Abstract
Bathymetric charts of the continental slope of the northwestern Gulf of Mexico reveal the presence of over 90 intraslope basins with relief in excess of 150 m. The evolution and the general configuration of the basins are a function of halokinesis of allochthonous salt. Intraslope-interlobal and intraslope-superlobal basins occupy the upper and lower continental slope, respectively. Other structures on the slope associated with salt tectonics are the Sigsbee Escarpment, the seaward edge of the Sigsbee salt nappe, and the Alaminos and Keathley canyons. Major erosional features are the Mississippi Canyon and portions of a submarine canyon on the southern extreme of the Sigsbee Escarpment.
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Bryant, W.R., Bryant, J.R., Feeley, M.H. et al. Physiographic and bathymetric characteristics of the continental slope, northwest Gulf of Mexico. Geo-Marine Letters 10, 182–199 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02431065
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02431065