3 ms·
It's complicated to rely on natural barriers as they change too, for instance some parts of the border between Croatia and Serbia were drawn to follow the Danub
by ivanhoe 6y ago
It's complicated to rely on natural barriers as they change too, for instance some parts of the border between Croatia and Serbia were drawn to follow the Danube river, but the river bed is ever-changing as water finds new ways - creating meanders and river islands - so now we have some areas in-between the two countries where ownership is disputed. Some guy even tried to declare a new state in one of those areas https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberland https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberland
- teddyh 6y agoAlso on the US-Canadian border: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMkYlIA7mgw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMkYlIA7mgw
- emteycz 6y agoThe Gornja Siga area (where Liberland is) did not appear over time as the river changed, it's that the Serbians are explicitly using the historical river while the Croatians are explicitly using the contemporary river, which results in Serbia not claiming the piece of land and Croatia declaring it belongs to Serbia.
- ivanhoe 6y agoActually it's the opposite, and the difference between the two is because the river bed has changed over the time naturally and by human engineering. To quote Wikipedia: "Serbia holds the opinion that the thalweg of the Danube valley and the centre line of the river represents the international border between the two countries. Croatia disagrees and claims that the international border lies along the boundaries of the cadastral municipalities located along the river—departing from the course at several points—reflecting the course of the Danube which existed in the 19th century before meandering and hydraulic engineering works altered its course."