Hudson Canyon
Hudson Canyon is a pathway from land to sea, extending over 400 nautical miles seaward from New York Harbor, across the continental margin, and out to the deep ocean basin extending 300 miles beneath the sea.
Submarine canyons are pathways from land to sea. As silt, sand and mud are carried down the Hudson River, they flow into the canyon and out into the deep sea. Geologists believe the canyon was likely formed thousands of years ago when sea levels were much lower during a cooler climate period associated with the most recent Ice Age, as the Hudson River emptied into Atlantic Ocean hundreds of miles further off shore than the present shoreline. It is even possible that Hudson Canyon is being cut from traveling sediments.
Submarine canyons are believed to contain vast reserves of methane hydrates, a promising clean-burning natural energy source, believed to reside in near freezing temperatures within seafloor sediments.