Question

Explain various relief features of the ocean.

Answer 1

Instructions: It is a straight forward question.

Solution: The ocean consists of many relief features such as continental shelf, continental slope, deep-sea plains, and trenches.

Continental shelf: The continental shelf is an extension of land near the coast that is submerged under the ocean. It occupies 7.6% of the ocean area. Resources such as fish, crude oil, etc. are found in this region.

Continental slope: Moving forward into the depths of the ocean beyond the continental shelf, there is a very gentle slope that goes very deep underwater. This is called the continental slope. So, the continental slope is the zone of steep slope extending from the continental shelf to the deep-sea plains. It comprises 15% of the ocean. Submarine canyons are observed in the region.

Deep-sea plain: Moving forward into the depths of the ocean beyond the continental slope, there are the deep-sea plains. They are the gently sloping areas of the ocean basin. They are the Flattest and soothest region in the world. They cover 76.2% of the ocean basin.

Trenches: Ocean trenches are long, narrow depressions on the seafloor. These chasms are the deepest parts of the ocean and some of the deepest natural spots on Earth. In particular, ocean trenches are a feature of convergent plate boundaries, where two or more tectonic plates meet. At many convergent plate boundaries, dense lithosphere melts or slides beneath less-dense lithosphere in a process called subduction, creating a trench.