Regions
There is no single definition of “the Arctic”. We keep versioned geometries for multiple definitions — the Arctic Circle, the IMO Polar Code area, individual seas and straits and analytical regions — each with its source and validity window.
arctic_circle
Seas and marine areas
Baffin Bay
Bay between Greenland and Baffin Island; eastern NWP approach.
v1 · IHO S-23 (approximate centroid)
Barents Sea
Shelf sea north of Norway and Russia; gateway to the Northern Sea Route.
v1 · IHO S-23 (approximate centroid)
Beaufort Sea
Sea north of Alaska and western Canada on the western NWP approach.
v1 · IHO S-23 (approximate centroid)
Canadian Arctic Archipelago
Island group containing the Northwest Passage variants.
v1 · Natural Earth (approximate centroid)
Chukchi Sea
Marginal sea north of the Bering Strait shared by Russia and the United States.
v1 · IHO S-23 (approximate centroid)
East Siberian Sea
Shallow marginal sea; typically the most ice-affected NSR segment.
v1 · IHO S-23 (approximate centroid)
Greenland Sea
Sea between Greenland and Svalbard; main sea-ice export pathway via Fram Strait.
v1 · IHO S-23 (approximate centroid)
Kara Sea
Marginal sea east of Novaya Zemlya; first major NSR leg east of the Kara Gate.
v1 · IHO S-23 (approximate centroid)
Laptev Sea
Marginal sea between the Taymyr Peninsula and the New Siberian Islands.
v1 · IHO S-23 (approximate centroid)
Norwegian Sea
Deep sea west of Norway linking the North Atlantic to the Barents Sea.
v1 · IHO S-23 (approximate centroid)
Straits and chokepoints
Bering Strait
Chokepoint between Chukotka and Alaska connecting Pacific and Arctic.
v1 · IHO S-23 (approximate centroid)
Davis Strait
Southern approach to Baffin Bay between Greenland and Baffin Island.
v1 · IHO S-23 (approximate centroid)
Fram Strait
Deep passage between Greenland and Svalbard; main Arctic Ocean gateway.
v1 · IHO S-23 (approximate centroid)