Where does the continental shelf end?

A continental shelf typically extends from the coast to depths of 100–200 metres (330–660 feet). It is gently inclined seaward at an average slope of about 0.1°. In nearly all instances, it ends at its seaward edge with an abrupt drop called the shelf break.

1. What is beyond the continental shelf?
2. Why does the continental shelf end at 600 ft?
3. What comes after continental shelf?
4. What is beyond the continental slope?
5. Where are seamounts located?
6. Where are active continental margins located?
7. What are the superjacent waters off the seabed and subsoil?
8. Where is the continental shelf in Australia?
9. How deep is the continental slope?
10. Is India a continental shelf?
11. Why are continental shelves Good fishing areas?
12. What lives on the continental slope?
13. Is the Deepest Indian ocean Trench?
14. What's the deepest part of the ocean?
15. Is the continental a shelf?

What is beyond the continental shelf?

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. ... Steep slopes usually have either a very poorly developed continental rise or none at all and are called escarpments.

Why does the continental shelf end at 600 ft?

During Earth's history, the sea level has risen and fallen. During times of lower sea level, most of the continental shelves were not underwater. ... At the end of this gentle slope, the shelf ends and abruptly becomes steeper. This point is called the shelf break and typically occurs at depths of 400-600 feet.

What comes after continental shelf?

The shelf usually ends at a point of increasing slope (called the shelf break). The sea floor below the break is the continental slope. Below the slope is the continental rise, which finally merges into the deep ocean floor, the abyssal plain.

What is beyond the continental slope?

The continental slope marks the true edge of the continent, where the rock that makes up the continent stops and the rock of the ocean floor begins. Beyond this slope is the abyssal plain (C), a smooth and nearly flat area of the ocean floor.

Where are seamounts located?

Seamounts are commonly found near the boundaries of Earth's tectonic plates and mid-plate near hotspots. At mid-ocean ridges, plates are spreading apart and magma rises to fill the gaps.

Where are active continental margins located?

An active continental margin is found on the leading edge of the continent where it is crashing into an oceanic plate. An excellent example is the west coast of South America. Active margins are commonly the sites of tectonic activity: earthquakes, volcanoes, mountain building, and the formation of new igneous rock.

What are the superjacent waters off the seabed and subsoil?

The Convention on the Continental Shelf says that the term refers: (i) to the seabed and subsoil of the submarine areas adjacent to the coast but outside the area of the territorial sea, to a depth of 200 metres or, beyond that limit, to where the depth of the superjacent waters admits of the exploration of the natural ...

Where is the continental shelf in Australia?

Two areas of Australia's extended continental shelf extend south of 60 degrees South into the Antarctic Treaty area. The largest of these areas is the extended continental shelf arising from the Territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands between Australia and South Africa.

How deep is the continental slope?

The continental slope extends from the shelf break to water depths typically of around 3,000–4,000 m where an abrupt change in gradient delimits the foot of slope.

Is India a continental shelf?

The 2493 km-long shoreline of eastern India is fringed with a continental shelf with a variable width of 35 km off Tamil Nadu to 60 km off north Andhra Pradesh and 120 km around Digha. ... The east continental shelf of India is characterized by four major deltas; the Ganges, Mahanadi, Krishna–Godavari and Cauvery.

Why are continental shelves Good fishing areas?

Continental shelves are shallower in relation to deep sea, this enables sunlight to penetrate through water. Thus, with sunlight marine flora grows abundantly, for instance grass, sea weds and planktons. Thus, continental shelves become good feeding grounds for fishes.

What lives on the continental slope?

Different Slope Communities

Dover sole, sablefish, and rockfish (fig. 4) have this type of life history; however, most species living deeper, such as rattails, deep-sea soles, and slickheads, have young that live in the same depths as adults. Relatively few species occur at all or most depths on the Continental Slope.

Is the Deepest Indian ocean Trench?

The Indian Ocean's average depth is 12,274 feet (3,741 metres), and its deepest point, in the Sunda Deep of the Java Trench off the southern coast of the island of Java (Indonesia), is 24,442 feet (7,450 metres).

What's the deepest part of the ocean?

The deepest part of the ocean is called the Challenger Deep and is located beneath the western Pacific Ocean in the southern end of the Mariana Trench, which runs several hundred kilometers southwest of the U.S. territorial island of Guam. Challenger Deep is approximately 36,200 feet deep.

Is the continental a shelf?

A continental shelf is the edge of a continent that lies under the ocean. Continents are the seven main divisions of land on Earth. A continental shelf extends from the coastline of a continent to a drop-off point called the shelf break.