No shots fired. No flag is raised. However, in December, the US actually grew by about two Californias, writes Big Think.

Did you gain a little weight over the holidays? Well, America too. You may not have noticed in the rush before Christmas, but on December 19, 2023, the US added about 1 million km2 to its territory). This is an area the size of Egypt or a little more than two Californias.

The newest parts of America are all marine, offshore. (A more acceptable unit of measurement would be 292,000 square nautical miles.)

The largest expansion since the acquisition of Alaska

America’s most significant expansion since the purchase of Alaska in 1867, the US State Department said in a brief statement, noting that it defines “the outer limits of the continental shelf of the United States in areas more than 200 nautical miles from the coast, known as the extended continental shelf.” (ECS),” which the department noted is “an extension of the country’s land area under the sea.”

The 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS for short) gives states the right to claim an exclusive economic zone (or EEZ) and also allows them to include the ECS: areas where the continental shelf extends beyond those 200 nautical miles.

To date, more than 90 other countries have already declared their ECS.

• The exclusive economic zone (or EEZ) should not be confused with territorial waters, which usually end 12 nautical miles from shore. Here, coastal states have full sovereignty.

• Instead, countries only have economic jurisdiction over their EEZs. They have the exclusive right to exploit the natural resources of that territory (fish, oil, minerals, etc.) and conduct other economic activities (such as wind and tidal energy generation) within it.

• The extended continental shelf is something else. Rights belong only to the seabed and subsoil, not to water (including fish), as is the case in the EEZ.

Photo Source: © Brandon Seidel | Dreamstime.com