Of the three ocean basin zones (continental shelf, continental slope, abyssal plain) which has the greatest diversity of life and which is deepest?

About 8.5 percent of the ocean floor is covered by the continental slope-rise system. ... Beyond the shelf-slope break, the continental crust thins quickly, and the rise lies partly on the continental crust and partly on the oceanic crust of the deep sea.

  The continental shelf has the greatest diversity of life because it gets more sunlight than the others.

  The deepest is the abyssal plain, its depth goes between 3,000 to 6,000 meters.

Explanation:

  The continental shelf is the portion of a continent that is found submerged underwater.

  The continental slope is where the ocean began to gets deeper as we move away from the continent.

  And finally the abyssal plain covers 50% of the Earth´s surface and it is one of the least explored regions on it.

  I hope this answer helps you.