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5.2: Continental Margins

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    Continental Margins

    Continental margins border continental landmasses are submarine geographic regions located between the shoreline and deep ocean. They are the submerged edge of continents. Continental margins include subregions and submarine geographic features:

    • continental shelf
    • continental slope
    • continental rise
    • submarine canyons

    The width of continental margins varies: "passive margins" tend to be wider (like the East Coast) compared with " active margins" which tend to narrower (like the West Coast).

    Continental margins are influenced by "continental processes" including tectonic uplift and subsidence, and erosion and deposition.

    Monterey Canyon and Big Sir region
    Figure 5.3. Bathymetric view of Monterey Canyon and other seafloor features along the central coast of California

    This page titled 5.2: Continental Margins is shared under a not declared license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Miracosta Oceanography 101 (Miracosta)) via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform; a detailed edit history is available upon request.

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