Oceanography (2+1)

Continental slope

Seaward side  of the continental shelf  is the steeper continental slope, which is inclined at an average angle of 4 degrees.Its base lies at water depths of 2 to 3 kilometers. As with the continental shelf, an enormous pile of mud and sand eroded from the continental slope lies underneath the continental slope. Huge submarine canyons are cut into the sedimentary deposits of many continental slopes. These canyons have steep sides, V-shaped profiles, and topographic relief of up to 2 kilometers, making them one of the most deeply incised landforms anywhere on the earth. Submarine canyons serve as passageways for the transfer of sediment from the continental margins to the deep-ocean basins by a variety of transport processes .