GeographyOcean and Seas
The Arctic Ocean is divided into several basins by a series of parallel ridges, the most prominent of which is the Lomonosov Ridge. The Canada Basin dominates the North American side, while the Amundsen and Nansen Basins underlie the Eurasian side.
The U.S. and Canadian side of the Arctic Ocean is marked by a narrow continental shelf extending 100 to 200 kilometers offshore, while on the Russian side the continental shelf is very broad, extending about 1200 km (~700 mi) off the Siberian coast. Off the continental shelf, the Arctic Ocean averages 3700 meters depth. Several marginal seas ring the Arctic Ocean, including the Bering, Beaufort, Chukchi, Barents, and other seas.
Nautical access to the Arctic Ocean is limited to the Bering Strait (AK-Russia), Davis Strait (Canada-Greenland), Denmark Strait (Greenland-Iceland), and the Norwegian Sea (Iceland-Norway).