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At the shoreline
Yes, the continental slope drops downward to the edge of the continent at which point it plummets down for the depth of the continental plate. It depends upon whom you speak with, but a nation's boundary is generally considered 200 miles beyond that.
The world's combined continental slope is about 200,000 mi (300,000 km) long and descends at an average angle of about 4° from the edge of the continental shelf to the beginning of the ocean basins at depths of 330 - 10,500 ft (100 - 3,200 m). The slope is most gradual off stable coasts without major rivers and is steepest off coasts with young mountain ranges and narrow continental shelves. Slopes off mountainous coastlines and narrow shelves commonly have outcrops of rock. The dominant sediments of continental slopes are muds; there are smaller amounts of sediments of sand or gravel.
then the slope is x=y. there is no slope.
Examples of slope: http://www.answers.com/topic/slope http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slope
continental slope
The three parts of the continental margins are the Continental shelf, the Continental slope, and the Continental rise.
I'm text-based and cannot display images. However, you can easily find pictures of the continental slope by doing an image search on the internet. The continental slope is the steep slope that leads from the continental shelf to the deep ocean floor.
Continental slope, Continental Rise, Continental Slope, Seamont, Trench
The continental shelf starts from the shore to a few miles out with less gradient of slope. The continental slope starts after shelf-break with a higher slope gradient, then follows the continental rise and abyssal-plain.
The area you are referring to is known as the continental rise. It is located at the base of the continental slope and consists of a thick accumulation of sediments that have been transported down from the continent. The continental rise marks the transition between the continental margin and the deep ocean basin.
A continental margin is NOT a part of a continent. It is the submerged outer edge of a continent that includes the continental shelf, continental slope, and continental rise.
continental margin
The continental shelf is a flattish area which extends from the shore out into the ocean and is made of continental crust. This ends in a slope (the continental slope) which descends to the abyssal plane, which is made of oceanic crust.
Continental slope
The continental shelf, slope, and rise are all part of the continental margin. The continental shelf is the flat, shallow portion closest to the shore, followed by the continental slope, which descends steeply to the ocean floor. The continental rise is a gentle incline at the base of the continental slope. These features are connected and represent the transition from the continent to the deep ocean basin.
Beyond the continental shelf, the seafloor drops off abruptly into the deep ocean, forming the continental slope. This slope extends down to the abyssal plain, which makes up a large part of the ocean floor. The abyssal plain is characterized by flat, sediment-covered expanses that are home to a variety of deep-sea organisms.