continental shelves en

In geography, the perimeters of each continent and the associated coastal plain; now, during the current interglacial period, submerged under relatively shallow seas. Much of the continental shelves' area was exposed during glacial periods. In international law, under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the "continental shelf" is defined as the stretch of the seabed adjacent to the shores of a particular country to which it belongs.