HATTERAS ABYSSAL PLAIN

submarine plain forming the floor of the northwestern Atlantic Ocean. It lies east of the North American continental shelf between the southern United States and Bermuda, extending about 900 mi (1,450 km) from north to south, with an average width of 300 mi. The plain comprises the western part of the North American Basin and is separated from the Nares Abyssal Plain to the southwest by the Vema Abyssal Gap, located at 24 N and 68 W. The BlakeBahama Outer Ridge, an extended sedimentary tongue of the North American Basin, also separates it from the narrow BlakeBahama Basin.