Zone of the ocean floor that separates the thin oceanic crust from thick continental crust

Continental margin

Continental margin

A continental margin is the outer edge of <a href="/en/Continental_crust" title="Continental crust" class="wl">continental crust</a> abutting <a href="/en/Oceanic_crust" title="Oceanic crust" class="wl">oceanic crust</a> under coastal waters. It is one of the three major zones of the ocean floor, the other two being <a href="/en/Oceanic_basin" title="Oceanic basin" class="wl">deep-ocean basins</a> and <a href="/en/Mid-ocean_ridge" title="Mid-ocean ridge" class="wl">mid-ocean ridges</a>. The continental margin consists of three different features: the <a href="/en/Continental_rise" title="Continental rise" class="wl">continental rise</a>, the continental slope, and the <a href="/en/Continental_shelf" title="Continental shelf" class="wl">continental shelf</a>.<a href="#cite_note-:0-1" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 1;">[1]</a> The continental shelf is the relatively shallow water area found in proximity to continents. Continental margins constitute about 28% of the oceanic area.<a href="#cite_note-pjccc-2" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 2;">[2]</a>

<div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none" about="#mwt1">Zone of the ocean floor that separates the thin oceanic crust from thick continental crust</div>

<figure class="mw-default-size wiki-thumb"><a href="/en/File:Continental_shelf.png" class="mw-file-description image media-thumb" data-hash="File:Continental_shelf.png"><img loading="lazy" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/32/Continental_shelf.png/370px-Continental_shelf.png" decoding="async" data-file-width="456" data-file-height="180" data-file-type="bitmap" height="146" width="370" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/32/Continental_shelf.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/32/Continental_shelf.png 2x" alt="Continental_shelf.png"></a><figcaption>Profile illustrating the shelf, slope and rise</figcaption></figure>

A continental margin is the outer edge of continental crust abutting oceanic crust under coastal waters.  It is one of the three major zones of the ocean floor, the other two being deep-ocean basins and mid-ocean ridges. The continental margin consists of three different features: the continental rise, the continental slope, and the continental shelf. 