Meanings
nouncontinental shelf (plural continental shelves)
plural continental shelves
- geographyThe outer area of a land mass covered by a shallow sea that extends into open ocean.
Translations
Bulgarian континентален шелф
- континентален шелф (kontinentalen šelf)the area of sea around a land mass
Catalan plataforma continental, marge continental
- plataforma continentalthe area of sea around a land mass
- marge continentalthe area of sea around a land mass
Chinese Mandarin 大陸棚 /大陆棚, 大陸架 /大陆架
- 大陸棚 /大陆棚 (dàlùpéng)the area of sea around a land mass
- 大陸架 /大陆架 (dàlùjià)the area of sea around a land mass
Czech kontinentální šelf
- kontinentální šelfthe area of sea around a land mass
Danish kontinentalsokkel
- kontinentalsokkelthe area of sea around a land mass
Dutch continentaal plat
- continentaal platthe area of sea around a land mass
Estonian mandrilava, šelf
- mandrilavathe area of sea around a land mass
- šelfthe area of sea around a land mass
Finnish mannerjalusta
- mannerjalustathe area of sea around a land mass
French plateau continental
- plateau continentalthe area of sea around a land mass
German Schelf, Kontinentalschelf
- Schelfthe area of sea around a land mass
- Kontinentalschelfthe area of sea around a land mass
- Kontinentalsockelthe area of sea around a land mass
- Festlandssockelthe area of sea around a land mass
Greek υφαλοκρηπίδα
- υφαλοκρηπίδα (yfalokripída)the area of sea around a land mass
Hebrew מדף יבשתי
- מדף יבשתיthe area of sea around a land mass
Hungarian kontinentális talapzat, kontinentális self
- kontinentális talapzatthe area of sea around a land mass
- kontinentális selfthe area of sea around a land mass
Icelandic landgrunn
- landgrunnthe area of sea around a land mass
Indonesian paparan benua
- paparan benuathe area of sea around a land mass
Irish scairbh ilchríochach
- scairbh ilchríochachthe area of sea around a land mass
Italian piattaforma continentale
- piattaforma continentalethe area of sea around a land mass
Japanese 大陸棚
- 大陸棚 (tairikudana)the area of sea around a land mass
Korean 대륙붕
- 대륙붕 (daeryukbung)the area of sea around a land mass
Lithuanian šelfas, kontinentinis atabradas
- šelfasthe area of sea around a land mass
- kontinentinis atabradasthe area of sea around a land mass
Malay pentas benua
- pentas benuathe area of sea around a land mass
Norwegian kontinentalsokkel
- kontinentalsokkelthe area of sea around a land mass
Polish szelf kontynentalny, półka kontynentalna
- szelf kontynentalnythe area of sea around a land mass
- półka kontynentalnathe area of sea around a land mass
Portuguese plataforma continental
- plataforma continentalthe area of sea around a land mass
Romanian platformă continentală
- platformă continentalăthe area of sea around a land mass
Russian континента́льный шельф
- континента́льный шельф (kontinentálʹnyj šelʹf)the area of sea around a land mass
Slovak šelf, kontinentálny šelf
- šelfthe area of sea around a land mass
- kontinentálny šelfthe area of sea around a land mass
Spanish plataforma continental
- plataforma continentalthe area of sea around a land mass
Swedish kontinentalsockel
- kontinentalsockelthe area of sea around a land mass
Thai ไหล่ทวีป
- ไหล่ทวีป (lài-tá-wîip)the area of sea around a land mass
Turkish kıta sahanlığı
- kıta sahanlığıthe area of sea around a land mass
Ukrainian континентальний шельф
- континентальний шельф (kontynentalʹnyj šelʹf)the area of sea around a land mass
Vietnamese thềm lục địa
- thềm lục địathe area of sea around a land mass
Welsh sgafell gyfandirol
- sgafell gyfandirolthe area of sea around a land mass
Cite this entry
APA
continental shelf. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/continental%20shelf
MLA
“continental shelf.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/continental%20shelf. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “continental shelf,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/continental%20shelf.
Source: continental shelf on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.