Blake Plateau

The Blake Plateau lies in the western Atlantic Ocean off the southeastern United States coasts of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. The Blake Plateau lies between the North American continental shelf and the deep ocean basin extending about 145 kilometers (90 miles) east and west by 170 kilometers (106 miles) north and south, with a depth of about 500 meters (1,640 feet) inshore sloping to about 1,000 meters (3,281 feet) about 375 kilometers (233 miles) off shore, where the Blake Escarpment drops steeply to the deep basin. The Blake Plateau, associated Blake Ridge and Blake Basin are named for the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey steamer George S. Blake, in service 1874-1905, that first used steel cable for oceanographic operations and pioneered deep ocean and Gulf Stream exploration. Survey lines of the steamer Blake first defined the plateau that now bears the ship's name.