continental shelf

noun

Physical Geography.

1. the part of a continent that is submerged in relatively shallow sea.

continental shelf

noun

1. the sea bed surrounding a continent at depths of up to about 200 metres (100 fathoms), at the edge of which the continental slope drops steeply to the ocean floor

continental shelf

1. The part of the edge of a continent between the shoreline and the continental slope. It is covered by shallow ocean waters and has a very gentle slope.

continental shelf

1. The region adjoining the coastline of a continent, where the ocean is no more than a few hundred feet deep. The shelf is built up from sediments washed down to the sea by rivers.

The continental shelves are often valuable because of the mineral resources and abundant marine life found there. (See offshore drilling.)

Word History and Origins

Origin of continental shelf¹

First recorded in 1940–45

Example Sentences

Outer coast transients, numbering about 210 animals, were most often found within 20 kilometers of the continental shelf break, particularly near submarine canyons.

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As a result, warm deep water was able to move more easily toward East Antarctica's continental shelf.

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"We think these vast continental shelves and shallow seas were crucial ecological incubators," said Associate Professor Juraj Farkaš from the University of Adelaide.

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However Sheinbaum's government contends that Trump's order applies only to the US portion of the continental shelf.

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Tides will now be lifting it up and down, and where it is touching the continental shelf, it will grind backwards and forwards, eroding the rock and ice.

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