There are two types of continental margins: active and passive margins. Active margins are typically associated with lithospheric plate boundaries. These active margins can be convergent or transform margins, and are also places of high tectonic activity, including volcanoes and earthquakes.

Continental margins in the Atlantic Ocean consists of thick layers of undisturbed sediment and there is little volcanic or earthquake activity. In Pacific Ocean margins, oceanic crust is being pushed beneath continental crust, leaving narrow margins with volcanic and earthquake activity. What are trenches?

The West Coast of the United States is an active margin that is characterized by rugged coastlines with narrow beaches and steep sea cliffs. Passive continental margins occur where the transition between oceanic and continental crust which is not an active plate boundary.

The continental margins of the Pacific Ocean include the continental shelf, continental slope, and continental rise, which extend from the surrounding…

Most Pacific slopes are steeper than Atlantic slopes. Gradients are flattest in the Indian Ocean. About one-half of all continental slopes descend into deep-sea trenches or shallower depressions, and most of the remainder terminate in fans of marine sediment or in continental rises.

Which of the following correctly describes the Atlantic and Pacific continental margins? The Atlantic is a passive margin, and the Pacific is an active margin.

The Atlantic and Gulf coasts are passive continental margins because they lack the high levels of earthquake, volcanic, and mountain-building forces characteristic of active continental margins (such as the current U. S. West Coast) that are right at plate boundaries.

The continental margins consist of three portions: (1) the continental shelf which has shallow water depths rarely deeper than 650 ft) and extends seaward from the shoreline to distances ranging from 12.3 miles to 249 miles, (2) the continental slope where the bottom drops off to depths of up to 3.1 miles, and (3) the …

Which of the following is NOT part of the continental margin? coral reefs surrounding a lagoon. You just studied 65 terms!

Which of the following accurately compares the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and East Pacific Rise? The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is spreading at a much slower rate than the East Pacific Rise.

An active continental margin is found on the leading edge of the continent where it is crashing into an oceanic plate. An excellent example is the west coast of South America. Active margins are commonly the sites of tectonic activity: earthquakes, volcanoes, mountain building, and the formation of new igneous rock.

abyssal plain
The abyssal plain includes most of the ocean floor, and is the flattest region on Earth.

Active margins can be convergent or transform margins. A passive margin is the transition between oceanic and continental lithosphere that is not an active plate margin. A passive margin forms by sedimentation above an ancient rift, now marked by transitional lithosphere.

The continental margins are the zone of the ocean floor that separate the thin oceanic crust from thick continental crust. Together, the continental shelf, continental slope, and continental rise are called the continental margin.

Together, the continental shelf, continental slope, and continental rise are called the continental margin. Continental margins constitute about 28% of the oceanic area. An active continental margin is found on the leading edge of the continent where subduction occurs.

The Atlantic and Gulf coasts are passive continental margins because they lack the high levels of earthquake, volcanic, and mountain-building forces characteristic of active continental margins (such as the current U. S. West Coast) that are right at plate boundaries.