What are submarine canyons and how big can they get?
The ocean floor has canyons that dwarf the Grand Canyon - carved by underwater avalanches traveling at highway speeds.
The answer
Submarine canyons are steep-walled valleys cut into the continental shelf and slope, often dwarfing their terrestrial counterparts. The Zhemchug Canyon in the Bering Sea is the world's largest, with a volume of 5,800 cubic kilometers - roughly 26 times the Grand Canyon's volume. The Monterey Canyon off California extends 153 kilometers and reaches depths of 3,600 meters. These canyons are carved and maintained by turbidity currents - underwater avalanches of sediment-laden water that can travel at over 70 kilometers per hour and snap submarine cables. Many canyons originated as river valleys during ice ages when sea levels were 120 meters lower. They serve as critical habitats, funneling nutrient-rich sediments from shallow to deep water.
Source: NOAA
- submarine canyons
- ocean geology
- underwater landscapes
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