Clipperton Fracture Zone
Encyclopedia
The Clipperton Fracture Zone is a geological submarine fracture zone of the Pacific Ocean
, with a length of some 4500 miles (7240 km). It is one of the five major lineations of the northern Pacific floor, south of the Clarion Fracture Zone, discovered by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography
in 1950. The fracture, an unusually mountainous topographical feature, begins east-northeast of the Line Islands
and ends in the Middle America Trench
off the coast of Central America. It is roughly forms a line on the same latitude as Kiribati
and Clipperton Island
. The fracture can be divided into four distinct parts. The first, lasting from 127–113 degrees W, is a broad, low welt of some 900 miles, with a central trough 10 to 30 miles wide. The second, from 113 to 107 degrees, is a volcano enriched ridge, 60 miles wide and 33 miles long. The third, 107 to 101 degrees W, is a low welt with a central trough 1,200–2,400 feet deep which transects the Albatross Plateau and the fourth, 101-96 degrees W, contains the Tehuantepec Ridge
which extends 400 miles northeast to the continental margin. The Nova-Canton Trough is often seen as an extension of the fracture.
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
, with a length of some 4500 miles (7240 km). It is one of the five major lineations of the northern Pacific floor, south of the Clarion Fracture Zone, discovered by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, California, is one of the oldest and largest centers for ocean and earth science research, graduate training, and public service in the world...
in 1950. The fracture, an unusually mountainous topographical feature, begins east-northeast of the Line Islands
Line Islands
The Line Islands, Teraina Islands or Equatorial Islands, is a chain of eleven atolls and low coral islands in the central Pacific Ocean, south of the Hawaiian Islands, that stretches for 2,350 km in a northwest-southeast direction, making it one of the longest islands chains of the world...
and ends in the Middle America Trench
Middle America Trench
The Middle America Trench is a major subduction zone, an oceanic trench in the eastern Pacific Ocean off the southwestern coast of Middle America, stretching from central Mexico to Costa Rica...
off the coast of Central America. It is roughly forms a line on the same latitude as Kiribati
Kiribati
Kiribati , officially the Republic of Kiribati, is an island nation located in the central tropical Pacific Ocean. The permanent population exceeds just over 100,000 , and is composed of 32 atolls and one raised coral island, dispersed over 3.5 million square kilometres, straddling the...
and Clipperton Island
Clipperton Island
Clipperton Island is an uninhabited nine-square-kilometre coral atoll in the eastern Pacific Ocean, southwest of Mexico and west of Central America, at...
. The fracture can be divided into four distinct parts. The first, lasting from 127–113 degrees W, is a broad, low welt of some 900 miles, with a central trough 10 to 30 miles wide. The second, from 113 to 107 degrees, is a volcano enriched ridge, 60 miles wide and 33 miles long. The third, 107 to 101 degrees W, is a low welt with a central trough 1,200–2,400 feet deep which transects the Albatross Plateau and the fourth, 101-96 degrees W, contains the Tehuantepec Ridge
Tehuantepec Ridge
The Tehuantepec Ridge is a linear undersea ridge located off the west coast of Mexico in the Pacific Ocean. It is the remnant of an old fracture zone, and not a tectonic spreading center ridge . It extends from the eastern end of the Clipperton Fracture Zone northeastward toward Mexico until it...
which extends 400 miles northeast to the continental margin. The Nova-Canton Trough is often seen as an extension of the fracture.