Massachusetts Bay Legal Boundary Lines for Federal Waters

Geospatial lines defining the legal boundary between Commonwealth and Federal waters in Massachusetts. The lines were established by a Special Master appointed by the U.S. Supreme Court as part of the 1986 case UNITED STATES v. MAINE. The data is provided by the organization SCIOPS via NASA's Earthdata platform.

Use Cases

• Mapping the precise legal boundary between state and federal waters using the provided GIS line geometry.
• Analyzing the extent of seaward jurisdiction beyond the typical three nautical mile limit based on the bay closure coordinates.
• Integrating these legal boundary lines with other marine datasets for coastal planning and regulatory compliance.

Strengths

• Data originates from a definitive legal ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court (UNITED STATES v. MAINE, 475 U.S. 89).
• GIS lines are created from specific coordinates set forth by the court-appointed Special Master.

Limitations

• The dataset's temporal coverage is static, representing a single legal ruling from 1986.
• Specific technical details like row count, file format, and coordinate system are unknown.

Provenance

Source

SCIOPS via NASA Earthdata.

Collection Method

GIS lines created from bay closure line coordinates set by a U.S. Supreme Court Special Master.

Time Range

Defined by the 1986 legal ruling.

Geography

Massachusetts Bay, extending seaward of the typical three nautical mile boundary.