Legal Term: COAST

Definition: The margin of a country bounded by the sea. This term includes the natural appendages of the territory which rise out of the water, although they are not of sufficient firmness to be inhabited or fortified. Shoals perpetually covered with water are not, however, comprehended under the name of coast. The small islands, situate at the mouth of the Mississippi, composed of earth and trees drifted down by the river, which are not of consistency enough to support the purposes of life, and are uninhabited, though resorted to for shooting birds, were held to form a part of the coast. 5 Rob. Adm. R. 385. (c).

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