Continental crust forms continents and shallow water areas, while oceanic crust forms ocean basins.

Continental crust forms the continentsand areas of shallow water close to their shores, whereas oceanic crust forms the ocean basins.The transition from the granitic continental crust to the basaltic oceanic crust occurs beyond the continentel shelf, in which the shore suddenly slopes down towards the ocean floor.The South American Plate is an example of a tectonic plate made of two crusts:the continent we know from today's map and a large region of the Atlantic Ocean around it.