adjacent to ocean ocean basin EcoLexicon:ocean_basin A structural basin that is below sea level. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocean_basin This class is defined in its geological sense. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oceanic_basin. Hydrologically, an oceanic basin may be anywhere on Earth that is covered by seawater, but geologically ocean basins are large geologic basins that are below sea level. Geologically, there are other undersea geomorphological features such as the continental shelves, the deep ocean trenches, and the undersea mountain ranges (for example, the mid-Atlantic ridge) which are not considered to be part of the ocean basins; while hydrologically, oceanic basins include the flanking continental shelves and shallow, epeiric seas. structural basin