Question 7: East vs. West (Points: 4) Why do the east coasts of North and South

Question

Question 7: East vs. West (Points: 4)
Why do the east coasts of North and South America have wide continental shelves while their west coasts have very narrow shelves? Question 7: East vs. West (Points: 4)
Why do the east coasts of North and South America have wide continental shelves while their west coasts have very narrow shelves? Question 7: East vs. West (Points: 4)
Why do the east coasts of North and South America have wide continental shelves while their west coasts have very narrow shelves?

Explanation / Answer

The west coast of North America and South America have narrow shelves because the west coasts of the continents have active subduction processes going on, leading to formation of oceanic trench and other subduction geomorphic features thereby leading to very narrow shelves.In short the west coasts have active continental margins

While on the other hand, the east coast of North and south America, there are no tectonic processes going on , that is it is a passive continental margin . Hence the east coast of North and South America have wide shelves.

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