Norfolk Ridge is located in the western South Pacific Ocean between New Caledonia and Norfolk Island. This area encompasses part of a larger ridge system which extends from New Zealand to New Caledonia at depths of ~1,000–1,500 m and is interspersed with islands and seamounts of volcanic origin (Francis 1993). The oceanography of the region is influenced by the East Australian Current, which flows southwards from the Coral Sea to east of Tasmania, and the South Equatorial Current, which carries tropical Pacific Ocean waters towards the Coral and Tasman Seas. Norfolk Island, at the southern end of the area, is situated at the southern limit of the Tropical Convergence, which can seasonally influence the currents (Francis 1993). When the Tropical Convergence lies south of Norfolk Island in some austral summers, warm water flows southward, while at other times the flow is eastward or northward past the island (Francis 1993). In the northern part of the area, around southern New Caledonia, the complex currents are influenced by the westward flow of the South Equatorial Current and the eastward countercurrents originating in the lee of the islands (Cravatte et al. 2015).

Norfolk Ridge partly overlaps with the Norfolk Marine Park and the New Caledonian Natural Park of the Coral Sea. It also partly overlaps with the Seamounts of West Norfolk Ridge Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Area (EBSA; CBD 2024) and with the Norfolk Island/Phillip Island Key Biodiversity Area (KBA 2024).

This Important Shark and Ray Area is benthopelagic and is delineated from inshore and surface waters (0 m) to 1,275 m based on the global depth range of the Qualifying Species.