{"id":758,"date":"2021-09-16T19:30:28","date_gmt":"2021-09-16T19:30:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/accphysicalgeography\/chapter\/18-1-the-topography-of-the-sea-floor-physical-geology-2nd-edition\/"},"modified":"2022-02-07T21:56:31","modified_gmt":"2022-02-07T21:56:31","slug":"18-1-the-topography-of-the-sea-floor-physical-geology-2nd-edition","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/accphysicalgeology\/chapter\/18-1-the-topography-of-the-sea-floor-physical-geology-2nd-edition\/","title":{"raw":"18.1 The Topography of the Sea Floor \u2014 Physical Geology \u2013 2nd Edition","rendered":"18.1 The Topography of the Sea Floor \u2014 Physical Geology \u2013 2nd Edition"},"content":{"raw":"<div>\r\n<div>\r\n<h1 class=\"entry-title\">18.1 The Topography of the Sea Floor<\/h1>\r\nWe examined the topography of the sea floor from the perspective of plate tectonics in Chapter 10, but here we are going to take another look at bathymetry from an oceanographic perspective. The topography of the northern Atlantic Ocean is shown in Figure 18.1.1. The important features are the extensive\u00a0<strong><button class=\"glossary-term\" aria-describedby=\"807-1936\">continental shelves<\/button><\/strong> less than 250 meters deep (pink); the vast deep\u00a0<strong><button class=\"glossary-term\" aria-describedby=\"807-1934\">ocean plains<\/button><\/strong> between 4,000 and 6,000 meters deep (light and dark blue); the mid-Atlantic ridge, in many areas shallower than 3,000 meters; and the deep ocean trench north of Puerto Rico (8,600 meters).\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div><img class=\"wp-image-754\" src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/physicalgeology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2021\/09\/The-topography-of-the-Atlantic-Ocean-sea-floor.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"900\" height=\"538\" \/>\r\n<div id=\"caption-attachment-805\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Figure 18.1.1 The topography of the Atlantic Ocean sea floor between 0\u00b0 and 50\u00b0 north. Red and yellow colors indicate less than a 2,000 meter depth; green less than 3,000 meters; blue 4,000 meters to 5,000 meters; and purple greater than 6,000 meters. <a href=\"#fig18.1.1\">[Image Description]<\/a><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\nA topographic profile of the Pacific Ocean floor between Japan and British Columbia is shown in Figure 18.1.2. Be very careful when interpreting this diagram (and others like it), because in order to show the various features clearly the vertical axis is exaggerated, in this case by about 200 times. The floor of the Pacific, like those of the other oceans, is actually very flat, even in areas with seamounts or deep trenches. The vast sediment-covered <strong><span class=\"glossary-term\">abyssal plains<\/span><\/strong> of the oceans are much flatter than any similar-sized areas on the continents.\r\n\r\nThe main features of the Pacific Ocean floor are the continental slopes, which drop from about 200 meters to several thousand meters over a distance of a few hundred kilometers, the abyssal plains\u2014exceedingly flat and from 4,000 meters to 6,000 meters deep, volcanic seamounts and islands, and trenches at subduction zones that are up to 11,000 meters deep.\r\n<div class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"width: 900px\"><img class=\"wp-image-755\" src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/physicalgeology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/01\/generalized-topography-of-the-Pacific-Ocean-sea-floor.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"900\" height=\"317\" \/>\r\n<div class=\"wp-caption-text\">Figure 18.1.2 The generalized topography of the Pacific Ocean sea floor between Japan and British Columbia. The vertical exaggeration is approximately 200 times.<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\nThe ocean floor is almost entirely underlain by mafic oceanic crust (mostly basalt and gabbro, as described in more detail below), while the continental slopes are underlain by felsic continental crust (mostly granitic and sedimentary rocks). And, as you\u2019ll remember from Chapter 10, the heavier oceanic crust floats lower on the mantle than continental crust does, and that\u2019s why oceans are oceans.\r\n\r\nThe continental shelf and slope offshore from Nova Scotia is shown in Figure 18.1.3. In this passive-margin area (no subduction zone), the shelf is over 150 kilometers wide. On the Pacific coast of Canada, the shelf is less than half as wide. Continental shelves are typically less than 200 meters in depth; 200 meters is also the limit of the <strong><span class=\"glossary-term\">photic zone<\/span><\/strong>, the maximum depth to which sufficient light penetrates to allow photosynthesis to take place. As a result of that photosynthesis, the photic zone is oxygenated, and therefore suitable for animal life. Approximately 90% of marine life is restricted to the photic zone. The photic zone is also known as the <strong><span class=\"glossary-term\">epipelagic zone<\/span><\/strong>. The <strong><span class=\"glossary-term\">mesopelagic zone<\/span><\/strong> extends from 200 meters to 1,000 meters, the <strong><span class=\"glossary-term\">bathypelagic zone<\/span><\/strong> from 1,000 meters to 4,000 meters, and <strong><span class=\"glossary-term\">abyssalpelagic zone<\/span><\/strong> is deeper than 4,000 meters.\u00a0 (<strong><span class=\"glossary-term\">Pelagic<\/span><\/strong> refers to the open ocean, and thus excludes areas that are near to the shores or the ocean floor.)\r\n\r\nAlthough the temperature of the ocean surface varies widely\u2014from a few degrees either side of freezing in polar regions to over 25\u00b0C in the tropics\u2014in most parts of the ocean, the water temperature is around 10\u00b0C at 1,000 meters depth and about 4\u00b0C from 2,000 meters depth all the way to the bottom.<a id=\"figure18.1.3\"><\/a>\r\n<div class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"width: 1123px\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-756\" src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/physicalgeology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/01\/Atlantic-Ocean-floor-within-300-km-of-Nova-Scotia.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1123\" height=\"509\" \/>\r\n<div class=\"wp-caption-text\">Figure 18.1.3 The generalized topography of the Atlantic Ocean floor within 300 kilometers of the North American East Coast. The vertical exaggeration is approximately 25 times. The panel at the bottom shows the same profile without vertical exaggeration. <a href=\"#fig18.1.3\">[Image Description]<\/a><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"width: 600px\"><img class=\"wp-image-757\" src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/physicalgeology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/01\/Pacific-Ocean-floor-in-the-area-of-the-Marianas-Trench.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"381\" \/>\r\n<div class=\"wp-caption-text\">Figure 18.1.4 The generalized topography of the Pacific Ocean floor in the area of the Marianas Trench, near Guam. The dashed grey line represents the subduction of the Pacific Plate (to the right) beneath the Philippine Plate (to the left).<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\nThe deepest parts of the ocean are within the subduction trenches, and the deepest of these is the Marianas Trench in the southwestern Pacific (near Guam) at 11,000 meters (Figure 18.1.4). There are other trenches in the southwestern Pacific that are over 10,000 meters deep; the Japan Trench is over 9,000 meters deep; and the Puerto Rico and Chile-Peru Trenches are over 8,000 meters deep. Trenches that are relatively shallow tend to be that way because they have significant sediment infill. There is no recognizable trench along the subduction zone of the Juan de Fuca Plate because it has been filled with sediments from the Fraser and Columbia Rivers (or their ancient equivalents).\r\n<div class=\"textbox textbox--exercises\">\r\n<div class=\"textbox__header\">\r\n\r\nThis map shows a part of the sea floor.\r\n<ol>\r\n \t<li>Identify the following features.\r\n<ol>\r\n \t<li>a continental shelf<\/li>\r\n \t<li>a continental slope<\/li>\r\n \t<li>a spreading ridge<\/li>\r\n \t<li>a subduction zone with a deep trench<\/li>\r\n \t<li>an abyssal plain<\/li>\r\n \t<li>some isolated seamounts<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Where is this? (North is up.)<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<h3>Image Descriptions<\/h3>\r\n<strong id=\"fig18.2\"><a id=\"fig18.1.1\"><\/a>Figure 18.1.1 image description:<\/strong> Along the coast, the Atlantic Ocean is less than 2,000 meters deep. The depth increases farther from shore. In the middle, the Atlantic Ocean can be anywhere from 4000 to over 6,000 meters deep. A ridge stretches across the center of the Atlantic Ocean in a northeast direction. The ridge causes the ocean depth to decreases to less than 2,000 meters. <a href=\"#figure18.1.1\">[Return to Figure 18.1.1]<\/a>\r\n\r\n<strong id=\"fig18.4\"><a id=\"fig18.1.3\"><\/a>Figure 18.1.3 image description:<\/strong> The continental shelf stretches out about 150 kilometers from the shore and the depth does not increase more than 300 meters. Once the continental slope begins, the depth continues to drop until it reaches 4500 meters at 300 kilometers from the shore. <a href=\"#figure18.1.3\">[Return to Figure 18.1.3]<\/a>\r\n<h3>Media Attributions<\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Figure 18.1.1: \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/topex.ucsd.edu\/marine_topo\/jpg_images\/topo8.jpg\">Seafloor Topography: Topo 8<\/a>\u201d by <a href=\"http:\/\/topex.ucsd.edu\/marine_topo\">NASA\/CNES<\/a>. Public domain.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Figures 18.1.2, 18.1.3, 18.1.4: \u00a9 Steven Earle. CC BY.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Figure 18.1.5: \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/topex.ucsd.edu\/marine_topo\/jpg_images\/topo16.jpg\">Seafloor Topography: Topo 16<\/a>\u201d by <a href=\"http:\/\/topex.ucsd.edu\/marine_topo\">NASA\/CNES<\/a>. Public domain.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<!-- pb_fixme -->","rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<h1 class=\"entry-title\">18.1 The Topography of the Sea Floor<\/h1>\n<p>We examined the topography of the sea floor from the perspective of plate tectonics in Chapter 10, but here we are going to take another look at bathymetry from an oceanographic perspective. The topography of the northern Atlantic Ocean is shown in Figure 18.1.1. The important features are the extensive\u00a0<strong><button class=\"glossary-term\" aria-describedby=\"807-1936\">continental shelves<\/button><\/strong> less than 250 meters deep (pink); the vast deep\u00a0<strong><button class=\"glossary-term\" aria-describedby=\"807-1934\">ocean plains<\/button><\/strong> between 4,000 and 6,000 meters deep (light and dark blue); the mid-Atlantic ridge, in many areas shallower than 3,000 meters; and the deep ocean trench north of Puerto Rico (8,600 meters).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-754\" src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/physicalgeology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2021\/09\/The-topography-of-the-Atlantic-Ocean-sea-floor.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"900\" height=\"538\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/accphysicalgeology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2021\/09\/The-topography-of-the-Atlantic-Ocean-sea-floor.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/accphysicalgeology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2021\/09\/The-topography-of-the-Atlantic-Ocean-sea-floor-300x180.jpg 300w, https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/accphysicalgeology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2021\/09\/The-topography-of-the-Atlantic-Ocean-sea-floor-768x460.jpg 768w, https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/accphysicalgeology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2021\/09\/The-topography-of-the-Atlantic-Ocean-sea-floor-65x39.jpg 65w, https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/accphysicalgeology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2021\/09\/The-topography-of-the-Atlantic-Ocean-sea-floor-225x135.jpg 225w, https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/accphysicalgeology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2021\/09\/The-topography-of-the-Atlantic-Ocean-sea-floor-350x210.jpg 350w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/p>\n<div id=\"caption-attachment-805\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Figure 18.1.1 The topography of the Atlantic Ocean sea floor between 0\u00b0 and 50\u00b0 north. Red and yellow colors indicate less than a 2,000 meter depth; green less than 3,000 meters; blue 4,000 meters to 5,000 meters; and purple greater than 6,000 meters. <a href=\"#fig18.1.1\">[Image Description]<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>A topographic profile of the Pacific Ocean floor between Japan and British Columbia is shown in Figure 18.1.2. Be very careful when interpreting this diagram (and others like it), because in order to show the various features clearly the vertical axis is exaggerated, in this case by about 200 times. The floor of the Pacific, like those of the other oceans, is actually very flat, even in areas with seamounts or deep trenches. The vast sediment-covered <strong><span class=\"glossary-term\">abyssal plains<\/span><\/strong> of the oceans are much flatter than any similar-sized areas on the continents.<\/p>\n<p>The main features of the Pacific Ocean floor are the continental slopes, which drop from about 200 meters to several thousand meters over a distance of a few hundred kilometers, the abyssal plains\u2014exceedingly flat and from 4,000 meters to 6,000 meters deep, volcanic seamounts and islands, and trenches at subduction zones that are up to 11,000 meters deep.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"width: 900px\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-755\" src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/physicalgeology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/01\/generalized-topography-of-the-Pacific-Ocean-sea-floor.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"900\" height=\"317\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/accphysicalgeology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/01\/generalized-topography-of-the-Pacific-Ocean-sea-floor.png 1024w, https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/accphysicalgeology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/01\/generalized-topography-of-the-Pacific-Ocean-sea-floor-300x106.png 300w, https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/accphysicalgeology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/01\/generalized-topography-of-the-Pacific-Ocean-sea-floor-768x271.png 768w, https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/accphysicalgeology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/01\/generalized-topography-of-the-Pacific-Ocean-sea-floor-65x23.png 65w, https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/accphysicalgeology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/01\/generalized-topography-of-the-Pacific-Ocean-sea-floor-225x79.png 225w, https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/accphysicalgeology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/01\/generalized-topography-of-the-Pacific-Ocean-sea-floor-350x123.png 350w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-caption-text\">Figure 18.1.2 The generalized topography of the Pacific Ocean sea floor between Japan and British Columbia. The vertical exaggeration is approximately 200 times.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The ocean floor is almost entirely underlain by mafic oceanic crust (mostly basalt and gabbro, as described in more detail below), while the continental slopes are underlain by felsic continental crust (mostly granitic and sedimentary rocks). And, as you\u2019ll remember from Chapter 10, the heavier oceanic crust floats lower on the mantle than continental crust does, and that\u2019s why oceans are oceans.<\/p>\n<p>The continental shelf and slope offshore from Nova Scotia is shown in Figure 18.1.3. In this passive-margin area (no subduction zone), the shelf is over 150 kilometers wide. On the Pacific coast of Canada, the shelf is less than half as wide. Continental shelves are typically less than 200 meters in depth; 200 meters is also the limit of the <strong><span class=\"glossary-term\">photic zone<\/span><\/strong>, the maximum depth to which sufficient light penetrates to allow photosynthesis to take place. As a result of that photosynthesis, the photic zone is oxygenated, and therefore suitable for animal life. Approximately 90% of marine life is restricted to the photic zone. The photic zone is also known as the <strong><span class=\"glossary-term\">epipelagic zone<\/span><\/strong>. The <strong><span class=\"glossary-term\">mesopelagic zone<\/span><\/strong> extends from 200 meters to 1,000 meters, the <strong><span class=\"glossary-term\">bathypelagic zone<\/span><\/strong> from 1,000 meters to 4,000 meters, and <strong><span class=\"glossary-term\">abyssalpelagic zone<\/span><\/strong> is deeper than 4,000 meters.\u00a0 (<strong><span class=\"glossary-term\">Pelagic<\/span><\/strong> refers to the open ocean, and thus excludes areas that are near to the shores or the ocean floor.)<\/p>\n<p>Although the temperature of the ocean surface varies widely\u2014from a few degrees either side of freezing in polar regions to over 25\u00b0C in the tropics\u2014in most parts of the ocean, the water temperature is around 10\u00b0C at 1,000 meters depth and about 4\u00b0C from 2,000 meters depth all the way to the bottom.<a id=\"figure18.1.3\"><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"width: 1123px\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-756\" src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/physicalgeology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/01\/Atlantic-Ocean-floor-within-300-km-of-Nova-Scotia.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1123\" height=\"509\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/accphysicalgeology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/01\/Atlantic-Ocean-floor-within-300-km-of-Nova-Scotia.png 1024w, https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/accphysicalgeology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/01\/Atlantic-Ocean-floor-within-300-km-of-Nova-Scotia-300x136.png 300w, https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/accphysicalgeology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/01\/Atlantic-Ocean-floor-within-300-km-of-Nova-Scotia-768x348.png 768w, https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/accphysicalgeology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/01\/Atlantic-Ocean-floor-within-300-km-of-Nova-Scotia-65x29.png 65w, https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/accphysicalgeology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/01\/Atlantic-Ocean-floor-within-300-km-of-Nova-Scotia-225x102.png 225w, https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/accphysicalgeology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/01\/Atlantic-Ocean-floor-within-300-km-of-Nova-Scotia-350x159.png 350w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1123px) 100vw, 1123px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-caption-text\">Figure 18.1.3 The generalized topography of the Atlantic Ocean floor within 300 kilometers of the North American East Coast. The vertical exaggeration is approximately 25 times. The panel at the bottom shows the same profile without vertical exaggeration. <a href=\"#fig18.1.3\">[Image Description]<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"width: 600px\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-757\" src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/physicalgeology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/01\/Pacific-Ocean-floor-in-the-area-of-the-Marianas-Trench.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"381\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/accphysicalgeology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/01\/Pacific-Ocean-floor-in-the-area-of-the-Marianas-Trench.png 845w, https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/accphysicalgeology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/01\/Pacific-Ocean-floor-in-the-area-of-the-Marianas-Trench-300x191.png 300w, https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/accphysicalgeology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/01\/Pacific-Ocean-floor-in-the-area-of-the-Marianas-Trench-768x488.png 768w, https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/accphysicalgeology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/01\/Pacific-Ocean-floor-in-the-area-of-the-Marianas-Trench-65x41.png 65w, https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/accphysicalgeology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/01\/Pacific-Ocean-floor-in-the-area-of-the-Marianas-Trench-225x143.png 225w, https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/accphysicalgeology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/01\/Pacific-Ocean-floor-in-the-area-of-the-Marianas-Trench-350x222.png 350w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-caption-text\">Figure 18.1.4 The generalized topography of the Pacific Ocean floor in the area of the Marianas Trench, near Guam. The dashed grey line represents the subduction of the Pacific Plate (to the right) beneath the Philippine Plate (to the left).<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The deepest parts of the ocean are within the subduction trenches, and the deepest of these is the Marianas Trench in the southwestern Pacific (near Guam) at 11,000 meters (Figure 18.1.4). There are other trenches in the southwestern Pacific that are over 10,000 meters deep; the Japan Trench is over 9,000 meters deep; and the Puerto Rico and Chile-Peru Trenches are over 8,000 meters deep. Trenches that are relatively shallow tend to be that way because they have significant sediment infill. There is no recognizable trench along the subduction zone of the Juan de Fuca Plate because it has been filled with sediments from the Fraser and Columbia Rivers (or their ancient equivalents).<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox textbox--exercises\">\n<div class=\"textbox__header\">\n<p>This map shows a part of the sea floor.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Identify the following features.\n<ol>\n<li>a continental shelf<\/li>\n<li>a continental slope<\/li>\n<li>a spreading ridge<\/li>\n<li>a subduction zone with a deep trench<\/li>\n<li>an abyssal plain<\/li>\n<li>some isolated seamounts<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<li>Where is this? (North is up.)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h3>Image Descriptions<\/h3>\n<p><strong id=\"fig18.2\"><a id=\"fig18.1.1\"><\/a>Figure 18.1.1 image description:<\/strong> Along the coast, the Atlantic Ocean is less than 2,000 meters deep. The depth increases farther from shore. In the middle, the Atlantic Ocean can be anywhere from 4000 to over 6,000 meters deep. A ridge stretches across the center of the Atlantic Ocean in a northeast direction. The ridge causes the ocean depth to decreases to less than 2,000 meters. <a href=\"#figure18.1.1\">[Return to Figure 18.1.1]<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong id=\"fig18.4\"><a id=\"fig18.1.3\"><\/a>Figure 18.1.3 image description:<\/strong> The continental shelf stretches out about 150 kilometers from the shore and the depth does not increase more than 300 meters. Once the continental slope begins, the depth continues to drop until it reaches 4500 meters at 300 kilometers from the shore. <a href=\"#figure18.1.3\">[Return to Figure 18.1.3]<\/a><\/p>\n<h3>Media Attributions<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Figure 18.1.1: \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/topex.ucsd.edu\/marine_topo\/jpg_images\/topo8.jpg\">Seafloor Topography: Topo 8<\/a>\u201d by <a href=\"http:\/\/topex.ucsd.edu\/marine_topo\">NASA\/CNES<\/a>. Public domain.<\/li>\n<li>Figures 18.1.2, 18.1.3, 18.1.4: \u00a9 Steven Earle. CC BY.<\/li>\n<li>Figure 18.1.5: \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/topex.ucsd.edu\/marine_topo\/jpg_images\/topo16.jpg\">Seafloor Topography: Topo 16<\/a>\u201d by <a href=\"http:\/\/topex.ucsd.edu\/marine_topo\">NASA\/CNES<\/a>. Public domain.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- pb_fixme --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"menu_order":127,"template":"","meta":{"pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-758","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"part":17,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/accphysicalgeology\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/758","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/accphysicalgeology\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/accphysicalgeology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/accphysicalgeology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/32"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/accphysicalgeology\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/758\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1250,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/accphysicalgeology\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/758\/revisions\/1250"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/accphysicalgeology\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/17"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/accphysicalgeology\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/758\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/accphysicalgeology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=758"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/accphysicalgeology\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=758"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/accphysicalgeology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=758"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/accphysicalgeology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=758"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}