Correct answer: C. Oceanic trench
Explanation: The direct answer is C, an oceanic trench. An oceanic trench is a long, narrow depression on the ocean floor and is among the deepest features on Earth. It commonly forms where one tectonic plate is forced beneath another at a subduction zone. Reasoning step by step: look for a feature described as both very deep and narrow; compare the options; a trench exactly matches that description; therefore C is correct. Option A, the continental shelf, is the shallow, gently sloping submerged edge of a continent, so it is almost the opposite of an extreme-depth feature. Option B, an abyssal plain, is very deep but generally broad and nearly flat, not narrow like a trench. Option C is correct because its defining characteristics are great depth, narrow width, and elongated form. Option D, a lagoon, is a shallow water body separated from the sea by a barrier such as a sand bar or reef; it is not an ocean-floor deep depression. The exam cue is: “trench means the deepest narrow cut.”