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

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

From Science Daily • Nov. 9, 2025

"He says that he will call it the Gulf of America on its continental shelf," Sheinbaum previously said when Trump signed the executive order.

From BBC • Jan. 30, 2025

Newly charted extensions to the U.S. continental shelf hold resources and scientific riches.

From Science Magazine • Jan. 8, 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