Geography has no boundaries!

Boundary: an invisible line marking the extent of a country’s

territory

Physical boundaries: rivers, deserts, mountains, etc…

France and Germany are separated by the Rhine River

A long portion of Russia and China are separated by the Amur River

Chile is separated from other South American countries by the steep Andes Mountains

Cultural boundaries include language and religion

India and Pakistan are separated by religion

Israel and Syria have religious issues and a nonspecified border area

-The shape of a country effects potential for communication and conflict with neighbors

5 Basic Shapes of Countries

1. Compact Country

-distance from center to any boundary has little variation

-ideal compact state would be a circle, with the capital at the center-most beneficial to smaller states

-gives them equal access to all regions

Belgium is an excellent example of a compact country

Brussels is very centrally located

Belgium is ethnically divided into Wallonia and Flanders

It is believed that the central location of the capital city along the border of these two territories has helped to keep the country together

Rwanda in central Africa is another fine example

-Spain is another example

-equal access to all locations?

-centrally located capital?

2. Prorupted country:

-an otherwise compact country with a large projecting extension

Why do they have these projections?

1. Usually to get access to a resource (sea)

2. To keep other countries from sharing a common border

The Congo has a strip to the west to give it access to the Atlantic Ocean

WHY?

-Namibia, also in western Africa, has the Caprivi Strip which connects the country to Zambia

WHY?

Namibia is a former German colony, and the Germans gained access to rich mineral resources in Zambia during the colonial period

Afghanistan has a strip of land

Intended to keep the former USSR (now Tajikistan) from having a common border with Pakistan

3. Elongated countries:

-countries with a long, narrow shape

-often because of physical barriers

-results in isolation

Chile, in South America, is an example of an elongated country

Gambia

-another example of an elongated country

-Gambia-a former English colony, has had a competitive boundary with Senegal, a former French colony-from the colonial period

-this European imposed boundary has separated families and ethnic groups

4. Fragmented countries:

-includes several discontinuous fragments of territory

-these territories may be separated by water

Or by space

Indonesia

-made up of about 13,677 separate islands-over 3000 miles in length

-over 80% of population live on two islands

Java

Sumatra

-Japan is fragmented into five major islands and several smaller ones

• Angola

-Angola has the fragmented territory of Cabirda

-split as a result of Dem. Congo’s territory to the sea

How about North America, any fragmented countries there?

-Yep, the USA!!

-Alaska is separated from the rest of the country by space

Its nice those Canucks areSo dog gone friendly

*fragmentation hinders communication and movement

Again, look at IndiaThis area is basically fragmented from the rest of the country-causes many problems with neighbors

5. Perforated countries:

-a country that completely surrounds another country

-the surrounded country must depend almost entirely on its neighbor for imports and exports

-the surrounded country can be very influenced by its neighbor

South Africa perferates Lesotho

-Lesotho is completely surrounded by South Africa

-How did the black leaders of Lesotho respond to the white minority rule in South Africa during apartheid?-not much they could do

Landlocked countries:

-countries that lack a direct outlet to the sea because it is completely surrounded by other countries

-landlocked countries are most common in Africa

-14 of the 54 countries are landlocked

-result of the colonial era when European powers set up coastal colonies and determined borders based on sea access

Landlocked states in southern Africa

Cooperation between landlocked countries in southern Africa has been complicated by racial patterns

-during the colonial era, French and British developed rail lines to connect the inland mineral areas with the sea ports

-now that they are gone, the new countries must depend on neighbors to import and export goods on the rail lines

Botswana, Lesotho, and Swaziland ship 90% of their exports on rail lines which go through South Africa

-Dem. Congo, Zambia, and Zimbabwe also must transport most of their imports and exports through South Africa

-these states disliked the racial discrimination which occurred in South Africa

-but they could not sever ties with South Africa or they would have faced economic disaster

Zimbabwe

Landlocked nation in southern Africa

-former British colony known as Southern Rhodesia

1965-white minority declare this an independent country

-most other countries reduced or terminated trade with it

-but these trade restrictions had little effect

WHY?

-because most of the rail lines ran through South Africa to their major ports

And South Africa welcomed the opportunity to aid another minority white government

Rhodesia’s main rail line ran through black-ruled Botswana

-Botswana did not support the new white-ruled Rhodesia

-the new government was forced to complete a new rail line directly to South Africa in 1974

-crosses rugged terrain

1977-the white-minority government of Rhodesia agreed to give blacks the right to vote

-blacks quickly gained government control

In 1978, the country is officially recognized as Zimbabwe

-the new government would rather not depend on the white-minority government of South Africa at this time

Zimbabwe tried to reduce dependence on South Africa

-attempted to ship on rail lines that did not go through South Africa

-the nearest non-South African port was Beira, in Mozambique

Beira

-this rail line was insecure though because Mozambique was in a bloody civil war which lasted from 1976 to 1992

South Africa was sending aid to help the Mozambique rebels

-Zimbabwe sent aid along the rail corridor to keep it repaired

-this was a difficult and expensive task

-more distant non-South African seaports in Mozambique were much worse off that the Beira Line-as a result, more than half of Zimbabwe’s freight continued to go through South Africa

Landlocked nations are definitely at a disadvantage when it comes to importing and exporting goods

Types of Boundaries1. Physical Boundaries

-mountains, deserts, water (oceans, rivers, lakes)

2. Cultural Boundaries

-geometric (US-Canada: 49° N Latitude), religious, language