Illustration of continental shelf
- 1 seashore
- 2 continental shelf
- 3 continental slope
- 4 abyssal plain
- 5 seamount
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
Examples of continental shelf in a Sentence
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Russia's Arctic continental shelf contains more than 85 trillion cubic meters of natural gas and 17 billion metric tons of oil, Russian state media reported in 2022.
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Ellie Cook, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Aug. 2025
The United States should, therefore, instead prioritize exploring and recovering critical minerals within its own continental shelf, experts said.
—Dylan Butts, CNBC, 28 Aug. 2025
The islands that became the Outer Banks fringing the North Carolina coast first appeared 15,000 years ago, when sea levels dropped and the nation’s shoreline migrated inward from the continental shelf, Young said.
—Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today, 21 Aug. 2025
Similar to above-ground canyons, they are carved into the seafloor and continental shelf through centuries of erosion.
—Stephanie Edwards, Discover Magazine, 22 July 2025
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Ellie Cook, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Aug. 2025
The United States should, therefore, instead prioritize exploring and recovering critical minerals within its own continental shelf, experts said.
—Dylan Butts, CNBC, 28 Aug. 2025
The islands that became the Outer Banks fringing the North Carolina coast first appeared 15,000 years ago, when sea levels dropped and the nation’s shoreline migrated inward from the continental shelf, Young said.
—Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today, 21 Aug. 2025
Similar to above-ground canyons, they are carved into the seafloor and continental shelf through centuries of erosion.
—Stephanie Edwards, Discover Magazine, 22 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for continental shelf
Cite this Entry
“Continental shelf.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/continental%20shelf. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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