continental shelf

noun

: a shallow submarine plain of varying width forming a border to a continent and typically ending in a comparatively steep slope to the deep ocean floor

Illustration of continental shelf

• 1 seashore
• 2 continental shelf
• 3 continental slope
• 4 abyssal plain
• 5 seamount

Examples of continental shelf in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The order withdraws the entire shelf for new or renewed offshore wind leasing, but does not affect either existing leases or leases in the continental shelf for oil and gas development. —Zack Budryk, The Hill, 21 Jan. 2025

Under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, a nation can claim resources beyond a 200-mile limit if a direct continuous continental shelf can be established. —Arthur I. Cyr, Chicago Tribune, 14 Jan. 2025

Northern Atlantic right whales primarily are found in Atlantic coastal waters on the continental shelf. —Jennifer Borresen, USA TODAY, 5 Jan. 2025

The order, which according to the report is expected any day, would bar the sale of drilling rights in large portions of the outer continental shelf. —The Editors, National Review, 6 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1892, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

continental shelf

noun

: a shallow submarine plain of varying width forming a border to a continent and typically ending at the continental slope