Continental-shelf
noun, Physical Geography.
1.
the part of a continent that is submerged in relatively shallow sea.
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
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.
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.
Note: The continental shelves are often valuable because of the mineral resources and abundant marine life found there. (See offshore drilling.)
Read Also:
- Continental-system
noun 1. . noun 1. the Continental System, Napoleon’s plan in 1806 to blockade Britain by excluding her ships from ports on the mainland of Europe
- Continental-slope
noun, Physical Geography. 1. a steep slope separating a continental shelf and a deep ocean basin. continental slope The sloping region between a continental shelf and a continental rise. A continental slope is typically about 20 km (12.4 mi) wide, consists of muds and silts, and is often crosscut by submarine canyons.
- Continently
[kon-tn-uh nt-lee] /ˈkɒn tn ənt li/ adverb 1. in a manner; temperately.
- Continents
[kon-tn-uh nt] /ˈkɒn tn ənt/ noun 1. one of the main landmasses of the globe, usually reckoned as seven in number (Europe, Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Australia, and Antarctica). 2. a comparable landmass on another planet. 3. the mainland, as distinguished from islands or peninsulas. 4. the Continent, the mainland of Europe, as […]
- Contingence
[kuh n-tin-juh ns] /kənˈtɪn dʒəns/ noun 1. contact or tangency. /kənˈtɪndʒəns/ noun 1. the state of touching or being in contact 2. another word for contingency n. early 16c., from Medieval Latin *contingentia, from contingent- present participle stem of contingere “to touch” (see contact (n.)).