| bathyal zone | |
noun | |
| the steep descent of the seabed from the continental shelf to the abyssal zone [syn: continental slope] |
bathyal zone
marine ecologic realm extending down from the edge of the continental shelf to the depth at which the water temperature is 4 C (39 F). Both of these limits are variable, but the bathyal zone is generally described as lying between 200 and 2,000 m (660 and 6,600 feet) below the surface
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