MARITIME GEOGRAPHY

'Maritime geography' is often discussed in terms of four loosely-defined regions: 'Riverine', 'brown water', 'green water', and 'blue water'.

Contents

Regions

Riverine

Brown water

Green water

Blue water

Regions

Riverine

The 'riverine' environment consists of all navigable rivers of interest.

Brown water

The 'brown water' environment consists of the littoral areas, from the coast and estuarial areas to perhaps a hundred miles from shore. It is the most important maritime arena, including all coastal traffic and territorial waters, in which are found the great majority of a nation’s maritime police, customs, environmental, and economic concerns.
A "brown water navy" focuses on coastal operations and primarily takes a defensive role.

Green water

The 'green water' environment extends from the outer edge of the brown-water zone past any continental shelves, archipelagos and islands; perhaps a thousand miles from shore.
A "green water navy" is capable of defense of its nation in depth and is a significant offensive force within its territory.

Blue water

The 'blue water' environment extends from the outer edge of the green-water zone through the global deep ocean.
A "blue water navy" can project its nation's power throughout the world.