Some Very Helpful Boundary and Border Definitions Key Terms and Definitions: Boundary - something that indicates bounds or limits. Boundary Delimitation - political boundaries on Earth's surface are determined by the use of man-made structures such as fences and walls, i.e., United States/Mexico. Boundary Demarcation - there are no physical signs on Earth's surface to show that a boundary exists, i.e., Saudi Arabia/Omen. Boundary Dispute - when two or more states disagree about the demarcation of a political boundary. Compact State - the distance from the geographic center of the area to any point on the boundary does not vary greatly, i.e., Hungary. Elongated State - state that is geographically long and narrow, i.e., Chile. Enclave - portion of a state that is totally surrounded by another state, i.e., Armenian Nagorno-Karabagh Exclave -small portion of land that is separated from the main state, i.e., Kaliningrad/Russia. Fragmented State - state split into many pieces, i.e., Philippines and Indonesia. Landlocked State - state not having direct access to an ocean, i.e., Bolivia. Perforated State - state that totally surrounds another state, i.e., Lesotho/South Africa. Prorupt State - state having a portion of territory that is elongated, i.e., Thailand. Microstate - state that is extremely small, i.e., San Marine. Nation-State - political unit comprising a clearly delineated territory where the population shares a common history and culture, i.e., Japan. Subsoil - below the surface of Earth. Boundaries are vertical planes, not merely lines on a map. Frontier - zone where no state exercises political control, i.e., Antarctica and portions of Saudi Arabia. Physical Boundary - major physical features such as deserts, mountain ranges, and/or water bodies that serve as a means of separation, i.e., Great Lakes, Pureness Mountains, and Sahara Desert. Geometric Boundary - straight lines that serve as political boundaries that are unrelated to physical and /or cultural differences, i.e., United States/Canadian border. Cultural Political Boundary - political boundary that separates different cultures, i.e., former Yugoslavia. Religious Boundary - boundary that separates different religions, i.e., Northern Ireland/Ireland. Language Boundary - boundary that separates different language speakers, i.e., traditionally many countries in Europe such as England, France, Spain, and Portugal. Genetic Boundary - how boundaries evolve over time. Antecedent Boundary - boundary that was created before the present day cultural landscape developed, i.e., Malaysia/Indonesia on the island of Borneo. Subsequent Boundary - boundaries that are created as a result of long-term processes, i.e., Vietnam/China. Super Imposed Boundary - boundary that has been forced upon the inhabitants of an area to solve a problem and/or conflict, i.e., Indonesia/Papua New Guinea. Relict Boundary - boundary that ceases to exist, however the imprint of the boundary still remains on the cultural landscape, i.e., North/South Vietnam. Fortified Boundary - when a state constructs physical barriers along a boundary to either keep people in or out of its territory, i.e., Great Wall of China, Berlin Wall, earth berms along the Morocco/Spanish Sahara border. Nation - geographic area that is dominated by a large population that shares a common history and culture, i.e., Kurds and Palestinians. State - political entity that maintains status as an independent country. Boundaries result in a combination of natural physical features and cultural features. Natural physical features: Cultural features: - rivers - language - deserts - religion - mountains A frontier provides an area of separation, often kilometers in width, but a boundary brings two neighboring states into direct contact. Frontiers aren't used anymore, the only places that have them are Antarctica and the Arabian Peninsula.
Physical boundaries: - coincide with significant features of the Natural landscape. * Mountain boundaries: - difficult to cross - limited contact with other countries and nationalities. - permanent - sparsely inhabited Ex. Argentina and Chile, are separated at the crest of the Andes Mountains. *Desert boundaries: - Difficult to cross - Sparsely inhabited - Common in Africa and Asia Ex. Sahara separates Algeria, Libya, and Egypt from Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Chad, and South Sudan. *Water boundaries: - rivers, lakes, and oceans - visible on a map - relatively unchanging - common in East Africa - usually in middle of water - good protection Ex. The boundary between Congo Democratic Republic and Uganda runs through Lake Albert. Ex2. The boundary separating Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda runs through Lake Victoria.
*Cultural boundaries: - The boundaries between some states coincide with differences in: - Ethnicity - Language - Religion - Geometry *Religious boundaries: - often coincide with boundaries between states. Rarely used to select boundary lines. Ex. South Asia. British partitioned India into two states on the basis of religion. The Muslims were moved to Pakistan and the Hindus became independent India. *Language boundaries - states that unify the speakers of a particular language: - France - England - Spain - Portugal - Germany - After WWI boundaries were redrawn due to language.. " *Geometric boundaries: Ex. The U.S and Canada. Border was established in 1846 by a treaty between the United States and Great Britain (who owned Canada.) U.S wanted the boundary to go from the 49 degrees north latitude to the 54 degrees 40 north latitude. "Fifty- four forty or fight *Cyprus's "Green Line" boundary: (Ethnicity) - Cyprus contains two nationalities: - Greek (78%) - Turkish (18%) - 1974 Greek Cypriot military officers who favored unification of Cyprus with Greece seized control. - Turkey then invaded to protect the Turkish minority.
- Greek coup leaders were gone within a few months and the elected government came back. - Two nationalities became isolated, the Turks were in the Northeastern part and the Greeks were in the Southern part. - 1983 The Turks declared themselves the independent Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. Shapes of States *Compact shapes: -Ideal shape would be a circle. -Beneficial because it has better and easier communication. Ex. In Africa: -Burundi -Kenya -Rwanda -Uganda *Prorupted States: -Provides state with water resource. -Can also separate two states. Ex. Zaire (Congo) River. Elongated state: -isolated from the other end of the state. Ex. Chile
*Fragmented State: -Two different kinds: -Separated by water -Separated by land Ex. Indonesia * Perforated states Ex. South Africa completely surrounds Lesotho.
* Landlocked state: -Lesotho is also landlocked -A state completely surrounded by other states -No water access. Ex. Botswana, Lesotho, and Swaziland.