continental shelf

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

These rocks formed in a shallow marine environment along a continental shelf during the final stages of Gondwana's formation, before the supercontinent eventually split apart to form regions that became South America and Africa.

From Science Daily • May 12, 2026

Equinor has an ambition to maintain approximately the same production level in 2035 as in 2020, corresponding to around 1.2 million barrels of oil and gas a day from the Norwegian continental shelf.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 2, 2026

"He says that he will call it the Gulf of America on its continental shelf," Sheinbaum said last week.

From BBC • Jan. 28, 2025

But as it pushes up against the continental shelf, it can generate eddies, much like the revolving pools of water that form on the downstream sides of boulders in a river.

From Science Magazine • Apr. 15, 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