Appendix G: Cross-Reference List of Hydrographic Codes


IHO 23-4th: Limits of Oceans and Seas, Special Publication 23, Draft 4th Edition 1986, published by the International Hydrographic Bureau of the International Hydrographic Organization

IHO 23-3rd: Limits of Oceans and Seas, Special Publication 23, 3rd Edition 1953, published by the International Hydrographic Organization

ACIC M 49-1: Chart of Limits of Seas and Oceans, revised January 1958, published by the Aeronautical Chart and Information Center (ACIC), United States Air Force; note--ACIC is now part of the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA)

DIAM 65-18: Geopolitical Data Elements and Related Features, Data Standard No. 4, Defense Intelligence Agency Manual 65-18, December 1994, published by the Defense Intelligence Agency

The US Government has not yet adopted a standard for hydrographic codes similar to the Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) 10-4 country codes. The names and limits of the following oceans and seas are not always directly comparable because of differences in the customers, needs, and requirements of the individual organizations. Even the number of principal water bodies varies from organization to organization. Factbook users, for example, find the Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean entries useful, but none of the following standards include those oceans in their entirety. Nor is there any provision for combining codes or overcodes to aggregate water bodies.


* The letters after the numbers are subdivisions, not footnotes.

Appendixes | Factbook Home Page

Principal Oceans and Seas of the World With Hydrographic Codes by Institution





IHO 23-4th
IHO 23-3rd*
ACIC M 49-1
DIAM 65-18
Arctic Ocean
9
17
A
5A
Atlantic Ocean
--
--
--
--
North Atlantic Ocean
1
23
B
1A
South Atlantic Ocean
4
32
C
2A
Baltic Sea
2
1
B26
7B
Indian Ocean
5
45
F
6A
Mediterranean Sea
3.1
28
B11
--
Eastern Mediterranean
3.1.2
28 B
--
8E
Western Mediterranean
3.1.1
28 A
--
8W
Pacific Ocean
--
--
--
--
North Pacific Ocean
7
57
D
3A
South Pacific Ocean
8
61
E
4A
South China and Eastern Archipelagic Seas
6
49 and 48
D18 plus others
3U plus others
Oceans and Seas of the World With Hydrographic Codes by Institution





IHO 23-4th
IHO 23-3rd*
ACIC M 49-1
DIAM 65-18
ARCTIC OCEAN
9
17
A
5A
East Siberian Sea
9.1
11
A6
5S
Laptev Sea
9.2
10
A5
5P
Kara Sea
9.3
9
A4
5K
Barents Sea
9.4
7
A2
5B
White Sea
9.5
8
A3
5W
North Greenland Sea
9.6
--
--
--
Norwegian Sea
9.7
6
B30
5N
Iceland Sea
9.8
--
--
--
Davis Strait
9.9
15
B2
1V
Hudson Strait
9.10
16 A
A15
1U
Hudson Bay
9.11
16
A10
1H
Baffin Bay
9.12
14 A
A12
1P
Lincoln Sea
9.13
17 A
A13
5L
Northwest Passages (Northwest Passage, Northwestern Passages)
9.14
14
A9
5T
Beaufort Sea
9.15
13
A8
5U
Chukchi Sea
9.16
12
A7
5C
James Bay
--
--
A11
--
Kane Basin
--
--
A14
--
ATLANTIC OCEAN (see North Atlantic Ocean and South Atlantic Ocean)
--
--
--
--
BALTIC SEA
2
1
B26
7B
Gulf of Bothnia
2.1
1 (a)
B29
7T
Gulf of Finland
2.2
1 (b)
B28
7F
Gulf of Riga
2.3
1 (c)
B27
7H
The Sound
2.4
2
--
--
The Great Belt
2.5
2
--
--
The Little Belt
2.6
2
--
--
Kattegat
2.7
2
B25
7K
INDIAN OCEAN
5
45
F
6A
Mozambique Channel
5.1
45 A
F1
6Z
Gulf of Suez
5.2
35
F5
6W
Gulf of Aqaba
5.3
36
--
6Q
Red Sea
5.4
37
F4
6E
Gulf of Aden
5.5
38
F3
6D
Persian Gulf (Gulf of Iran)
5.6
41
F7
6P
Gulf of Oman
5.7
40
F6
6M
Arabian Sea
5.8
39
F2
6R
Laccadive Sea (Ladshadweep Sea)
5.9
42
F9
6L
Gulf of Mannar
5.10
--
F8
--
Palk Strait and Palk Bay
5.11
--
--
--
Bay of Bengal
5.12
43
F10
6B
Andaman Sea (Burma Sea)
5.13
44
F11
6N
Strait of Malacca (Malacca Strait)
5.14
46 (a)
F12
6C
Great Australian Bight
5.15
62
F21
6G
Suez Canal
--
--
--
6U
MEDITERRANEAN REGION
3
--
--
--
Mediterranean Sea
3.1
28
B11
--
Mediterranean Sea, Western Basin
3.1.1
28 A
--
8W
Strait of Gibraltar
3.1.1.1
28 (a)
B7
8S
Alboran Sea
3.1.1.2
28 (b)
--
8Y
Balearic Sea (Balear Sea, Iberian Sea)
3.1.1.3
28 (c)
B9
8J
Ligurian Sea (Ligure Sea)
3.1.1.4
28 (d)
B10
8L
Tyrrhenian Sea (Tirreno Sea)
3.1.1.5
28 (e)
B12
8T
Mediterranean Sea, Eastern Basin
3.1.2
28 B
--
8E
Adriatic Sea
3.1.2.1
28 (g)
B14
8D
Strait of Sicily (Strait of Sicilia)
3.1.2.2
--
--
--
Ionian Sea
3.1.2.3
28 (f)
B13
8N
Aegean Sea
3.1.2.4
28 (h)
B15
8G
Sea of Marmara
3.2
29
B16
8M
Black Sea
3.3
30
B17
8B
Sea of Azov
3.4
31
B18
8Z
Gulf of Lion (Gulf of Lions)
--
--
B8
8X
Aral Sea
--
--
--
8R
Bosporus
--
--
--
8P
Caspian Sea
--
--
--
8C
Dardanelles
--
--
--
8U
NORTH ATLANTIC OCEAN
1
23
B
1A
Skagerrak
1.1
3
B24
1S
North Sea
1.2
4
B23
1N
Inner Seas off the West Coast of Scotland
1.3
18
--
1K
Irish Sea and Saint Georges Channel
1.4
19
B22
1R, 1Q
Bristol Channel
1.5
20
B21
1C
Celtic Sea
1.6
21 A
--
--
English Channel
1.7
21
B20
1E
Bay of Biscay
1.8
22
B19
1B
Canarias Sea
1.9
--
--
--
Gulf of Guinea
1.10
34
C4
1G
Caribbean Sea
1.11
27
B6
1X
Gulf of Mexico
1.12
26
B5
1M
Bay of Fundy
1.13
25
B4
1F
Gulf of Saint Lawrence
1.14
24
B3
1T
Labrador Sea
1.15
15 A
--
1L
Greenland Sea
1.16
5
A1
5G
Denmark Strait
--
--
B1
1D
Lake Erie
--
--
--
9E
Lake Huron
--
--
--
9H
Lake Michigan
--
--
--
9M
Lake Ontario
--
--
--
9N
Lake Superior
--
--
--
9S
Panama Canal
--
--
--
1J
Saint Lawrence Seaway
--
--
--
9L
NORTH PACIFIC OCEAN
7
57
D
3A
Philippine Sea
7.1
56
D26
3P
Taiwan Strait (Formosa Strait)
7.2
--
D17
3F
East China Sea (Tung Hai)
7.3
50
D13
3E
Yellow Sea (Huang Hai, Hwang Hai)
7.4
51
D14
3Y
Bo Hai (Bo Sea, Gulf of Chihli)
7.5
--
D16
3X
Liaodong Wan (Liaodong Gulf)
7.6
--
--
--
Inland Sea of Japan (Seto Naikai)
7.7
53
--
3N
Sea of Japan (Japan Sea)
7.8
52
D11
3J
Gulf of Tartary
7.9
--
D10
--
Sea of Okhotsk
7.10
54
D8
3Q
Bering Sea
7.11
55
D6
5D
Anadyrskiy Zaliv (Anadyrskiy Gulf)
7.12
--
--
5Y
Gulf of Alaska
7.13
58
D4
5F
Coastal Waters of Southeast Alaska and British Columbia
7.14
59
D3
5E
Gulf of California
7.15
60
D2
3L
Gulf of Panama
7.16
--
D1
--
Amurskiy Liman
--
--
D27
--
Bering Strait
--
--
D7
5R
Bristol Bay
--
--
D5
--
Korea Bay
--
--
D15
3R
Korea Strait
--
--
D12
--
Sakhalinskiy Zaliv
--
--
D28
3B
Zaliv Shelikhova (Zaliv Shelekhova)
--
--
D9
3K
Luzon Strait
--
--
--
3I
Tatar Strait
--
--
--
3D
PACIFIC OCEAN (see North Pacific Ocean and South Pacific Ocean)
--
--
--
--
SOUTH ATLANTIC OCEAN
4
32
C
2A
Rio de la Plata
4.1
33
C1
2R
Drake Passage
--
--
C5
2D
Golfo San Matias
--
--
C2
2M
Golfo San Jorge
--
--
C3
2J
Scotia Sea
--
--
C6
2S
Weddell Sea
--
--
C7
2W
SOUTH CHINA AND EASTERN ARCHIPELAGIC SEAS
6
49 and 48
D18 plus others
3U plus others
South China Sea (Nan Hai)
6.1
49
D18
3U
Gulf of Tonkin
6.2
--
D19
3G
Gulf of Thailand (Gulf of Siam)
6.3
47
D20
3T
Natuna Sea
6.4
--
--
--
Singapore Strait
6.5
46 (b)
--
3Z
Sunda Strait
6.6
--
--
--
Java Sea (Jawa Sea)
6.7
48 (n)
F13
4J
Makassar Strait (Makasar Strait)
6.8
48 (m)
E1
4M
Bali Sea
6.9
48 (l)
F14
4L
Flores Sea
6.10
48 (j)
F16
4F
Sumba Strait
6.11
--
--
--
Savu Sea (Sawu Sea)
6.12
48 (o)
F15
6S
Timor Sea
6.13
48 (i)
F19
6T
Joseph Bonaparte Gulf
6.14
--
F20
--
Gulf of Carpentaria
6.15
--
E4
4P
Arafura Sea
6.16
48 (h)
E3
4U
Aru Sea
6.17
--
--
--
Banda Sea
6.18
48 (g)
E2
4B
Teluk Bone (Gulf of Bone, Gulf of Boni)
6.19
48 (k)
F17
4E
Ceram Sea (Seram Sea)
6.20
48 (f)
D25
4Q
Gulf of Berau
6.21
--
--
--
Halmahera Sea
6.22
48 (e)
D24
3H
Molucca Sea (Molukka Sea, Maluku Sea)
6.23
48 (c)
D23
3M
Teluk Tomini (Gulf of Tomini)
6.24
48 (d)
F18
3V
Sulawesi Sea
6.25
--
--
--
Mindanao Sea
6.26
--
--
--
Sulu Sea
6.27
48 (a)
D21
3S
Celebes Sea
--
48 (b)
D22
3C
SOUTH PACIFIC OCEAN
8
61
E
4A
Bismarck Sea
8.1
66
E6
4K
Solomon Sea
8.2
65
E7
4S
Torres Strait
8.3
--
E5
--
Coastal Waters of Great Barrier Reefs
8.4
--
--
--
Coral Sea
8.5
64
E9
4C
Tasman Sea
8.6
63
E10
4T
Bass Strait
8.7
62 A
F22
6F
Amundsen Sea
--
--
E12
4D
Bellingshausen Sea
--
--
E13
4G
Cook Strait
--
--
E8
--
Ross Sea
--
--
E11
4R