United States v. Alaska

The issue here is whether the body of water known as Cook Inlet is a historic bay. The inlet extends northeastward well over 150 miles into the Alaskan land mass, with Kenai Peninsula to the southeast and the Chigmit Mountains to the northwest. The city of Anchorage is near the head of the inlet. The upper, or inner por tion, of the inlet is not in dispute, for that part is conceded to be inland waters subject to Alaska’s sovereignty.

If the inlet is a historic bay, the State of Alaska possesses sovereignty over the land beneath the waters of the lower, or seaward, portion of the inlet. If the…