The Continental Shelf

06/10/26

“What’s the part of the Earth’s surface that’s just beyond the ocean shoreline?”

It’s easy to think that the Earth’s land ends at the ocean shoreline. But in fact, it extends into The Continental Shelf. The continental shelf is the Earth’s physical surface that’s just beyond the shoreline. This landform is typically submerged below 100 – 200 meters of water. The continental shelf typically ends at a point of increasing slope downwards. Most ocean-based extractionist industries such as offshore drilling take place in the continental shelf.

• Earth/Climate science