Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Contiguous Zone - U.S.-Affiliated Pacifc Islands

Published by Pacific Islands Ocean Observing System (PacIOOS) | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce | Catalog Last Checked: April 21, 2026 at 10:54 AM | Dataset Last Updated: January 25, 2016 at 12:00 AM
These boundaries represent the contiguous zone for U.S.-affiliated Pacific Islands, including Hawaii, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), Guam, as well as the U.S. Minor Outlying Islands of Baker Island, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Midway Atoll, Palmyra Atoll, and Wake Island. The contiguous zone is a band of water extending from the outer edge of the territorial sea to up to 24 nautical miles from the coastal baseline (usually the mean low-water mark), within which a state can exert limited control for the purpose of preventing or punishing "infringement of its customs, fiscal, immigration or sanitary laws and regulations within its territory or territorial sea". However, unlike the Territorial Sea there is no standard rule for resolving such conflicts, and the states in question must negotiate their own compromise.

Resources

3 resources available

Find Related Datasets

data.gov

An official website of the GSA's Technology Transformation Services

Looking for U.S. government information and services?
Visit USA.gov