Originally written as a master thesis for the Information Design master department at Design Academy Eindhoven, this book constitutes the theoretical basis behind the project The Legal Status of Ice. The research investigates the phenomenologies of 21st-century borders by looking at their cartographic origin. Through the analysis of two historical maps and the modern Google Maps web application, it is argued that the process of bordering has always been contextual to the scientific development of cartography. The current maritime border dispute in the Arctic Ocean is discussed as a case study. Due to the importance of the region for global assets and future geopolitical scenarios, the Arctic dispute can be considered a good paradigm of the contemporary border panorama.