A deep
abyssal plain underlying part of the
Arctic Ocean,
the part of that ocean closer to
Europe than to
Alaska and
Siberia.
The Eurasia Basin formed because of the tectonic spreading of the Gakkel
Ridge, the northernmost extremity of the Mid-Ocean Ridge. It extends about 500 mi (800 km) from north to south.
On the southern edge of the Eurasia Basin lies a continental shelf holding
outposts of the Eurasian continent, Svalbard, Franz Josef Land, and
Severnaya Zemlya. These separate the Arctic Ocean proper from the shallow
Barents Sea. On the northern edge of the Eurasia Basin lies the
Lomonosov Ridge, an underwater sliver of continental crust sheared
off the southern edge during the breakup of Pangaea, running almost directly
under the North Pole.