• Subsurface land features
Continental shelf, continental slope, continental rise, abyssal plains Mid-ocean ridges and trenches, plate tectonics, Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Mariana Trench
• Ocean bottom: average depth of sediment .3 mile, consists of rock particles and organic remains
• Composition of seawater: dilute solution of salts which come from weathering and erosion of continental rocks. Sodium chloride is the main salt.
Ocean Floor Vocabulary
1.Continental shelf:
it extends in a gentle downward slope from the shorelines of the continents into the oceans. It covers about 5% of Earth’s surface.
2.Continental edge:
is the point at which the shelf surrounding each continent begins to angel sharply downward toward the ocean depths.
3.Continental slope:
is the cliff-like drop beyond the continental edge
4.Continental rise:
stretches from the lower portion of the continent slop to the deepest part of the ocean
5.Abyssal plain:
the bottom of the ocean that covers about 46% of Earth’s surface. Parts are flat, but others have deep canyons called trenches.
6.Mid-ocean ridge:
the chain of underwater mountains. It is the longest mountain range in the world, passing through the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans.
7.Seamounts:
are free-standing mountains formed by volcanoes. These seamounts havebeen flattened because of wave action
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