The Orca Basin is a mid-slope, silled, mini-basin in the northern Gulf of Mexico some 300 km southwest of the Mississippi River mouth on the Louisiana continental slope.^[1] It is unique amongst the mini-basins in this area, in containing a large brine pool of anoxic salt brine. The lake is approximately 123 km² (47 sq mi) in area and up to 220 m (720 ft) deep^[2] under 2,400 m (7,900 ft) depth of Gulf water^[1] and is derived from dissolution of underlying Jurassic age Louann Salt. With a volume of 13.3 km³ (3.2 cu mi) the pool results from the dissolution of about 3.62 billion tonnes of the Louann Salt bed into seawater.^[2] The basin owes its shape to ongoing salt tectonics and is surrounded by salt diapirs.^[1]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/02mexico/background/brinepool/brinepool.html Carney, Bob, Lakes Within Oceans, Ocean Explorer

Coordinates: 26°56′46″N 91°20′44″W / 26.94611°N 91.34556°W / 26.94611; -91.34556

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