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Journey to Bottom of the Ocean. Continent. Asia Africa North America South America Antarctica Europe Australia. A continent is a large landmass. There are seven continents on the Earth. Back to Map. Click on a feature to go there or click next to continue with the journey.
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Continent • Asia • Africa • North America • South America • Antarctica • Europe • Australia • A continent is a large landmass. • There are seven continents on the Earth Back to Map
Click on a feature to go there or click next to continue with the journey Rift
We will begin our journey where land meets the ocean. Do you know where we are? Yes. At the beach. Beaches are the fastest changing part of the ocean. They change with every wave. Back to Map
Continental Shelf There are several part to the continental shelf. • The continental break • The continental slope • The continental rise • The edge of the continents slope down from the shore into the ocean. The part of the continent located under water is known as the Continental Shelf. The continental shelf is rich in resources such as marine life, minerals and oil. For this reason, countries around the world claim the bordering continental shelf as part of their territories. Back to Map
Continental Slope The continental slope is a steep slope that connects the continental- shelf to the bottom of the ocean floor. The slope begins at a depth of around 460 feet (140 meters). Back to Map
Volcanic Island Arc • Volcanic island arcs are a series of seamount tall enough to break the sea surface and form an island. • The Augustine Island Volcano in Alaska is an example of a volcanic arc. Back to Map
Abyss • The deepest point in the ocean is called the abyss • The Mariana Trench is the deepest known point in the ocean. It is located in the western part of the Pacific Ocean near the fourteen Mariana Islands. • The Mariana Trench is a semi-circle that extends from the northeast to the southwest for about two thousand five hundred fifty meters and is seventy kilometers wide. Back to Map
Mid Ocean Ridge • The mid ocean ridge is a series of mountain ranges on the ocean floor. • They are more than 84,000 kilometers (52,000 miles) in length and they extend through the North and South of the Atlantic ocean, the Indian Ocean, and the South Pacific ocean. • According to the plate tectonics theory, volcanic rock is added to the sea floor as the mid-ocean ridge spreads apart. Back to Map
Abyssal Plain Abyssal plains are the vast, flat, sediment-covered areas of the deep ocean floor. They are the flattest, most featureless areas on Earth. These flat abyssal plains occur at depths of over 6,500 ft (1,980 m) below sea level. Back to Map
Seamount • Seamounts are undersea volcanic mountains rising from the bottom of the sea that do not break the water's surface • Seamounts are usually isolated and cone-shaped, often volcanic in origin. • Smaller volcanoes are called sea knolls, and flat-topped seamounts are called guyots. Back to Map
Guyot • Guyots are seamounts that have built above sea level. Over time erosion by waves destroyed the top of the seamount resulting in a flattened shape The seamount becomes submerged to form a Guyot Seamount rises above water Erosion by waves flattens the top of the mount Back to Map
Ocean Trench • A deep-sea trench is a narrow, elongate, v-shaped depression in the ocean floor. • Trenches are the deepest parts of the ocean, and the lowest points on Earth. • They reach depths of nearly 7 mi (10 km) below sea level. • They can be thousands of miles in length, yet as little as 5 mi (8 km) in width. Back to Map
Rift • A rift valley is formed where two tectonic plates pull apart from one another creating a deep valley. • Rifts are the opposite of mountain ranges like the Alps or the Himalayas where the plates push together to create a mountain. Back to Map
Compare continental and oceanic landforms Continental landform Canyon Valley Volcanic mountain Mountain Range Low hills or plains Oceanic landform Trench Rift Seamount Mid-ocean ridge Ocean basin (abyssal plains)
Sources • http://www.utdallas.edu/~pujana/oceans/guyot.html • http://www.enotes.com/earth-science/abyssal-plains • http://www.answers.com • http://images.google.com/images?um=1&hl=en&rlz=1T4ADBF_enUS279US280&q=ocean+trench+pictures • http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/02galapagos/logs/jun04/jun04.html Back to Map