Flanked with fjords and inlets, Alaska is the state with the most coastline in the United States. But what is the length of its oceanic coast?
It depends on whom you ask. According to the Congressional Research Service , the number is 6,640 miles (10,690 kilometers). But if you consult the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) , the coastal edges of the state total 33,904 miles (54,563 km).
“So what is going on here? Why are there different definitions of the coastline or coastline length?” asked Ryan Stoa , an associate professor of law at Louisiana State University. He first stumbled upon these “wildly divergent reports” while researching coastline changes and their relationship to landowner rights. Bewildered by the discrepancy between federal agencies, Stoa’s questions on coastal length led him to a curious mathematical conundrum that’s been bugging experts for decades: the coastline paradox.
The coastline paradox occurs because coasts are not straight lines, and this makes them difficult, or impossible, to measure definitively. From an aircraft, you can see that the coast has many features, including bays, inlets, rocks and islands. And the closer you look, the more nooks and crannies you’ll find.