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1. Home
2. Facts
3. How long is the U.S. shoreline?

**How long is the U.S. shoreline?**  NOAA's official value for the total length of the U.S. shoreline is **153,646 kilometers (95,471 miles)**.
	The Miami Beach shoreline.*The Miami Beach shoreline.*As there is no reference that designates one specific  shoreline as the "legal" shoreline, numbers for the length of the U.S.  shoreline can vary depending on how the shoreline is defined.
The NOAA shoreline length calculation of 153,646 kilometers (95,471 miles) includes measurements taken in 1930-1940 and 1970. The 1939-40 measurements were determined with a  recording instrument on the largest-scale charts and maps available at that  time. These measurements included the continental U.S. as well as U.S. territories (Hawaii and Alaska were U.S. territories during this time period). Shorelines of outer coast, offshore islands, sounds, bays, rivers, and  creeks were included to the head of the tidewater or to a point where tidal  waters narrow to a width of 30.48 meters (100 feet). For the Great Lakes,  shoreline lengths were measured in 1970 by the  International Coordinating Committee on Great Lakes Basic Hydraulic and  Hydrologic Data.
The total length of tidal shoreline includes measurements of  the coastal states (which includes the Great Lakes) as well as  outlying U.S. territories and possessions.


More **Information**
		NOAA Shoreline Website
		Shoreline mileage of the U.S.
		
		
		
		
		
		
		
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**Last updated:**
		08/08/23
		**Author:** NOAA
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