Borders Political Geography llhammon Spring 2014 Borders Most of the time, a border is an imaginary line that isnt remarkable in any way, usually not even readily visible. More often than not, the only indication youll get when youre crossing one is a sign that says Welcome to Oregon or You are now leaving California, while youre driving on a highway where nothing seems to be out of the ordinary. Some borders, however, are more unusual. Here is a list, in no particular order, of border areas that are somehow peculiar or noteworthy. Spain/Morocco Border Ceuta is an 18.5 square kilometres (7.1 sq mi) autonomous city in Spain and an exclave located on the north coast of North Africa, surrounded by Morocco. Separated from the Iberian peninsula by the Strait of Gibraltar, Ceuta lies on the border of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Morocco claims Ceuta, along with the Spanish autonomous city of Melilla, and a number of Mediterranean islands which border it, which has led Spain to erect a 3 meter high border fence around the city topped with barbed wire. Spain and Morocco High fences to stop illegal immigration into Spain mark the borders of Spains two North African exclaves of Ceuta and Melilla that border Morocco. The two Spanish cities are each entirely surrounded by Morocco. Pictured here is Ceuta.Read more at Netherlands and Belgium
The borders in the town of Baarle are the most confusing borders in the world. The entire town is surrounded by The Netherlands but 26 separate pieces of the town belong to Belgium. For clarification and the interest of tourists, the border is made visible on all the towns streets. This way it is always clear whether one is in Belgium (Baarle-Hertog) or in The Netherlands (Baarle-Nassau).Read more at BaarleNassau/ Baarle-Hertog
Baarle-Nassau is a Municipality in the Netherlands. It shares an unusual border with the Belgian municipality of Baarle-Hertog. Baarle-Hertog consists of 26 separate pieces of land surrounded by Baarle-Nassau, but some portions of Baarle-Hertog also contain areas belonging to Baarle-Nassau. The smallest parcel belonging to Belgium is only two-thirds of an acre (one-quarter of a hectare). The border is so complicated that there are even some houses that are bisected by it. In the picture above you can see the Netherlands on the left and Belgium on the right. Bir Tawil Bir Tawil is a plot of land about 795 square miles (2,060 square kilometers) in size. It lies between Egypt and Sudan. It was inadvertently created in 1902, when the United Kingdom drew a different border from the one that was created in The two different borders created two different areas, Bir Tawil and Halaib. Halaib has various resources, making it desirable, but Bir Tawil has nothing. Therefore, Egypt claims the 1899 border, which gives Halaib to Egypt and Bir Tawil to Sudan. Sudan, conversely, claims the 1902 border, which gives Halaib to Sudan and Bir Tawil to Egypt. Each country insists that Bir Tawil belongs to the other, making Bir Tawil the only piece of land in the world (outside of Antarctica) that is not claimed by any nation. Mount Everest Whats Mount Everest doing on this list, you may ask? Everyone knows, of course, that its the tallest mountain in the world, but what a lot of people dont know is that the border of Nepal and China goes right through the middle of the mountain, including the peak itself making it not just the highest mountain, but also the highest border area. China and Nepal The summit of the highest mountain in the world, Mt. Everest, marks the border between the small landlocked sovereign state of Nepal and China.Read more at District of Columbia The District of Columbia was originally a big diamond carved out of Maryland and Virginia (later, the Virginia portion was returned to Virginia). Due to its size, shape and location, the border has some unusual features. When it was originally delineated, large stones were placed one mile apart around the entire District to define the border one hundred stones in all, since the original district was ten miles long on each side. A few of the stones are missing today, but most are still present. Theres one in Silver Spring, Maryland, that marks the northernmost point of the District. The border is unusual in other ways as well. Eastern Avenue and Western Avenue form the Northeast and Northwest borders, respectively. If youre walking on the sidewalk on the northern side of the street, youre in Maryland; the street itself is in the District, and the curb is the state line. Stores on one side of the street showing phone numbers in their windows will have one area code (for Maryland) on the north side of the street, and a different area code (for the District) on the south side. Derby Line, Vermont The town of Derby Line straddles the US/Canada border. The border passes right through the town, even through some buildings and homes. In some cases, a family at home cooks its meals in one country and eats them in the other. Derby Line is also home to the Haskell Free Library and Opera House, which was purposely built on the border. The opera stage is in Canada, but the entrance to the opera, and most of the stage seats, are in the United States. Because the building straddles the border, it has two mailing addresses, one for the US and one for Canada. Cooch-Behar District The Cooch-Behar District has borders somewhat similar to the Baarle-Nassau/Baarle-Hertog border. There are a number of parcels under Bangladeshi jurisdiction that lie inside of India, and vice versa. An additional peculiarity is the Indian area Balapara Khagrabari. As an exclave, it is surrounded by Bangladeshi territory. However, it also surrounds another Bangladeshi territory, and that territory itself surrounds yet another Indian territory, Dahala Khagrabari, making it the only place in the world where an exclave contains an exclave that itself contains yet another exclave. North Korea and South Korea
The Joint Security Area pictured here is the only portion of the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) where South and North Korean forces stand face-to-face.Read more at Korean Demilitarized Zone
The Korean DMZ is a strip of land about 160 miles (258 kilomters) long and 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) wide, dividing North and South Korea. It is the most heavily militarized border in the world. Because it is so heavily guarded and almost nobody ever enters it, it has inadvertently created a nature preserve. A number of highly endangered species have taken up residence there, and there are indications that some of them may even be increasing in population. The DMZ is also notable in that it does not delineate a border per se; rather, it surrounds a Military Demarcation Line, or MDL. A border between the two Koreas cannot be formally agreed upon, as the two nations are technically still at war. A cease-fire was agreed on in 1953, but there has never been an actual peace treaty. Tumen River The Tumen is a river in Northeastern Asia. In an area near the coast, on the border between Russia and North Korea, just to the south of Lake Khasan, the Tumen snakes down between Russia and North Korea and is actually in Chinese territory. Thus, in this area, you can start off in North Korea, and just by walking North for less than half a mile, you will pass through China and end up in Russia. Although that might not be a good idea. Its a common place for North Koreans to attempt to defect and, for that reason, it is heavily patrolled by North Korean soldiers. The Diomedes The Diomedes are a pair of islands in the Bering Strait.
Little Diomede hosts the American city of Diomede, with a population of 146. Big Diomede belongs to Russia and is uninhabited. The two islands are only about 2.5 miles (four kilometers) apart. The International Date Line passes between the Diomedes and serves also as the border between the United States and Russia. Thus, when residents on Little Diomede look across the strait at Big Diomede, they are not just looking at another country, they are looking into tomorrow; for example, when it is 9 AM on Saturday on Little Diomede, it is 6 AM on Sunday on Big Diomede. Little Diomede has set up a webcam looking across the strait. Visitors can control the camera, panning from side to side and zooming in on Big Diomede. Norway and Sweden Snowmobilers line up to ride the pathway of removed trees making up the border between the two Nordic nations Read more at United Kingdom and Spain
This is the checkpoint at the international boundary between the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar and Spain. Read more at Haiti and the Dominican Republic
Haiti has limited deforestation laws when compared to the Dominican Republic on the right. Read more at Argentina, Paraguay, and Brazil
The point where the Iguaz and Paran rivers converge is known as The Triple Frontier, connecting the three South American nations. Read more at United States and Mexico
Picture of the border between Nogales, Arizona, on the left, and Nogales, Sonora, on the right. With approximately 350 million legal crossings being made annually the US-Mexico border is the most frequently crossed border in the world and is close to 2,000 miles long.Read more at Argentina and Brazil The Iguazu Falls are waterfalls in the Iguazu River on the border of the Brazilian state of Paran and the Argentine province of Misiones Read more at Costa Rica and Panama This single-lane bridge over the Sixaola River, a natural border between the two Central American countries, is used by thousands of cars, trucks and pedestrians every day. Read more at Brazil and Bolivia A river-divided border shows the difference in deforestation in the rain forest of Brazil (light green) and Bolivia (dark green.) Read more at Poland and Ukraine This part of the border between the two European nations gets decorated every year for a local art festival (The Land Art Festival). Read more at Slovakia and Poland Mt. Rysy in the Tatras mountains marks the border between the two EU member nations. Read more at Argentina and Chile This statue of Jesus Christ located high in the Andes mountains signals peace between the two South American nations. Read more at Afghanistan and Pakistan
US soldier on watch at the Torkham Gate, which divides Afghanistan from Pakistan, and is a major border crossing between the two countries. Read more at United States and Canada
This is the longest international border in the world, stretching approximately 5,500 miles. Read more at Egypt and Israel Canadian astronaut, Commander Chris Hadfield, took this amazing photo from the International Space Station. It shows Egypt on the left, Israel on the right, and the self-governed entity of The Gaza Strip stretched out along the Mediterranean Sea.Read more at Austria, Hungary, and Slovakia
This picnic table marks the location where the borders of the three EU nations meet. Read more at Vatican City and Italy The entrance to the famous St. Peters Square marks the border between Italy and the sovereign Catholic city-state of Vatican City. Read more at Pakistan and India . The Wagah border ceremony is a daily military practice that the security forces of India and Pakistan have jointly followed since It takes place every night before the flags are lowered and the gate locked on the only road between the two Asian countries Read more at Northern and Southern Hemisphere
Not a national border this, but this park in Ecuador mark the point of zero degrees latitude, where the two hemispheres meet. Read more at