Table of Contents
What is considered the edge of the continent?
A continental shelf is the edge of a continent that lies under the ocean. Continents are the seven main divisions of land on Earth. A continental shelf extends from the coastline of a continent to a drop-off point called the shelf break.
What is the difference between the continental shelf slope and rise?
The shelf usually ends at a point of increasing slope (called the shelf break). The sea floor below the break is the continental slope. Below the slope is the continental rise, which finally merges into the deep ocean floor, the abyssal plain.
What is the continental divide and what does it do?
A continental divide is a boundary that separates a continent’s river systems. Each river system feeds into a distinct ocean, bay, or sea. Generally, precipitation that falls on one side of the divide will flow to one basin and precipitation that falls on the other side will flow to another basin.
Which physical feature makes up the eastern border of Europe?
Europe’s eastern frontier is delineated by the Ural Mountains in Russia, which is the largest country by land area in the continent. The southeast boundary with Asia is not universally defined, but the modern definition is generally the Ural River or, less commonly, the Emba River.
What is the difference between abyssal plains and mid ocean ridges?
2. They form because of variable stress on different parts of the mid-ocean ridge; i.e., different segments of the mid-ocean ridge may spread at different rates. Abyssal plains are the flat ocean floors situated between the mid-ocean ridges and the plate boundaries (edge of the continent).
Where is the Eastern continental divide located?
The divide nearly spans the United States from south of Lake Ontario through the Florida peninsula, and consists of raised terrain including the Appalachian Mountains to the north, the southern Piedmont Plateau and lowland ridges in the Atlantic Coastal Plain to the south.