Unit 4 – Oceans Vocabulary
1.
2.
3.
4.
abyssal plain
continental rise
continental shelf
continental
slope
5. intertidal zone
6. midocean ridge
7. Photic Zone
8. seafloor
spreading
9. seamount
10. turbidity
current
11. wave period
abyssal plain - extensive, flat land areas on the deep ocean floor
continental rise - the gradual incline surface at the base of the continental slope that marks the
transition from continent to ocean floor
continental shelf - the gently sloping part of the continental margin that is covered by shallow
ocean water
continental slope - the steep gradient (slope) that leads from the continental margin to the deep
ocean floor
intertidal zone - the environment that lies between the low-tide and high-tide lines –covered by
high tides and exposed by low tides
midocean ridge - a continuous system of underwater mountain ranges that have developed on the
ocean floor where two plates diverge and seafloor spreading occurs
Photic Zone – The upper 200-300 meters of the ocean into which sunlight penetrates.
seafloor spreading - the movement of the ocean floor away from either side of a midocean ridge
seamount - a volcanic mountain on the ocean floor
turbidity current - rapidly moving sand-and-mud filled water moving down the continental slope.
These carry large amounts of sediment down the continental slope.
wave period - the time interval between the passage of successive wave crests at a stationary point