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The Dixon Entrance is a small strait of water in the Pacific Ocean along the border of the US and Canada – essentially, the strait forms the maritime boundary between the two countries. While relations are generally warm between the US and Canada, there is contention over the exact maritime borders in this small strait of ocean stemming back to the early 1900s.
For other maps on borders, see posts on St Pierre & Miquelon and the border exchange between Moldova and Ukraine!
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Three key facts about this map
The US claims “equidistant maritime borders” while Canada claims a boundary set in a 1903 treaty
In the early 1900s, the border between the US and Canada in the Dixon Entrance was not well-defined. Later in 1903, the Alaska Boundary Treaty created the “A-B” line to designate the borders between the two nations. This line stems from the lowest-most Canadian landmass on Wales Island. To this day this is the border that Canada recognizes.
The US argues that the treaty was merely to delineate landmasses between the countries, not to set a firm maritime border. Its argument is that the true maritime boundary is further within the Dixon Entrance, equidistant between American and Canadian landmasses. This is important for delineating rights on fishing and potential seafloor resources.
There is a small landmass in the Dixon Entrance that is disputed
While the only border that is disputed between the two countries is maritime, and no island or significant landmass is disputed, there are a set of rocks called Nunez Rocks in the Dixon Entrance that are in between the Canadian and US claim.
The Nunez Rocks are technically a “low-tide elevation” set of rocks, meaning they are submerged in the water during high tide and above water during low tide. In principle, because the rocks are below the “A-B line” they are Canadian though due to technicalities of distinguishing “low-tide elevation” rocks as a basis for territorial waters, are not included in the US land claim. This means that for ½ of each day when the rocks are submerged, the Canadian Nunez Rocks are completely surrounded by ocean claimed by the US.
The Dixon Entrance is an important passageway for ships traveling up the Pacific Coast
Ships traveling from the mainland US to Alaska typically follow the “inside passage” route up the jagged Canadian and Alaskan coast – this includes passing directly through the Dixon Entrance. One of the most notable routes is the Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS), which connects Bellingham, WA and Ketchikan, AK by passing through the disputed border area. One conflict of fishing rights surfaced in 1997 when Canadian fishermen blockaded a ferry on the AMHS for 3 days representing the importance of the border area for natural resources.
Additional links and sources
- History of the Dixon Entrance (link, published in 2021)
- Detailed article on Canada’s unresolved border conflicts (link, published in 1997)
Have you heard of this border dispute between the US & Canada before?
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