The borders between countries have very different realities. Militarized zones, natural paradises, inhospitable regions or arbitrary demarcations. Up next, we invite you to discover the greatest curiosities that borders all over the planet hide . It is often pointed out that there are natural and artificial borders. The first group could include the limits drawn on rivers or mountains. In the other, on the other hand, there would be the limits that match with parallels or meridians, which do not take into account other factors. However, deep down, all borders can be considered artificial, since they are human creations and have little to do with nature. The country that has the most borders is China, more than 22,000 kilometers with 14 other independent states. Russia also borders 14 countries, although in total it has 20,000 kilometers of border. Brazil, for its part, has limits with ten other countries. All of South America except Chile and Ecuador. This border with French Guiana is strictly speaking a border with France, since it is a territory of that country. For Brazil, it is the second shortest border of the ten it has. For France, on the other hand, it is the most extensive of the eleven it has. In other words, the country with which France shares the most border is not Spain, Germany, Belgium nor Italy, but Brazil, several thousand kilometers from Paris. On the contrary, the largest country that has no borders is Australia. The sixth largest country in the world has its island spirit and not a meter of international limit. There are several that have only one border. There are exactly 16. Some very extensive, like Canada, and others without a coastline. That is, completely surrounded by another, like Lesotho. Another is Denmark, which only borders Germany. Despite its cultural link with the rest of the Nordic countries, it does not border on any of them. For a few years, it is also possible to reach Sweden by land. Thanks to the Øresund Bridge, Copenhagen and Malmö are connected. It is a kind of especially artificial border, since it was created by human action. There are two other similar cases in Asia. Bahrain, which is an island, has been connected to the mainland for 30 years thanks to the King Fahd Causeway, a series of bridges that connect it to Saudi Arabia. It is the same with Singapore. It is a country made up of sixty-three islands and connected to the mainland thanks to two bridges that make it possible to go overland to Malaysia. A more convoluted case is the one of the Eurotunnel, which runs from the UK to France. It was opened in 1994 and is under water. At that time, Britain somehow ceased to be an island, as it had historically been. But borders also have their records. Mount Everest, for example, is not only the highest in the world, but it is also the highest international limit: on one side is Nepal and on the other, China. But that place is only suitable for expert mountaineers, it is not a typical border crossing. The highest international pass in the world with a paved road is Khunjerab. It is located on the Karakorum mountain range, and you can go from Pakistan to China. It is not possible to do it in winter: snow and frost make the pass closed for several months. From the highest borders we can move to the lowest, and the one with the record is in the Middle East. The Jordan Valley is the most depressed point on the planet, near the triple border between Israel, Jordan and Palestine. In terms of length, the longest border is the one that separates Canada from the United States. Almost 30% of the total divides the state of Alaska from the Yukon Territory and the province of British Columbia. The second longest is the one that separates Kazakhstan from Russia. This holds the record for being the longest continuous stretch. Until the dissolution of the Soviet Union it was not an international boundary, so three decades ago the boundary between Chile and Argentina was the second longest on the planet. The shortest stretch that separates two countries is not easy to determine. For some it is located on the island Märket, shared by Sweden and Finland. Then there is the Peñón Vélez de la Gomera in North Africa. They are only 85 meters that divide Spain from Morocco. It was an island until the 20th century, but an earthquake linked it to the mainland. If we take the total extension of the border between two countries, the smallest is the one that separates Spain from the United Kingdom in Gibraltar, around 1200 meters. For some, the record goes to Botswana and Zambia. The boundaries are not entirely demarcated, but only about 150 meters are believed to separate Zimbabwe from Namibia. If the four countries were to touch there, the only international quadrifin would be located. Currently there are none, although there are several at the subnational level. In America there are examples in Argentina, Colombia, Mexico and the United States. These are points where four different provinces or states converge. But beyond the specific data, there are borders that are special for their beauty. Three of the most important waterfalls on the planet are shared by two countries. Niagara Falls through Canada and the United States; the Victoria, between Zambia and Zimbabwe; and those of Iguazú, between Brazil and Argentina. In these cases large structures of nature are used. But in others the opposite happens. Extensive portions of land demarcated in a straight line, following parallels or meridians. On many occasions, this is the product of colonial processes, as happened in the case of Africa. But not only there we see these kinds of limits. The only land border in Oceania is of this type, between Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. It is inherited from the colonial era, when the Dutch, British and Germans divided the island of New Guinea. The 141 East meridian is the one that divides both countries today, with the exception of a small portion that follows the course of a river. This is what happens in theory, because in practice it is a jungle territory, which has been practically unexplored by foreigners until the second half of the 20th century. The peoples that inhabit the area do not pay much attention to these dividing lines. In America, the 49th parallel North separates Canada from the United States for thousands of kilometers. On the west coast, it was agreed that the border would go down so that the northern country would stay with Vancouver Island, which it had previously owned. However, very close to there, this geographical anomaly occurs. Point Roberts is below the 49th parallel, so it is from the United States. But it is linked by land to Canada and not to the rest of its country. During the Covid-19 pandemic, its inhabitants were very isolated, since in daily life they have a very close bond with their foreign neighbors. But if there is a famous border for being linked to an imaginary line, it is the one located on the Korean peninsula. The 38th parallel divides north from south. The history of the demilitarized zone is known, which is four kilometers wide in which the truce is protected in some way. In that strip there are only two civilian populations, one opposite the other. Daeseong-dong, on the southern side, has just over a hundred inhabitants. Only descendants of the settlers who lived there before the border demarcation can remain in the place . In practice, the situation has been chaotic at times, since they implanted large propaganda megaphones that tell the achievements of both governments. In addition, there was a dispute over flags: huge masts were erected on both sides. The North Korean is the fourth largest in the world. But beyond these big issues, there are also minimal border stories. Like this hotel, which has some rooms in Switzerland and others in France and reminds us of the incredible case of Baarle. Or this golf course, with some holes in Sweden and others in Finland. Also this bank, which seems simple but marks a triple border between Hungary, Slovakia and Austria. For those who have enjoyed these stories, we recommend the Fronteras blog, where you will have many more to read. We also invite you to join as members of Un Mundo Inmenso. With a monthly contribution they will help us to continue making videos. They will also be able to access exclusive content.
