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Ocean Floor Features
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Continental Shelf | flat area that begins at the shoreline and continues until the ocean floor slopes steeply downward |
| Continental Slope | begins at the edge of the continental shelf and continues down to the flattest part of the ocean floor |
| Abyssal Plain | the broad, flat part of the ocean floor |
| Mid Ocean Ridge | area in which mountains form when tectonic plates pull apart; magma fills in the space to form new ocean crust |
| Trench | |
| a steep, long depression in the deep-sea floor that runs parallel to a chain of volcanic islands or a continental margin | |
| Seamount | a submerged mountain on the ocean floor that is at least 1000 miles high and has a volcano origin |