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What percentage of the ocean-covered area is made up of continental shelves?

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continental shelf The broad, gentle pitch of the continental shelf gives way to the relatively steep continental slope. The more gradual transition to the abyssal plain is a sediment-filled region called the continental rise. The continental shelf, slope, and rise are collectively called the continental margin.

Continental shelves make up approximately 8 percent of the total area covered by the world's oceans.1

These continental shelves are broad, relatively shallow submarine terraces that form the edges of continental landmasses. While the seaward boundary is often historically associated with the 200-metre depth contour, the actual extent of these regions can vary significantly depending on the local geology and the location of the shelf break, where the seafloor slope changes rapidly.12