BOUNDARIES AND THE SHAPE OF STATES

FIVE BASIC SHAPES COMPACT STATES PRORUPTED STATES ELONGATED STATES FRAGMENTED STATES PERFORATED STATES

COMPACT STATES The distance to the outside does not vary significantly. (Ideal would be a circle with the capital in the middle. Benefits are good communication and connectedness between all areas

PRORUPTED STATES An otherwise compact state with a large projecting extension Why? Extension can cause access to a resource such as water or as a transportation corridor.

To prevent two states from sharing a border Example: Afghanistan The British used it to prevent Russia from sharing a border with Pakistan (formerly part of India)

ELONGATED STATES Problems are potential isolation 4000 km in length

Fragmented States Includes several discontinuous pieces of territory. Technically all states that have offshore islands are fragmented Two types: those separated by water those separated by land

Separated by Water Indonesia (13,677 islands) breeds the problem of isolation and independence. Timor-Leste gained its independence in 1999 after conflict

Separated by Land Examples: U.S.A. – Alaska, Russia- Kaliningrad India – Tin Bigha corridor allows Bangladesh to have two areas connected

Tin Bigha Corridor

Perforated States One state completely surrounds another state The state within is completely dependent on that which surrounds it.

Other Terms Landlocked State (no access to oceans) Frontier (a zone where no state exerts control and is a tangible geographic area vs. an infinitely thin line) Waziristan in Pakistan

Physical Boundaries (mountains, rivers, deserts) Geometric Boundaries 49th parallel between Canada and the United States Libya and Chad