The continental shelf is the portion of the continental margin that transitions from the shore out towards to ocean. They are believed to make up 7 percent of the sea floor. The width of continental shelves worldwide varies from a 30 meters to 1500 kilometers. It is generally flat, and ends at the shelf break, where there is a drastic increase in slope angle. The mean slope of continental shelves worldwide is 0 ° 07 ' degrees, and typically steeper closer to the coastline than it is near the shelf break. At the shelf break begins the continental slope, which can be one to five kilometers above the deep - ocean floor. The continental slope often exhibits features called submarine canyons. Submarine canyons often cut into the continental shelves deeply, with near vertical slopes, and continue to cut the morphology to the abyssal plain. The valleys are often V - shaped, and can sometime enlarge onto the continental shelf. At the base of the continental slope, there is a sudden decrease in slope, and the sea floor begins to level out towards the abyssal plain. This portion of the seafloor is called the continental rise, and marks the end of the continental margin.
what is the region beyond the continental margin
continental shelf continental shelf