Important Boundary Lines of the World

The line which demarcates two countries (areas of property) is known as the Boundary Line. For example, the Line Of Control (LOC) is the boundary line between India (Kashmir) and Pakistan.

The Mason-Dixon Line is a boundary line between the 4 states of the United States of America. In this article, we are going to learn about Important Boundary lines of the world.

Now the first example which comes to our mind is the Wagah Border which is known for the daily friendly evening display of Indo-Pak diplomacy.

However, the world has seen two World Wars, and to sustain peace and respect International Border (Important Boundaries) has been created; sometimes the Lines are breached and it results in the rupture of peace.

Important Boundary Lines of the World

Let us now see Important Boundary Lines of the world.

1. Radcliffe Line

Radcliffe Line was the boundary line between the Indian and Pakistani portions of the Punjab and Bengal provinces during British India. It was named after its architect, Sir Cyril Radcliffe. Today this Boundary Line, rather border, is divided into two parts – the West and the East part.

The West Radcliffe Line serves as the Indo-Pakistan Border and the East Line serves as the Indo-Bangladesh Border. However, there were certain disputes against this Border. It included the Chittagong Hill Tracts and Gurdaspur District.

Radcliffe negotiated and came to the conclusion that since there the canals that irrigated the Amritsar District lay in Gurdaspur, Gurdaspur had to be kept under one administration. Also because it had the maximum number of religious shrines for Sikhs. (India).

2. Durand Line

This Line is the International border between Afghanistan and Pakistan in South Asia. It was originally established in 1893 as the international border between British India and Afghanistan to fix the limit of their respective spheres of influence and improve diplomatic relations and trade.

A well-known controversy is that although Pakistan widely recognizes its western border, it is highly unacknowledged by Afghanistan.

This has resulted in controversies and conflicts, one of the most recent ones being in 2011 where 500 Taliban militants entered the Upper Dir area from Afghanistan and killed about 30 Pakistani soldiers.

3. Hindenburg Line

It was between France and Germany; the line was improvised by the German Army on the Western Front in World War I. It was the strongest and the last of the German Army’s defense which consisted of three well-defended trench systems established in 1917, throughout 1918.

However, from the other side, the Australians along with the British meticulously planned an attack on this line against Germany to bring down its power, then.

The Siegfried Line (between France and Germany) was built as an extension of the Hindenburg defensive line on the western front of World War I by the Weimar Republic and later the Third Reich of Germany in the 1930s.

The Maginot Line was also established by France as a defensive line towards Germany before WWII.

4. Mannerheim Line

It was a defensive fortification built against the Soviet Union by Finland. After the October Revolutions, the Finns declared independence in 1917.

However even though the Russians recognized Finland’s independence, it wanted to assure the new state by drawing a line of the border against their not-so-sincere neighbors.

5. McMohan Line

The McMahon Line is the boundary line between Tibet and the North-east region of India proposed by British colonial administrator Sir Henry McMahon at the 1914 Simla Convention signed between British and Tibetan representatives. It is the legal boundary between China and India.

The McMahon Line is regarded by India as the legal national border, but China rejects the Simla Accord and the McMahon Line, contending that Tibet was not a sovereign state and therefore did not have the power to conclude treaties.

China recognizes a Line of Actual Control which closely approximates most of the “McMahon Line” in the eastern part of its border with India.

6. 38th Parallel

After World War II, when Japan lost the war, it also lost the territory of Korea in 1945. The United States marched in and entered the South and the Soviet Union took over the North by mutual agreement, thereby dividing the country by the 38th Parallel.

It is the now known border between North and South Korea.

7. Medicine Line

This is the border between the United States of America and Canada. The 49th Parallel is also another of the USA and Canada’s borders.

8. Oder-Neisse Line

This line is the boundary (border) between Germany and Poland. The border is named after the two rivers that run along the line of the border – Oder and Neisse Border.

The border recognizes the Polish-German border according to the Potsdam conference. It was acknowledged and recognized by unified Germany in 1990.

9. 17th Parallel Line

This line separates Vietnam into North and South Vietnam.

10. 31st Parallel

The 31st Northern latitude marks the separation between Iran and Iraq and also it marks the border between two USA states – Mississippi and Louisiana.

11. 40th Parallel

This line of boundary runs between the northern part of the British colony to Maryland.

12. Inter-Entity Boundary Line

This line of boundary divides Bosnia and Herzegovina into Republika Srpska and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

13. 35th Parallel

It is the boundary between the State in the United States of America – North Carolina and the State of Georgia and the boundary between the State of Tennessee, State of Georgia, the State of Alabama, and the State of Mississippi.

14. 36th Parallel

This is the line of boundary between the State of Missouri with the State of Arkansas, of the United States of America.

15. 41st Parallel

41st Parallel is the northern boundary of the State of Colorado with Nebraska and Wyoming and the southern boundary of the State of Wyoming with Colorado and Utah.

16. 42nd Parallel

It is the New York – Pennsylvania border.

17. 43rd Parallel

It is the boundary between the State of Nebraska and the State of South Dakota.

18. 37th Parallel

It formed the border between the historic and extralegal Territory of Jefferson.

Conclusion

So finally we have seen Important Boundary lines of the world. All the borders in making have had controversies, certain countries have shown hostilities towards maintaining the border. However, the lives of civilians have been put at risk due to the lack of peace in this world.

There are other lines of the boundary as well – for example – 26th Parallel which runs across Africa, Australia, and South America. 22nd Parallel and 25th Parallel lines run across Egypt and Sudan. 24th Parallel is a line of boundary between India and Pakistan.

However, India does not recognize this line. 33rd Parallel runs through the southern United States, parts of North Africa, parts of the Middle East, and China.