Bathymetry Modeler

To:  Continental Margins | Deep Ocean Basins Continental Margins: Continental Shelf  Continental Slope | Submarine Canyons | Continental Rise At most places along the boundary of every continent is an area of shallow water which may range from a few kilometers to more than 1,000 kilometers in width. These areas, where the oceans cover a portion of the continental land mass, are called continental shelves. Averaging approximately 60 meters in depth, these shelves slope gradually away from the shore at a rate of about 12 meters every kilometer. At the edge of the continental shelf is an area called the continental slope, a much steeper zone that drops away to the ocean floor. Click on an image below to investigate that area. Grand Banks North Sea Last modified: 25-August-99 Copyright Notice