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DAILY
CLASS NOTES
GEOGRAPHY

Lecture – 44
Oceanography :
Ocean Relief Features
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Oceanography: Ocean Relief Features

Ocean Relief:
❖ Ocean relief is largely due to tectonic, volcanic, erosional, and depositional processes and their
interactions.
❖ Ocean relief features are divided into major and minor relief features.

Classification of Major Relief Features:

The Major Relief features can be
categorized into:
❖ Continental Margins:
➢ Continental Shelf
➢ Continental Slope
➢ Continental Rise
❖ Deep Sea Plains
❖ Ocean Deeps
❖ Mid-Ocean Ridges

Classification of Minor Relief Features:

The Minor Relief features can be
categorized into:
❖ Abysmal Hills
❖ Sea Guyots
❖ Trenches
❖ Submarine Canyons
❖ Banksa and Shoals

Four Major Types of Relief Features:

Continental Shelf:
❖ Continental Shelf is the gently sloping seaward extension of the continental plate.
❖ These extended margins of each continent are occupied by relatively shallow seas and gulfs.
❖ Continental Shelf of all oceans together cover 7.5-8.5% of the
total area of the oceans.
❖ Gradient of the continental shelf is 1°-3° (Degrees). (Chandipur
coast in Odisha has a flatbed)
❖ The shelf typically ends at a very steep slope, called the shelf
break.
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❖ The continental shelves are covered with variable thicknesses of sediments brought down by rivers, glaciers,
etc.
❖ Massive sedimentary deposits received over a long time by the continental shelves, become the source of
fossil fuels [Example - Petroleum].
❖ Examples: Continental Shelf of South-East Asia, Great Banks around Newfoundland, Submerged region
between Australia and New Guinea.
❖ In this region, the best fishing grounds, ports, etc. are available.
❖ The shelf is formed mainly due to:
➢ Faulting and Submergence: Example: Western Indian coast submerged (100 km width) due to faulting
and the Eastern coast is emergent coast due to endogenetic forces.
➢ Glaciation and Warming Age: Glaciation led to both erosion and deposition. The rise and fall in sea
level due to the melting of glaciation helped in the formation of the continental shelf.
➢ Fluvial Deposition by the Rivers: The Fluvial deposits carry silt, sand, etc. which lead to the formation
of the continental shelves. Example: Indus river, Ganga River, etc.
➢ Landforms: Due to erosion and deposition by the waves, various landforms have formed which also
helps in the formation of the continental shelves.
❖ Types of Shelves (Based on Sediments): There are various types of shelves based on sediments of
terrestrial origin:
➢ Glaciated shelf (Surrounding Greenland),
➢ Coral reef shelf (Queensland, Australia),
➢ Shelf of a large river (Around Nile Delta),
➢ Shelf with dendritic valleys (At the Mouth of Hudson River)
➢ Shelf along young mountain ranges (Shelves between Hawaiian Islands).
❖ Width of the Continental Shelf:
➢ The average width of continental shelves is
between 70–75 km.
➢ Most Wide in the Arctic Sea, Adriatic Sea and
China Sea.
➢ Medium - Found in North America (Approx 96
Kms).
➢ Narrow -The shelves are almost absent or very
narrow where Mountains are parallel and close to
the coast. Example - In South America along
Andes -16 kms and West Coast of Sumatra.
➢ The Siberian shelf in the Arctic Ocean is the largest in the world which stretches to 1,500 km in width.
➢ In India - On the West Coast -100 kms, while on the East Coast -50 kms.
❖ Depth of Continental Shelf:
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➢ The depth of the shelves is variable.

➢ Average-600 feet.
➢ It may be as shallow as 30 meters in some areas while in others it is as deep as 600 meters.
❖ Importance of Continent Shelves:
➢ Marine food comes almost entirely from continental shelves. Example: Crabs, Prawns, Lobsters,
Fishes, Krills etc.
➢ They provide the richest fishing grounds. These are the most productive regions (due to the
penetration of sunlight and the development of plankton).
➢ They are potential sites for economic minerals. Example: Bombay highs, Cambay coast, etc.
➢ Polymetallic Nodules (manganese nodules; concentric layers of iron and manganese hydroxides, etc)
are good sources of various mineral ores like manganese, iron copper, gold, etc.
➢ These make very good ports and harbors because of their low depth.
➢ Placer deposits such as Sulphur are found here.

Continental Slope:
❖ The continental slope connects the continental shelf and the
deep sea plains.
❖ It begins where the bottom of the continental shelf sharply
drops off into a steep slope.
❖ It covers 8.5 % of the Total Surface Area.
❖ The gradient of the slope region varies between 5°-60° (20°-
50° in the Northern Hemisphere and 70° in the Southern
Hemisphere)
❖ The depth of the slope region varies between 200 and 3,000
m.
❖ The seaward edge of the continental slope loses gradient at
this depth and gives rise to continental rise.
❖ Canyons and trenches are observed in this region. Canyons start from the continental shelf and go up to the
continental slope and rise.
❖ Reasons for the formation of continental slope:
➢ Deposition: Fluvial and marine deposits by the rivers.
➢ Faulting or Subsidence
➢ Erosion: Submarine canyons are an example of both erosion and deposition in the oceans.

Continental Rise:
❖ The continental slope gradually loses its steepness with depth.
❖ It is a buffer or joint between the continental slope and deep-sea plains.
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❖ When the slope reaches a level between 0.5°

and 1°, it is referred to as the continental rise.
❖ With increasing depth, the rise becomes virtually
flat and merges with the abyssal plain.

Deep Sea Plain or Abyssal Plain:

❖ Deep sea plains are gently sloping areas of the
ocean basins.
❖ These are the flattest and smoothest regions of
the world having Pelagic Deposits of Plants,
Animals and Volcanic Deposits.
❖ It covers nearly 75.5% of the Total Surface Area
of the ocean floor.
❖ The depths vary between 3,000 and 6,000m.
❖ These plains are covered with fine-grained
sediments like clay and silt.
❖ These are generally featureless but Sea Mountain,
Ridges, and Guyots are significant features.
❖ These are formed from the remains of dead marine
animals, remains of dead plants, and volcanic
deposits such as Mid-Atlantic Ridge.

Oceanic Deeps or Trenches:

❖ The trenches are relatively steep-sided, narrow basins
depressions.
❖ These areas are the deepest parts of the oceans.
❖ They are of tectonic origin and are formed during Ocean–
Ocean Convergence and Ocean-Continent Convergence.
❖ They are some 3-5 km deeper than the surrounding ocean
floor.
❖ The trenches lie along the fringes of the deep-sea plain at the bases
of continental slopes and along island arcs.
❖ The trenches run parallel to the bordering fold mountains or the
island chains.
❖ The trenches are very common in the Pacific Ocean and form
an almost continuous ring along the western and eastern margins
of the Pacific.
❖ The Mariana Trench off the Guam Islands in the Pacific Ocean
is the deepest trench with a depth of more than 11 kilometers.
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❖ They are associated with active volcanoes and

strong earthquakes (Deep Focus Earthquakes like
in Japan).
➢ This makes them very significant in the
study of plate movements.
❖ As many as 57 deeps have been explored so far;
of which 32 are in the Pacific Ocean; 19 in the
Atlantic Ocean and 6 in the Indian Ocean.

Mid-Oceanic Ridges or Submarine Ridges:

❖ A mid-oceanic ridge is composed of two chains of mountains separated by a large depression.
[Divergent Boundary]
❖ The mountain ranges can have peaks as high as 2,500 m and some even reach above the ocean’s surface.
❖ Running for a total length of 75,000 km,
these ridges form the largest mountain
systems on earth.
❖ These ridges are either broad, like a
plateau, gently sloping, or in the form of
steep-sided narrow mountains.
❖ These oceanic ridge systems are of
tectonic origin and provide evidence in
support of the theory of Plate Tectonics.
❖ Iceland, a part of the mid-Atlantic Ridge, is an example.

Minor Relief Features:

Abyssal Hills:
❖ Seamount: It is a mountain with pointed summits, rising from the seafloor that does not reach the surface of
the ocean.
➢ Seamounts are volcanic in origin.
➢ These can be 3,000-4,500 m tall and length greater than 65000 Kms.
➢ The Emperor seamount, an extension of the Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific Ocean, is an example.
❖ Guyots: The flat-topped mountains (seamounts) are known as guyots. They show evidence of gradual
subsidence through stages to become flat-topped submerged mountains.
❖ Seamounts and guyots are very common in the Pacific Ocean where they are estimated to number around
10,000.

Submarine Canyons:
❖ They are long, narrow and deep valleys found in the continental shelf, slope and rise.
❖ It has a length of 15-16 Km and a depth of 600-900 meters.
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❖ It is a deep gorge, especially one with a river flowing

through it. The Hudson Canyon is the best-known
submarine canyon in the world.
❖ There are various theories on the formation of submarine
canyons:
➢ Endogenetic forces (Diastrophic Theory): Tensile
forces lead to cracks that get enlarged and form
submarine canyons.
➢ Erosion and Submergence (Subaerial Erosion
Theory): Erosion by the rivers and submergence due to
faulting. Example: Indus Canyon, Godavari Canyon etc.
❖ Gorge: A steep, narrow valley or ravine.
❖ Valley: A low area between hills or mountains or depression, typically with a river or stream flowing
through it.
❖ These are deep valleys, some comparable to the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River.
❖ They are sometimes found cutting across the continental shelves and slopes, often extending from the
mouths of large rivers.

Ocean Bank:
❖ These marine features are formed as a result of the erosional and
depositional activity.
❖ A bank is a flat-topped elevation located in the continental
margins.
❖ The depth of water here is shallow but enough for navigational
purposes.
❖ The Dogger Bank in the North Sea and Grand Bank in the
north-western Atlantic, Newfoundland are famous examples.
❖ The Ocean banks are sites of some of the most productive fisheries
in the world.
❖ These are the most productive fishing grounds.

Shoal:
❖ A shoal is a detached elevation with shallow depths.
❖ Since they project out of the water with moderate heights, they
are dangerous for navigation.

Significance of Study of Oceanic Relief:

❖ It is important to understand the marine life of plants and
animals and the effect of geography. Example: Fishes, precious
metals, etc.
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❖ Ocean relief controls the motion of seawater.

❖ It helps in resource exploration for economic development for manufacturing, trade, etc.
❖ The climatic phenomenon is also affected by the oceans (temperature, salinity, etc.) like El Nino, etc. Since
the relief feature affects the characteristics of the oceans, thus, understanding these provides helpful
information to the researchers. Thus, the oceanic movement in the form of currents, in turn, causes many
variations in both oceans and in the atmosphere.
❖ The bottom relief of oceans also influences navigation and fishing.
It is important for the futuristic studies of marine fisheries, temperature, etc.
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