gFlashcards

Flat, cold, sediment-covered ocean floor between the continental rise and the oceanic ridge at a depth of 3,700 to 5,500 meters (12,000 to 18,000 feet). Abyssal plains are more extensive in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans than in the Pacific.

The wedge of sediment forming the gentle transition from the outer (lower) edge of the continental slope to the abyssal plain; usually associated with passive margins.

The gradually sloping submerged extension of a continent, composed of granitic rock overlain by sediments; has features similar to the edge of the nearby continent.

The sloping transition between the granite of the continent and the basalt of the seabed; the true edge of a continent.

A flat-topped, submerged inactive volcano.*

A spring of hot, mineral- and gas-rich seawater found on some oceanic ridges in zones of active seafloor spreading.

Young seabed at the active spreading center of an ocean, often unmasked by sediment, bulging above the abyssal plain. The boundary between divergent plates. Often called a mid-ocean ridge, though less than 60% of the length exists at mid ocean.

A circular or elliptical projection from the seafloor, more than 1 kilometer (0.6 mile) in height, with a relatively steep slope of 20° to 25°.*

A deep, V-shaped valley running roughly perpendicular to the shoreline and cutting across the edge of the continental shelf and slope.

An arc-shaped depression in the deep-ocean floor with very steep sides and a flat sediment-filled bottom coinciding with a subduction zone. Most trenches occur in the Pacific.

An underwater "avalanche" of abrasive sediments thought responsible for the deep sculpturing of submarine canyons and a means of transport for sediments accumulating on abyssal plains.