12 



TABLE IV.-AREA OF THE UNITED STATES CONTINENTAL SHELF, BY COASTAL REGIONS 

 [Thousands of square statute miles] 



Area 1 measured from coastline bounded by- 



Atlantic coast 



Gulf coast 



Pacific coast 



Alaska coast 



Hawaii 



Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands 



Total 39 862 1,302 



1 That part of the sea floor extending from the low water line at the coast seaward to the indicated distance or depth. 



2 Fathom is a unit of length equal to 6 feet. 



ever, Congress did not adopt that concept when it defined the boun- 

 daries of the continental shelf in the letter of the Act. Absence of such 

 a definition left flexible the seaward reach of the outer continental 

 shelf; it remained subject to further expansion of United States juris- 

 diction, either unilaterally or by agreement with other nations. 



This flexibility and the absence of any precise definition were ex- 

 ploited in later years in the administration of leases by the Secretary 

 of the Interior. There were occasions when leases far exceeded the 100- 

 fathom depth previously believed to be the intended limit. Accord- 

 ingly, up to, and after the passage of the Outer Continental Shelf 

 Lands Act of 1953, the continental shelf remained undefined. 



GENEVA CONVENTIONS OF 1958 



Discussion of the territorial sea among the nations of the world 

 dates back to the Hague Codification Conference of 1930, sponsored 

 by the League of Nations." The Preparatory Committee for the Con- 

 ference devoted considerable attention to the limits of base lines and 

 the widths of territorial waters, but failed to produce the desired con- 

 vention. Nevertheless, the Committee can be credited with the concept 

 of a contiguous zone, and with focusing attention on the continental 

 shelf and the prospect of squabbles among the nations over the proper 

 delineation of zones and assertion of rights and jurisdiction. 



Following the world's reaction to the Truman Proclamation of 

 1945, the United Nations made another attempt at codifying the law 

 of the sea. In 1949, the U.N. International Law Commission began a 

 long study across the total spectrum of maritime problems, including 

 the territorial sea, the continental shelf, the high seas, fisheries, con- 

 servation, and piracy. These efforts resulted in several draft reports 

 and a final report published in 1956.^2 



The Commission considered that international law did not permit 

 an extension of the territorial sea beyond twelve miles. It also noted 

 that "many States have fixed a breadth greater than three miles and 

 [that] many States do not recognize such a breadth when that of their 



11 League of Nations Docs. C.74.M.39.1929.V and 1930. V. 



" "International Law Commission," Report, United Nations General Assembly, Official 

 Record, llth sess., Supp. No. 9 (A/3159), (1956). 

 "Ibid., Article 3. 



