Borders & Maps

Lines on the map — how borders are drawn, disputed, and distorted by projection.

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Geography Borders & Maps

Africa is larger than the US, China, India, and most of Europe combined

70 sec read

Geography Borders & Maps

Greenland looks as big as Africa, but it's 14x smaller

75 sec read

Geography Borders & Maps

Russia and the United States are less than 4 km apart

70 sec read

Geography Borders & Maps

There's one spot where you can stand in four US states at once

65 sec read

Geography Borders & Maps

One town is split into dozens of national fragments

45 sec read

Geography Borders & Maps

The International Date Line zigzags to keep countries whole

45 sec read

Geography Borders & Maps

The whole world's longitude is measured from one line in London

45 sec read

Geography Borders & Maps

The USA–Canada border is the longest in the world

45 sec read

◆ On this day

On this day in Borders & Maps

Browse all 12 by date →

6 Sep 1522

Geography Borders & Maps

One battered ship closed the first lap around the world

45 sec read

20 May 1498

Geography Borders & Maps

Vasco da Gama reaches India by sea around Africa

45 sec read

20 Sep 1519

Geography Borders & Maps

Magellan sailed off to circle the Earth

45 sec read

13 Oct 1884

Geography Borders & Maps

Greenwich was voted the world's prime meridian

45 sec read

28 Nov 1520

Geography Borders & Maps

Magellan's fleet emerged from its strait into the Pacific Ocean

50 sec read

1 Dec 1959

Geography Borders & Maps

Twelve nations signed the Antarctic Treaty

40 sec read

30 Mar 1867

Geography Borders & Maps

The US agreed to buy Alaska from Russia

40 sec read

30 Apr 1803

Geography Borders & Maps

The Louisiana Purchase nearly doubled the size of the United States

45 sec read

9 Jun 1898

Geography Borders & Maps

Britain leased Hong Kong's New Territories for 99 years

50 sec read