Ocean Floor Flashcards
Sediments separating continental slope from the ocean floor
Continental rise
Deep V- shaped valleys cut through continental shelf and continental slope
Submarine canyon
Area where continent’s underwater edge meets the ocean floor and consists of three parts; the shelf, the slope, and the rise
Continental margin
Water that carries large amounts of sediment
Turbidity currents
Boundary between continent’s crust and ocean floor’s crust
Continental slope
A description of the shape of the ocean floor - its characteristics and major features
Topography
The boundary where land meets the ocean
Shoreline
Small pieces of rocks and remains of plants and animals washed down from the continent
Sediments
Relatively flat part of the continental margin covered by shallow ocean water
Continental shelf
Flat large area on the ocean floor
Abyssal plains
Individual underwater mountains that rise up from the ocean floor and are characterized by steep sides and narrow tops ( summits)
Seamounts
Individual underwater mountains that rise up from the ocean floor, but are flat- topped and do not have summits
Guyots
Long narrow crevices found along the edge of the ocean floor
Trenches
Large, underwater mountain ranges formed by molten material deep within the Earth
Midocean ridges
Running along the middle and almost parallel to underwater mountain ranges are deep crevices about a mile wide
Rift valleys
Sometimes unusual- looking volcanic islands can be seen tropical waters near a continental shelf. Surrounding these islands offshore are are large masses masses of limestone rocks that contain the shells of animals. These structures can only be found in warm, tropical waters near the surface, because it needs light.
Reefs
Limestone structures that surround a tropical island, but is separated from the island by a lagoon
Barrier reefs
Limestone structures that surround a tropical island, that touch the islands shoreline
Fringing reefs
Limestone structures that surround what used to be a tropical island, but the island has since sunken or has been eroded away
Atoll
Resources that can be found in a continental shelf area
Large deposits of minerals
Oil
Natural gas
Many fish and seashells
Name given to currents that flow down a continental slope carrying sediments and remains of plants and animals
Turbidity currents