The World's Strangest Borders

Enclaves, exclaves, a runway, an island that changes hands, and land no one wants.

Most borders follow rivers, ridges, or straight surveyors' lines. These do not. Here are the places where a border runs through a living room, crosses an airport runway, switches countries every six months, or leaves a patch of desert that no state will claim.

#	Place	Where	When
1	Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera A fortified Spanish rock off Morocco's Rif coast, tied to Africa by a sandbar and an 85-meter border	Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera, off Morocco	Held by Spain since 1564
2	Pheasant Island A tiny river island ruled by France and Spain in turn, changing hands every six months	Bidasoa River, between Hendaye (France) and Irun (Spain)	Treaty of the Pyrenees signed 1659
3	Llívia A Spanish town entirely surrounded by France, left behind by the wording of a 17th-century treaty	Llívia, Girona, Spain	Treaty of Llívia 1660
4	Campione d'Italia An Italian lakeside town inside Switzerland, famous for its casino	Campione d'Italia, Como, Italy	Stayed Italian when Ticino joined Switzerland, 1798
5	The Northwest Angle The chimney on the map of Minnesota, the only part of the lower 48 states north of the 49th parallel	Angle Inlet, Minnesota	Boundary fixed 1842
6	Baarle-Nassau and Baarle-Hertog Two towns, two countries, one village: the world's most intricate patchwork of Belgian and Dutch enclaves	Baarle, North Brabant, Netherlands	Treaty of Maastricht 1843
7	Point Roberts A corner of Washington State that can be reached by land only through Canada	Point Roberts, Washington	Oregon Treaty 1846
8	The Diomede Islands Two islands in the Bering Strait, Russian and American, 3.8 km apart and nearly a day apart in time	Bering Strait	Boundary drawn 1867
9	Cabinda Angola's oil-rich Atlantic exclave, separated from the rest of the country by a strip of Congolese coast	Cabinda, Angola	Treaty of Simulambuco 1885
10	Bir Tawil A wedge of desert between Egypt and Sudan that neither country claims	Bir Tawil, Egypt–Sudan border	Administrative boundary drawn 1902
11	Oecusse Timor-Leste's coastal exclave inside Indonesian West Timor, birthplace of Portuguese Timor	Pante Macassar, Oecusse, Timor-Leste	Border confirmed by arbitration 1914
12	Nakhchivan Azerbaijan's landlocked exclave between Armenia, Iran and Turkey	Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan	Autonomous republic since 1924
13	Gibraltar International Airport The runway on a disputed isthmus that a city street once crossed, now a Schengen entry point under the 2026 UK–EU treaty	North Front, Gibraltar	Airfield in use from 1936
14	Kaliningrad Oblast Russia's Baltic exclave between Poland and Lithuania, the former German Königsberg	Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia	Renamed Kaliningrad 1946
15	The Korean Demilitarized Zone The 4-kilometer-wide strip across the Korean Peninsula that has divided North and South since the 1953 armistice	Joint Security Area, Panmunjom	Armistice signed 1953
16	Büsingen am Hochrhein A German village surrounded by Switzerland that uses Swiss francs and Swiss customs	Büsingen am Hochrhein, Germany	Customs treaty in force 1967
17	Musandam Oman's mountainous exclave at the tip of the Strait of Hormuz, with the Madha and Nahwa enclave-within-an-enclave	Khasab, Musandam, Oman	Madha boundary settled 1969
18	The UN Buffer Zone in Cyprus (Green Line) The UN-patrolled strip that has divided Cyprus and its capital, Nicosia, since 1974	Nicosia, Cyprus	Ceasefire lines fixed 1974
19	Märket A bare Baltic skerry split between Sweden and Finland by a zig-zag border drawn around a lighthouse	Märket, Sea of Åland	Border redrawn 1985
20	Kazungula (the near-quadripoint) Where Botswana and Zambia touch for about 150 meters on the Zambezi, a stone's throw from Namibia and Zimbabwe	Kazungula, Zambezi River	Kazungula Bridge opened 2021
21	Hans Island The Arctic rock that Canada and Denmark contested with flags and liquor, then split in 2022	Hans Island, Nares Strait	Island divided 2022
22	The India–Bangladesh Enclaves The 162 Cooch Behar enclaves, including the world's only third-order enclave, exchanged in 2015	Cooch Behar region, India–Bangladesh border	Exchanged 2015

Place

Where

When

Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera
A fortified Spanish rock off Morocco's Rif coast, tied to Africa by a sandbar and an 85-meter border

Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera, off Morocco

Held by Spain since 1564

Pheasant Island
A tiny river island ruled by France and Spain in turn, changing hands every six months

Bidasoa River, between Hendaye (France) and Irun (Spain)

Treaty of the Pyrenees signed 1659

Llívia
A Spanish town entirely surrounded by France, left behind by the wording of a 17th-century treaty

Llívia, Girona, Spain

Treaty of Llívia 1660

Campione d'Italia
An Italian lakeside town inside Switzerland, famous for its casino

Campione d'Italia, Como, Italy

Stayed Italian when Ticino joined Switzerland, 1798

The Northwest Angle
The chimney on the map of Minnesota, the only part of the lower 48 states north of the 49th parallel

Angle Inlet, Minnesota

Boundary fixed 1842

Baarle-Nassau and Baarle-Hertog
Two towns, two countries, one village: the world's most intricate patchwork of Belgian and Dutch enclaves

Baarle, North Brabant, Netherlands

Treaty of Maastricht 1843

Point Roberts
A corner of Washington State that can be reached by land only through Canada

Point Roberts, Washington

Oregon Treaty 1846

The Diomede Islands
Two islands in the Bering Strait, Russian and American, 3.8 km apart and nearly a day apart in time

Bering Strait

Boundary drawn 1867

Cabinda
Angola's oil-rich Atlantic exclave, separated from the rest of the country by a strip of Congolese coast

Cabinda, Angola

Treaty of Simulambuco 1885

Bir Tawil
A wedge of desert between Egypt and Sudan that neither country claims

Bir Tawil, Egypt–Sudan border

Administrative boundary drawn 1902

Oecusse
Timor-Leste's coastal exclave inside Indonesian West Timor, birthplace of Portuguese Timor

Pante Macassar, Oecusse, Timor-Leste

Border confirmed by arbitration 1914

Nakhchivan
Azerbaijan's landlocked exclave between Armenia, Iran and Turkey

Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan

Autonomous republic since 1924

Gibraltar International Airport
The runway on a disputed isthmus that a city street once crossed, now a Schengen entry point under the 2026 UK–EU treaty

North Front, Gibraltar

Airfield in use from 1936

Kaliningrad Oblast
Russia's Baltic exclave between Poland and Lithuania, the former German Königsberg

Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia

Renamed Kaliningrad 1946

The Korean Demilitarized Zone
The 4-kilometer-wide strip across the Korean Peninsula that has divided North and South since the 1953 armistice

Joint Security Area, Panmunjom

Armistice signed 1953

Büsingen am Hochrhein
A German village surrounded by Switzerland that uses Swiss francs and Swiss customs

Büsingen am Hochrhein, Germany

Customs treaty in force 1967

Musandam
Oman's mountainous exclave at the tip of the Strait of Hormuz, with the Madha and Nahwa enclave-within-an-enclave

Khasab, Musandam, Oman

Madha boundary settled 1969

The UN Buffer Zone in Cyprus (Green Line)
The UN-patrolled strip that has divided Cyprus and its capital, Nicosia, since 1974

Nicosia, Cyprus

Ceasefire lines fixed 1974

Märket
A bare Baltic skerry split between Sweden and Finland by a zig-zag border drawn around a lighthouse

Märket, Sea of Åland

Border redrawn 1985

Kazungula (the near-quadripoint)
Where Botswana and Zambia touch for about 150 meters on the Zambezi, a stone's throw from Namibia and Zimbabwe

Kazungula, Zambezi River

Kazungula Bridge opened 2021

Hans Island
The Arctic rock that Canada and Denmark contested with flags and liquor, then split in 2022

Hans Island, Nares Strait

Island divided 2022

The India–Bangladesh Enclaves
The 162 Cooch Behar enclaves, including the world's only third-order enclave, exchanged in 2015

Cooch Behar region, India–Bangladesh border

Exchanged 2015

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