USA Territorial Sea Boundary

The [US territorial sea] is a maritime zone, over which the United States exercises [sovereignty]. Each coastal State claims a territorial sea that extends seaward up to 12 nautical miles from its coastal baseline. As defined by maritime law, the coastal State exercises sovereignty over its territorial sea, the air space above it, and the seabed and subsoil beneath it. The U.S. territorial sea extends 12 nautical miles from the coastal baseline. The zone is usually used in concert with several other Limits and Boundary Lines for Maritime purposes. Maritime limits for the United States are measured from the US baseline, which is recognized as the low-water line along the coast as marked on NOAA's nautical charts. The baseline and related maritime limits are reviewed and approved by the interagency US Baseline Committee. The Office of Coast Survey depicts on its nautical charts the territorial sea (12nm), contiguous zone (24nm), and exclusive economic zone (200nm, plus maritime boundaries with adjacent/opposite countries. US maritime limits are ambulatory and subject to revision based on accretion or erosion of the charted low water line. Dataset Summary This map service contains data from NOAA and BOEM sources that address USA Regional coastal areas and are designed to be used together within an ArcGIS.com web map. These include: * World Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) from NOAA Office of Coast Survey * Contiguous Zone (CZ) from NOAA Office of Coast Survey * Territorial Sea (TS) Boundary from NOAA Office of Coast Survey * Revenue Sharing Boundary [Section 8(g) of OCSLA Zone Boundary] from Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) * Submerged Land Act Boundaries (SLA) aka State Seaward Boundary (SSB) * State Administrative Boundary from Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) * Continental Shelf Boundary (CSB) from Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) * Regional Maritime Planning Area Boundaries from NOAA Office of Coast Survey * International Provisional Maritime Boundary from NOAA (International Boundary Commission) The data for this layer were obtained from [MarineCadastre.gov] and is updated regularly. More information about [U.S. Maritime Limits and Boundaries] [Link to source metadata] What can you do with this layer? The features in this layer are used for areas and limits of coastal planning areas, or offshore planning areas, applied within ArcGIS Desktop and ArcGIS Online. A depiction of the territorial sea boundaries helps disputing parties reach an agreement as in the case of one state's boundary overlapping with another state's territorial sea, in which case the border is taken as the median point between the states' baselines, unless the states in question agree otherwise. A state can also choose to claim a smaller territorial sea. Conflicts still occur whenever a coastal nation claims an entire gulf as its territorial waters while other nations only recognize the more restrictive definitions of the UN convention. Two recent conflicts occurred in the Gulf of Sidra where Libya has claimed the entire gulf as its territorial waters and the US has twice enforced [freedom of navigation rights], in the 1981 and 1989 [Gulf of Sidra incidents]. This layer is a feature service, which means it can be used for visualization and analysis throughout the ArcGIS Platform. This layer is not editable.