A deep, V-shaped valley running roughly perpendicular to the shoreline and cutting across the edge of the continental shelf and slope.

A deep, V-shaped valley running roughly perpendicular to the shoreline and cutting across the edge of the continental shelf and slope.

• A. Guyot
• B. Seamount
• C. Submarine Canyon
• D. Island Arc

Answer: (C)

A submarine canyon is formed by turbidity currents—dense, sediment-laden flows driven downhill by gravity. These currents erode the seabed as they move from the edge of the continental shelf down the slope, creating a deep, V-shaped valley that cuts roughly perpendicular to the shoreline and across the shelf break. This process gives it a sharp, canyon-like cross-section that reaches from the shelf into the deep ocean. This description doesn’t fit seamounts or guyots, which are volcanic rises on the seafloor rather than valleys, nor an island arc, which is a chain of volcanic islands formed at a subduction boundary.

A submarine canyon is formed by turbidity currents—dense, sediment-laden flows driven downhill by gravity. These currents erode the seabed as they move from the edge of the continental shelf down the slope, creating a deep, V-shaped valley that cuts roughly perpendicular to the shoreline and across the shelf break. This process gives it a sharp, canyon-like cross-section that reaches from the shelf into the deep ocean.

This description doesn’t fit seamounts or guyots, which are volcanic rises on the seafloor rather than valleys, nor an island arc, which is a chain of volcanic islands formed at a subduction boundary.