An Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) is an area of the ocean where a coastal nation has jurisdiction over natural resources, as prescribed by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The EEZ extends no more than 200 nautical miles from the territorial sea baseline and is adjacent to the 12 nautical mile territorial sea of the coastal nation. Within its defined EEZ, a coastal nation has exclusive rights regarding the exploration and use of marine resources, including energy. The EEZ differs from territorial waters in that it is an area beyond and adjacent to the territorial sea, subject to the specific legal regime established in Part V of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The United States claimed a 200-nautical-mile EEZ in 1983, which extends beyond and adjacent to the seaward boundary of the 12-nautical-mile territorial sea of the United States. The U.S. EEZ is larger than the land area of all 50 states combined and is one of the largest EEZs in the world.