Definition of Continental rise

The continental rise is a short underwater hill at the bottom of the continental slope. Sediments cascade down the continental slope and pile up at the continental rise. After the continental rise there is the abyssal plain. This is the flat part of the ocean floor. Not many animals live here because of the extream pressure and the low temperature.

The continental shelf is the extended perimeter of each continent and associated coastal plain, which is covered during interglacial periods such as the current epoch by relatively shallow seas (known as shelf seas) and gulfs. The shelf usually ends at a point of increasing slope (called the shelf break). The sea floor below the break is the continental slope. Below the slope is the continental rise, which finally merges into the deep ocean floor, the abyssal plain. As the continental shelf and the slope are part of the continental margin, both are covered in this article.