It is known as continental slope to the underwater area that is between 200 and 4000 meters below sea level, that is, from the continental shelf. It is also known as the "railing area" or simply "zócalo."
It is basically characterized by having a great relief, so you can find high mountains, deep valleys and huge underwater canyons. In addition to this, it is also common for large landslides to occur in this type of area, since the origin of this type of slopes must be sought precisely in the accumulation, which is successively generated, of sediments that can even come from other nearby continents. All this makes the living conditions in them really arduous, so the biomass is considerably reduced.
Fundamentally, its morphology is based on a sloping plain, which frays into steps in which each floor borders what has been identified as a “normal” fault. In general, these floors are not covered by any type of sediment, with depressions such as submarine canyons being common.
The foot of the slope is formed from the accumulation of fallen sediments from the continental shelf. In short, it is part of the underwater morphology. Valleys, mountains and large underwater canyons usually appear in this type of relief.
Due to its great depth, sunlight does not reach the continental slopes and the water temperature is very low. In this extreme environment, you can find giant craters that emit gases like methane hydrate. On the oceanic slopes, this gas remains stable, but if the temperature changes, this gas would escape from the depth of the aquatic environment and this would cause damage to the environment or serious accidents on ships.
In addition to the continental slopes, in the depths of the sea and the oceans there are other types of relief. Therefore, the abyssal plains are flat surfaces of great extensions and that are covered with sediments. Some abyssal plains have some breaks in the terrain, better known as guyots (guyots are seamounts that have a conical shape and a flat top). On the other hand, some abyssal plains are also interrupted by the so-called oceanic ridges, which are marine ridges that extend along the oceans.
