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.

Notes

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

Typically when biologists track turtles from their nesting beaches on small islands, most wind up in coastal territory, having paddled across the open ocean until hitting a continental shelf and then turning left or right.

From Nautilus

The almost 165,000 acres of land on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf will be auctioned for lease in late July.

From The Daily Beast

The state has also dedicated its share of money from oil production on the outer continental shelf to rebuilding the coast.

From The Daily Beast

Geophysical Research Letters: Observed currents over the outer continental shelf during Hurricane Ivan.

From The Daily Beast

Near the coast line the effect of the waves is continually to shove the detritus up the slopes of the continental shelf.

From Project Gutenberg

This is the broadest portion of the continental shelf now known on the Atlantic border of the continent.

From Project Gutenberg

Throughout its entire extent, however, the continental shelf abounds in both plant and animal life.

From Project Gutenberg

The Pacific basin is deep close to the land bordering it, thus restricting the seaward extension of the continental shelf.

From Project Gutenberg

In this and in similar cases the progress of the estuary is indicated upon what is now the continental shelf.

From Project Gutenberg