The United States has just increased its area by 1 million square kilometers.

Just a few weeks ago, the United States grew by 1 million ^square kilometers (more than 386,000 square miles) – nearly twice the size of Spain .

Continental shelf off Los Angeles.

The continental shelf is the area of ​​seabed surrounding large areas of land where the sea is relatively shallow compared to the ocean. Under international law, countries can claim these continental shelves, allowing them to manage and exploit their resources.

As many as 75 countries have defined the limits of their Extended Continental Shelf (ECS) , the portion of their continental shelf that extends beyond 200 nautical miles (230 miles) from their shores. So far, the United States has not done so.

On December 19, 2023, the US State Department released new geographic coordinates defining what they claim is their ECS region.

Since 2003, the U.S. government has partnered with NOAA, the U.S. Geological Survey, and 12 other agencies to collect geologic data to define the outer limits of their ECS. Seven offshore areas : the Arctic, the Atlantic (east coast), the Bering Sea, the Pacific (west coast), the Mariana Islands, and two areas in the Gulf of Mexico. The total area is 1 million ^square kilometers (more than 386,000 square miles).

'America is bigger than it was yesterday ,' Mead Treadwell, former lieutenant governor of Alaska and former chairman of the United States Arctic Research Commission, said on December 19, according to Alaska Public Media.

The United States would benefit greatly from the international acceptance of maritime boundaries. Expanding the Arctic Ocean's seabed territory could open up the region for further exploration, shipping, and fishing.

It also has implications for national security and the exercise of power by the nation in the world.