1. The continental shelf is the portion of continents submerged under oceanic water.
2. It is normally occupied by different gulfs, seas, bays and straits.
3. There is a wide range of variation in the continental shelves of the Indian Ocean.
4. There are quite extensive shelves along the Indian coasts.
5. The eastern coast of Africa and Madagascar record relatively narrow width of continental shelves, and along the Indonesian coast, it is very narrow (160 km).
6. The continental shelves are very wide in the west of India whereas these are narrow along the eastern coast.
7. Continental shelves are veneered with deposits brought down by terrestrial agents of erosion.
8. Some of the sedimentary deposits are received from over thousand years.
9. As they remain deposited for a long time, sedimentary rocks are formed.
10. Some of them are a potential source of fossil fuel.
