continental shelf

American  

noun

Physical Geography.

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

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continental shelf British  

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

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continental shelf Scientific  

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.

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continental shelf Cultural  

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.

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Discover More

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

Etymology

Origin of continental shelf

First recorded in 1940–45

Example Sentences

This has led to more frequent clashes with Greece and Cyprus over exclusive economic zones and continental shelf boundaries.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 7, 2026

In 2004 one called A38 grounded on its continental shelf, leaving dead penguin chicks and seal pups on beaches as massive ice chunks blocked their access to feeding grounds.

From BBC • Jan. 22, 2025

These pockmarks are located on the continental margin, a dynamic section of the seafloor that connects the relatively shallow continental shelf to the deep sea.

From Science Daily • May 21, 2024

But as it pushes up against the continental shelf, it can generate eddies, much like the revolving pools of water that form on the downstream sides of boulders in a river.

From Science Magazine • Apr. 15, 2024

At such times the ridge came down, and the continental shelf, so to speak, stretched out, and the algae along the shore became so slack that I tended to catch my feet in it.

From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel