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The Beaufort Sea is the portion of the Arctic Ocean
Arctic Ocean

The Arctic Ocean, located in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Arctic North Pole region, is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceanic divisions....
 located north of the Northwest Territories
Northwest Territories

The Northwest Territories are a provinces and territories of Canada of Canada.Located in northern Canada, it borders Canada's two other territories, Yukon to the west and Nunavut to the east, and three provinces: British Columbia to the southwest, Alberta and Saskatchewan to the south....
, the Yukon
Yukon

Yukon is the westernmost and smallest of Canada three Territories of Canada. It was named after the Yukon River, Yukon meaning "Great River" in Gwich?in language....
, and Alaska
Alaska

Alaska is the largest U.S. state of the United States by area; it is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait....
 and west of Canada's Arctic islands.






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Beaufort Sea and Disputed Waters
North Pole September Ice Pack 1978 2002
The Beaufort Sea is the portion of the Arctic Ocean
Arctic Ocean

The Arctic Ocean, located in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Arctic North Pole region, is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceanic divisions....
 located north of the Northwest Territories
Northwest Territories

The Northwest Territories are a provinces and territories of Canada of Canada.Located in northern Canada, it borders Canada's two other territories, Yukon to the west and Nunavut to the east, and three provinces: British Columbia to the southwest, Alberta and Saskatchewan to the south....
, the Yukon
Yukon

Yukon is the westernmost and smallest of Canada three Territories of Canada. It was named after the Yukon River, Yukon meaning "Great River" in Gwich?in language....
, and Alaska
Alaska

Alaska is the largest U.S. state of the United States by area; it is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait....
 and west of Canada's Arctic islands. Its northwestern boundary is defined by a line connecting Point Barrow, Alaska, and Lands End, Prince Patrick Island
Prince Patrick Island

A member of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, Prince Patrick Island is the westernmost of the Queen Elizabeth Islands in the Northwest Territories of Canada....
. It is about 450,000 km˛ (170,000 mi˛) in area. The sea is named after Irish
Irish people

The Irish people are a Western European ethnic group who originate in Ireland, in north western Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolgs, Tuatha D? Danann and the Milesians ?the last group supposedly representing the "pure" Gaelic a...
 hydrographer Sir Francis Beaufort
Francis Beaufort

Rear-Admiral Sir Francis Beaufort, Fellow of the Royal Society, Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society was a hydrographer and officer in Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland's Royal Navy....
.

The Beaufort Sea is also the location of what are believed to be significant petroleum
Petroleum

Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid found in rock formations in the Earth consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights, plus other organic compounds....
 reserves beneath the seabed, a continuation of proven reserves in the nearby Mackenzie River and North Slope
Alaska North Slope

The Alaska North Slope is the region of the U.S. state of Alaska located on the northern slope of the Brooks Range along the coast of two marginal seas of the Arctic Ocean, the Chukchi Sea being on the western side of Point Barrow, and the Beaufort Sea on the eastern....
. The Beaufort Sea was first explored in the 1960s and the Amauligak Project of 1986 began operating the first functioning oil platform
Oil platform

An offshore platform, often referred to as an oil platform or oil rig, is a large structure used to house workers and machinery needed to drill wells in the ocean bed, extract Petroleum and/or natural gas, process the produced fluids, and ship them to shore....
.

Hydrology and ecology

The large Mackenzie River
Mackenzie River

The Mackenzie River originates in Great Slave Lake, in the Northwest Territories, and flows north into the Arctic Ocean. It is the longest river in Canada at 1,738 km and, together with its headstreams the Peace River and the Finlay River, the second longest river in North America at 4,241 km in length....
 empties into the sea as do other smaller rivers. It is an important habitat for whales and sea birds and is still relatively untouched by commercial traffic. The Beaufort Sea is the southern end limit of the range of the Polar bear
Polar Bear

The polar bear is a bear native to the Arctic Ocean and its surrounding seas. The world's largest carnivore found on land, and shares the title of largest land predator with the Kodiak Bear, an adult male weighs around , while an adult female is about half that size....
 in North America
North America

North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere....
.

Border dispute

There is an ongoing dispute between Canada and the United States over the delimitation of part of the maritime section of the International Boundary in the Beaufort Sea. Canada claims the maritime boundary to be along the 141st meridian out to a distance of 200 nautical miles (370 km), following the Alaska-Yukon land border. The United States claims the boundary line to be perpendicular to the coast out to a distance of 200 nautical miles (370 km), following a line of equidistance from the coast. This difference creates a wedge that is claimed by both nations. This dispute has taken on increased significance due to the possible presence of petroleum reserves within the wedge. Both nations have put petroleum exploration rights up for bid on sections within this disputed wedge.

The entire Beaufort Sea is totally frozen during much of the year. The permanent ice-pack covers the northern edge of the Beaufort Sea year-round.

See also

  • Petroleum exploration in the Arctic
    Petroleum exploration in the Arctic

    The exploration of the Arctic for petroleum is more technically and physically challenging than for any other environment. However, with increases in technology and continuing high oil prices the region is now receiving the interest of the petroleum industry....
  • List of areas disputed by the United States and Canada


External links

  • from NASA Earth Observatory
    NASA Earth Observatory

    The NASA Earth Observatory is an online publishing organization of the NASA of the United States .It is the principal source of free satellite imagery and other scientific information about Earth for consumption by the general public....