An area of low relief along a continental margin that is underlain by thick, gently dipping sediments. Low relief area that is bounded by the sea on one side and by a high-relief province on the landward side. Its geologic province actually extends beyond the shoreline across the continental shelf; it is linked to the stable part of a continent on the trailing edge of a plate. Typically, it has strata that dip gently and uniformly toward the sea.
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