continental margin -- n. The ocean floor from the shore of continents to the abyssal plain.
The Earth's terrestrial surface or continents are made up of three types of landscapes: cratons; mountain belts, and the continental margins. All of the continents have the same construction.
continental shelf: 200 m depth claimed by most or to depth of exploitation; others claim 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin
exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM claimed by most, but can vary ...
An area of low relief along a continental margin that is underlain by thick, gently dipping sediments.
Compaction:
A compression process that reorients and reshapes the grains of a sediment in response to the weight of overlying deposits.
continental shelf The portion of the continental margin that extends as a gently sloping surface from the shoreline seaward to a marked change in slope at the top of the continental slope . Seaward depth averages about 130 m.
Instead of going under in subduction, they are "welded" to the body (it may be a continent) and are thus added to a continental margin. The continent grows by accretion in this manner.
 See also: Plate, Tectonic, Crust, Environment, Volcanic
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