Sedimentation of the Shelf

The continental shelf is the edge of the continents that extends into the ocean. This part of the ocean is shallow and greatly varies in width depending on what coastline you are examining. In some places, such as the Southeastern United States, the continental shelf is very wide and extends far into the ocean. In other places, such as off the coast of Peru and Chile in South America, the shelf is nearly non-existent.

Since it is the closest part of the seafloor to the continents, most of the sediments you will find there come from land that is weathered away and brought to the oceans by the process of erosion. Many of these sediments never make it much further than the continental shelf, but others are carried much further off into the other zones of the ocean floor.

Sedimentation of the Continental Shelf

There are a number of forces and factors that determine what types of sediments make up the continental shelf in different areas of the world. In this interactivity, you will find out why some sediments fall in predictable locations and others fall hundreds, and perhaps thousands of miles away from their source. Click the player button to get started.

View a printable version of this interactivity.

 

Sedimentation of the Shelf Review

Now that you have explored what kind of sediments you might find on the continental shelf and the forces that affect them, review your knowledge. In this non-graded interactivity, follow the instructions on each question slide. Click SUBMIT to check your results. Click the player button to begin.