FY 1985

A locally formed deep ocean canyon system along the Blanco Transform, Northeast Pacific

Embley, R.W.

Geo-Mar. Lett., 5(2), doi: 10.1007/BF02233934, 99–104 (1985)

A dissected terrain resembling a shelf-edge canyon system with individual canyons up to 100 m in relief, 3 km in width, and 10 km in length is found along the south flank of the Cascadia Channel within the central Blanco Transform zone. The channels apparently formed from a combination of downcutting from turbidity currents off the Blanco Ridge and from backcutting due to mass-wasting. The relationships between the transform tectonics and the formation of the canyon are presented in a model which proposes both a direct link via triggering of slides from earthquakes and an indirect link associated with lowering the local base level of Cascadia Channel, thalweg downcutting, and wall-steepening leading to increased mass-wasting.