Scripps Institution of Oceanography

A chart of the continental slope of the northwest Gulf of Mexico, contoured at an interval ot 50 fathoms, reveals an irregular topography of high relief. The striking basins, ridges and trough-like valleys of the slope, and escarpment are described. Slumping, folding, and faulting are suggested as the cause of the slope topography, and the escarpment is interpreted as a fault zone separating the stable deep sea basin from the unstable elope area. Evidence from foraminiferal fauna distribution in cores is cited in support of slumping.