Relief Of The Ocean | Importance Of Continental Shelf

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Hi, Welcome to this blog on the Relief Of The Ocean.

Table Of Contents

At the end of this article, you will learn the following:

  1. Continental Shelf
  2. Economic importance of Continental Shelf to man.
  3. Continental slope
  4. Ocean ridge
  5. Deep sea plain
  6. Ocean deep

Relief Of The Ocean

The Ocean floor is made up of five more relief features which are:

1. Continental shelf

  • It is a shallow water zone surrounding the continent.
  • It is a continuation into the sea of the coastal plain.
  • It forms a gentle sloping flat form that extends from the sea-level.
  • It is an area of shallow water.
  • It is less than 250m deep.
  • It is rich in planktons.
  • It contains minerals
  • Its width varies from 32 – 160 km.
  • Sunlight is able to penetrate.
  • It is of varying width which contain shallow water.
  • It forms 7% of the total area of the ocean.
  • It is found in Labrador.

Economic Importance of Continental shelf to Man

  1. It is a good fishing ground: Their shallowness enables sunlight to penetrate through the water. This aid the growth of fish food called planktons hence, it serves as a good fishing ground. Visit my blog on Fish Farming here.
  2. Development of natural harbour: Areas which continental shelf offshore experience high tide which favors port development. Examples of seaport are Southampton, London, Hamburg, Hong Kong and Singapore.
  3. Facilitate exploration of petroleum: Since the continental shelf is shallow, it aids exploration of crude oil.
  4. They are tourist centers: Owing to its shallowness and peculiar position, they therefore facilitate tourists activities.
  5. Sites for sporting activities: Continental shelf also provide areas or sites for sporting activities.
  6. Recreational activities: It provides areas where people can relax, especially during holidays and festive periods.
  7. Rich in Planktons: Continental shelf contains planktons which are rich in fish foods.

2. Continental Slope

  • The continental slope links the continental shelf with the deep/sea plain or Ocean floor.
  • It is narrow and steep.
  • It drops in depth to about 400 metres.

3. Ocean Ridge

  • Ocean ridge takes the form of either a ridge or a plateau.
  • It rises up from the steep sea plain.
  • Some rise above the surface to form oceanic Islands.

4. Deep Sea Plain

  • This is a wide, gently undulating or fairly level surface.
  • It has a depth of between 2,000m and 3,000m.
  • It occupies 2/3 of the Ocean floor.
  • It is also called the abyssal plain.

5. Ocean Deep

  • These are long, narrow trenches that plung as great ocean deeps.
  • They are located close to the continent and are of about 9,000m in depth, e.g, Mariana Trench.
  • Materials, mainly deposited on the Ocean floor includes: Oozes, Clay, Muds.

Revision Questions

  1. (a) Briefly describe the relief of the oceans. (b) state the importance of Continental Shelf to man.
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