Outer Continental Shelf

The Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) is a legally defined geographic feature of the United States. The OCS is the part of the internationally recognized continental shelf of the United States which does not fall under the jurisdictions of the individual U.S. states.

The exclusive economic zone of the United States extends 200 nautical miles (370 km; 230 mi) from the coast, and thus overlaps but is not coterminous with the Outer Continental Shelf.