Ocean Vocabulary Words

The rise and fall in sea level

Where the ocean water gradually gets deeper; extends from edge of shelf toward ocean floor.

End of continent that extends beneath the ocean; flat area we call the "beach"

Plants and animals living on the seafloor

Long, narrow depression in ocean floor with steep sides

Animals in the ocean that actively swim (instead of drift)...

Marine organisms that drift with the currents...

an underwater mountain chain; where now ocean floor is formed...

The lowest point on a wave...

The distance between a wave's crest & the crest of the wave adjacent to it

Collapsing ocean wave that forms in shallow water and breaks onto the shore

The ability of a plant or animal to produce their own light

Area where the mouth of a river opens into the ocean

The highest part of a wave...

rigig, ocean margin habitat built by corals

Process of using energy from the Sun to produce food

A rhythmic movement of energy through water

Flat seafloor areas 4,000 to 6,000 meters below the ocean surface.

Food making process of using sulfur or nitrogen compounds rather than light energy from the Sun