Barrow Canyon

submarine canyon, Arctic Ocean

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Article History

Barrow Canyon, submarine canyon incised into the Arctic continental shelf off Alaska. From its head in the Chukchi Sea, about 95 miles (150 km) west of Point Barrow, in water depths of about 150 feet (45 metres), the canyon trends northeast along the coast and crosses into the Beaufort Sea, north of Point Barrow. The canyon has a U-shaped cross section with a width of about 3.5 to 6 miles (6 to 10 km) and depths of 165 to 330 feet (50 to 100 metres) on the Chukchi Shelf. It is poorly mapped in the Beaufort Shelf but is known to extend to the shelf edge. Barrow Canyon was used as a submarine entrance to the Arctic Basin during the historic trans-polar underwater crossing of the U.S. Navy submarine USS Nautilus in August 1958.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Lorraine Murray.