Bathymetry of the continental margin off Liberia, West Africa

A bathymetric map based on new data allows examination of geomorphic features on the narrow continental margin off Liberia. The continental shelf in this region is relatively flat and featureless. The northwestern part of the continental slope, off Monrovia and Cape Mount, shows complex slump features and two submarine valleys. The central part of the slope is smoother, apparently as a result of progradation. The southeastern part of the slope, near Cape Palmas, is crossed oblique to the shoreline by a structural valley that has been modified by large slumps or landslides. This valley may be the termination, at the continental margin, of an oceanic fracture zone. The major slumplike features of the Liberian continental margin appear to be surface manifestations of deep faulting which has been partially masked by sedimentation.