Monterey Canyon
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Monterey Canyon is a submarine canyon in Monterey Bay, California often studied by the scientists at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute and the Moss Landing Marine Laboratories.
Monterey Canyon begins at Moss Landing, California (long. = -121.79; lat. = 36.80), the middle of the Monterey Bay, and extends approximately 95 miles into the Pacific Ocean (to about long. = -122.62; lat. = 36.4) where it terminates at the Monterey Fan, reaching depths of up to 3,600 m (11,800 ft) below surface level at its deepest. Though the canyon's bottom is about 2 miles below the surface, the actual canyon itself is only about 1 mile deep, making it of comparable depth to the Grand Canyon. It is a part of the greater Monterey Bay Canyon System, which consists of Monterey, Soquel, and Carmel Canyons. The canyon's depth and nutrient availability (due to the regular influx of nutrient-rich sediment) provide a habitat suitable for many marine life forms.
[edit] External references
- Moss Landing Marine Laboratories website
- Detailed map of the canyon's bathymetry, from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
