Topography of the World's Oceans

The Oceans: 

Terrain Features of the Ocean Floor The Oceans

Objectives: 

Objectives The student should be familiar with the following terrain features: Ridges Trenches Abyssal Plains Continental slope Continental Shelf The student should also understand the concept of tectonic plate migration.

Topography: 

Topography Topography: Topos or surface features and graph – to draw. Essentially the word means to draw or graph the surface features or terrain features. The ocean floor is not smooth and level. It has features much like the land surface of the Earth.

Features: 

Features

Terrain Features: 

Terrain Features Ridge: Undersea mountain ranges consist of ridges and valleys much like their terrestrial counterparts. Trenches: Trenches form the deepest parts of our oceans. The Mariana Trench in the Pacific, for example, is the deepest part of our oceans. It sounds at more than 32,000 feet or 6.8 miles.

Mid-Ocean Ridge: 

Mid-Ocean Ridge

Abyssal Plains: 

Abyssal Plains Abyssal Plains: Abyssal means deep or under sea. An Abyssal Plain would be a large flat area of the ocean floor without many identifying landmarks or large features. Continental Slope: The sea floor rises as it approaches land. We call the largest divisions of dry land on the Earth’s surface continents. As the sea floor runs toward the shore it first slopes up sharply and then gradually levels out to a more gentle slope. The sharp slope up is called the continental slope.

Abyssal Plains: 

Abyssal Plains

Terrain Features: 

Terrain Features The point where the continental slope begins to level out is called the continental shelf. The feature marks the beginning or edge of the tectonic or continental plate that the continent is sitting on.

Continental Slope: 

Continental Slope

Tectonic Migration: 

Tectonic Migration Tectonic plates are huge rafts of rock floating on a sea of magma. These plates for the foundations for our continents and surface features. Because they float on molten rock, they move. At points where two plates come together, one rides over the top of the other. The friction and resistance at the point where this happens can lead to earthquakes. Subduction is the process of one tectonic plate riding up and over another.

Plate Tectonics: 

Plate Tectonics

Sea Mounts: 

Sea Mounts Simply put, Sea Mounts are places where the ocean floor rises up sharply into a mountain. The sea mount does not reach the ocean’s surface. When and if it does, it becomes an island.

Sea Mounts: 

Sea Mounts