Dixon Entrance

The strait was named by Joseph Banks for Captain George Dixon, a Royal Navy officer, maritime fur trader, and explorer, who surveyed the area in 1787.

Canada claims the line is the international maritime boundary, while the United States holds that its purpose was only to designate the land masses belonging to each country.

Hence, the U.S. does not recognize the "A–B" line as an official boundary (to govern, for example, seafloor resources or fishing rights).

[4] In addition, Nunez Rocks is a low-tide elevation (LTE) ("bare at half-tide"[5]) that lies south of the "A–B" Line, surrounded by the sea territory claimed by the U.S.[4] The United States has not ratified the Law of the Sea Treaty, although it adheres to most of its principles as customary international law.

Territorial fishing disputes between the countries remain today, as the United States has never shown the "A–B" line as an official boundary on its government maps.

Looking northwest across Dixon Entrance from Baron Island
The Dixon Entrance as delineated by BC Geographical Names and the disputed "A–B Line", along with Hecate Strait and Queen Charlotte Sound . [ 1 ] Red dots indicate capes and points, gray text indicates island names. The international boundary between Canada and the United States follows Portland Canal to "Point B", thence, according to Canada, to Cape Muzon . The purpose and significance of the "A–B Line" portion of the boundary are disputed.
Dixon Entrance showing the borders recognized by Canada and the United States. (C) OpenStreetMap 2024 under the Open Data Commons Open Database License (ODbL)
Maps of the Dixon Entrance showing the A–B Line of 1903 [ 8 ] [ 9 ] [ 10 ] (left, upper dash-dot-dot line) and the boundary currently claimed by the U.S. [ 11 ] (right, dashed black line near the label ‘Dixon Entrance’).