All 6 Uses

continental shelf
in
The Hunt for Red October
(Auto-generated)

Anyway, if this silent drive system really works, they might be able to creep up onto the continental shelf.†
Chpt 4. *

continental shelf = gently sloping underwater plain from the continent's shore to about 200 meters of depth
They'll have to slow as they cross the continental shelf line, and we'll tag along behind them, nice and quiet.†
Chpt 8.
She impacted savagely on the hard sand bottom at the edge of the continental shelf.†
Chpt 8.
They said it's right on the edge of the continental shelf.†
Chpt 9.
Most recently, in 1978, a Soviet Yankee-class missile sub had closed to the edge of the continental shelf off the coast of New England.†
Chpt 12.
The V. K. Konovalov The Alfa drifted slowly at the edge of the continental shelf, about fifty miles southeast of Norfolk.†
Chpt 17.

Definitions:

(1) (continental shelf)
gently sloping underwater plain from the continent's shore to about 200 meters of depth
(2) (meaning too rare to warrant focus)