Shallowest Parts of the Atlantic Ocean

• Location: The shallowest points are found on the continental shelves and near‑shore banks that fringe the Atlantic’s coastlines.
• Typical depths:
  • In many coastal zones the water depth is under 100 m (≈ 328 ft) ⁴⁵.
  • On the outer edge of the continental shelf the depth rarely exceeds ≈ 545 m (≈ 1,788 ft) ⁴⁵.
  • In the very shallowest shelf areas—such as the Bahamas platform or other near‑shore banks—depths can drop to just a few metres (often < 10 m, roughly < 30 ft) ³⁴.
• At the shoreline: Depth approaches 0 m, but “shallowest point” in an oceanographic sense usually excludes the literal beach line and refers to the adjacent open‑water shelf where the sea floor is still exposed to sunlight and wave action.

Why the Atlantic is so shallow near coasts

• Continental shelves are broad, gently sloping extensions of the continents that were built up by river sediment and past sea‑level changes.
• These shelves are the primary zones where the Atlantic transitions from land to deep ocean basins, so they host the minimum depths of the ocean basin itself.

Contextual comparison

• Average depth of the Atlantic: ~3,646 m (≈ 11,962 ft) ¹².
• Deepest trench: The Puerto Rico Trench reaches ~8,376 m (≈ 27,480 ft) ¹².

Thus, while the ocean’s interior is several kilometres deep, its shallowest open‑water points are confined to the continental margins and can be as shallow as a few metres.