depth of the superjacent water is approximately between 100 and 200 metres.
What is the difference between continental slope and continental rise?
3 – The continental slope is made of continental crust, but the continental rise is made of sediment. When sea level drops, parts of the continental shelves are the first to be exposed. The continental shelves are the shallowest parts of the continental margins, so if sea level drops, they are the first to be exposed.
What lives in the continental shelf?
Lobster, Dungeness crab, tuna, cod, halibut, sole and mackerel can be found. Permanent rock fixtures are home to anemones, sponges, clams, oysters, scallops, mussels and coral. Larger animals such as whales and sea turtles can be seen in continental shelf areas as they follow migration routes.
Why are lots of fishes found on the continental shelf?
Much of the zone lacks nutrients for supporting fish, so epipelagic fish tend to be found in coastal water above the continental shelves, where land runoff can provide nutrients, or in those parts of the ocean where upwelling moves nutrients into the area.
What color is the continental shelf?
Colours are related to depth and elevation (red = mountains; yellow = low-lying coastal plains; green-aqua = shelf depths 5-50 m; light blue = deep shelf depths 50-200 m; and dark blue = continental slope depths 200-2000 m).
What is a continental slope in the ocean?
Continental slopes are regions of steeply sloping seafloor that lie between continental shelves and the deep ocean basins (Figure 2). Regional gradients are typically 2–5°, but locally slopes may be much steeper.
What are three characteristics of 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 a continental slope most similar to?
A continental slope is most similar to which land feature? A cliff.
Which area best describes a continental slope?
area of land dropping steeply towards deep ocean basins. 75-mile shallow flat area just off coastlines. thick deposits of sediments carried out from land.
Is the continental rise part of the continental plate?
Beyond the shelf-slope break, the continental crust thins quickly, and the rise lies partly on the continental crust and partly on the oceanic crust of the deep sea.
What is the depth of the continental rise?
Deep-Sea Ecology The continental slopes extend gradually from the continental shelf break to the continental rise (c. 3000 m depth), with an average gradient of around 4°.
Where is the continental rise found?
Antarctica
What is a continental rise and how does a rise form?
Continental rises form as a result of three sedimentary processes: mass wasting, the deposition from contour currents, and the vertical settling of clastic and biogenic particles. continental margin. The broad, gentle pitch of the continental shelf gives way to the relatively steep continental slope.
Does the continental rise lies at the bottom of the continental slope?
Slope. Because the continental rise lies below the continental slope and is formed from sediment deposition, it has a very gentle slope, usually ranging from 1:50 to 1:500.
Why is there no continental rise on an active margin?
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.
What is the difference between an active and a passive continental margin?
An active continental margin is found on the leading edge of the continent where it is crashing into an oceanic plate. Passive continental margins are found along the remaining coastlines.
Would you expect the continental shelf near a convergent plate to be wide or narrow?
Continental shelves near convergent plates tend to be narrow because these boundaries tend to create trenches with steep sides. Steeply sloping underwater extension of the continent. Even steeper when located near a convergent boundary because of the presence of trenches.
Which type of continental margin has the widest continental shelf?
The average width worldwide is about 40 miles (64 kilometers). The widest shelves are in the Arctic Ocean off the northern coasts of Siberia and North America. Narrow shelves are found off the western coasts of North and South America.
What are the four main components of the continental margin in order from shallow to deep?
The continental margins consist of three portions: (1) the continental shelf which has shallow water depths rarely deeper than 650 ft) and extends seaward from the shoreline to distances ranging from 12.3 miles to 249 miles, (2) the continental slope where the bottom drops off to depths of up to 3.1 miles, and (3) the …
Why is the continental shelf considered the richest part of the ocean?
Continental shelves only make up about 6% of the ocean’s surface area, but they are biologically one of the richest parts of the ocean; their shallow depth prevents nutrients from sinking out, and their proximity to the coast provides significant nutrient input.
What are the two types of continental margins?
There are two types of continental margins: active and passive margins. Active margins are typically associated with lithospheric plate boundaries. These active margins can be convergent or transform margins, and are also places of high tectonic activity, including volcanoes and earthquakes.
What are the 4 parts of the continental margin?
The continental shelf, slope, and rise are collectively called the continental margin.
What are the two types of continental margins quizlet?
The two types of continental margin are passive and active. Nearly the entire Atlantic Ocean and a large portion of the Indian Ocean are surrounded by passive continental margins. By contrast, most of the Pacific Ocean is bordered by active continental margins (subduction zones).
What is the deepest part of the continental margin?
660 feet