Continental rift
continental rift
A long, narrow fissure in the Earth marking a zone of the lithosphere that has become thinner due to extensional forces associated with plate tectonics. Continental rifts are thousands of kilometers in length and hundreds of kilometers in width, and they are associated with normal faults and with grabens.
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- Continental-rise
noun, Physical Geography. 1. the gently sloping transition between the continental slope and the deep ocean floor, usually characterized by coalescence of submarine alluvial fans. continental rise A wide, gentle incline from an ocean bottom to a continental slope. A continental rise consists mainly of silts, muds, and sand, and can be several hundreds of […]
- Continental-seating
noun 1. a theater seating plan in which there is no center aisle, but with wide spacing between each row of seats to allow for ease of passage.
- Continental-shelf
noun, Physical Geography. 1. the part of a continent that is submerged in relatively shallow sea. noun 1. the sea bed surrounding a continent at depths of up to about 200 metres (100 fathoms), at the edge of which the continental slope drops steeply to the ocean floor continental shelf The part of the edge […]
- Continental-system
noun 1. . noun 1. the Continental System, Napoleon’s plan in 1806 to blockade Britain by excluding her ships from ports on the mainland of Europe
- Continental-slope
noun, Physical Geography. 1. a steep slope separating a continental shelf and a deep ocean basin. continental slope The sloping region between a continental shelf and a continental rise. A continental slope is typically about 20 km (12.4 mi) wide, consists of muds and silts, and is often crosscut by submarine canyons.