A border is the edge of an area and thus a separative work, a dividing line or - surface. Borders can limit geometrical areas. In addition political-administrative borders belong like e.g. political borders, economical borders, customs borders or property borders. Also in a diffuse way limited areas like e.g. landscapes and circulation areas have borders, which one cannot fasten however in nature by lines. Borders of volumes are called rather boundary surfaces. An example of borders of linear areas is the upper and lower limit in mathematics (see least upper bound). Handling-linguistically for it also limit value, threshold value or barrier are used. Examples of not-geometrical area are the usual behavior or the privacy.

Word origin

The original German word for border was "Mark". When however into the petrol niches epoch this term came also for the countries which are because of the border into use, for the boundary line the slawische word (granica) was taken over.

Emergence of state borders

Older political borders between two countries often coincide with the natural, partly only with difficulty surmountable barriers: mountains, a river, a sea or an arm of the sea, a desert, a jungle or a mountain country. These represent as a rule also the speaking and culture borders.

Many later borders, like those between the Federal States of the USA, were specified contractually on certain lengthening or degrees of latitude. These straight borders, which are also in Africa, are called drawing board borders. They developed not by century for a long time evolutionary processes, but are on will document usually strange ruler to lead back (colonialism).

A characteristic is for example the border between the north of the Netherlands province Limburg and Prussia, agreed upon with the Viennese congress 1815. It was specified to the Maas, by which with at that time usual cannons the Maas operating ships any longer could not as that line east be met.

Municipality borders follow likewise mostly o.a. the lines, besides in addition, mountain combs and brooks.

Between many states this very day area disputes exist. Disputes over areas led within living memory to crises and wars.

Marking of courses of the border

From the view of the a "border" is a geometrically defined line, which is specified either in the reality by delimiters or however in a reference system by the indication by coordinates one defines. If the course of the border is not evident in nature, the boundaries can be marked by boundary stones, pipes, border trees, border pins, chisel characters and One speaks of demarcation of boundary lines. If borders are fastened by structural or landscape-arranging measures, then one speaks Grenzbefestigung.Die of a situation of the boundary stones and the remaining markings (barriers, boards, corners of buildings etc.) one determines centimeter-exactly.

Accurate regulation of courses of the border

The course of the border is usually defined by straight line between the boundaries. Straight ones have the advantage the fact that they are defined by 2 points and by a Visur or a Alignement easily is to be realized. Only in exceptional cases curvature or drawing elements is consulted.

In the mountains and at waters the definition of the courses of the border can be difficult: In the mountain country the or the Forstwirt must operate a higher technical expenditure, on some steep rock slope is it heavy, the points durably to be marked out, because the erosion (slope slips etc.) changes the area. In waters again the Uferlinie constantly changes, while the land register border can be adapted if necessary in longer time intervals of nature.

The earlier problems of point stabilization belong however since the practice fitness of global the Positioning to system (about 1985) and arising purely digital methods for the collection of the past.

See also:

• Field juror
• List of the countries with a border
• List of the area disputes

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