What are the two main types of boundaries and their subtypes?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Answer: The two main boundary types are physical and cultural boundaries. Physical boundaries coincide with significant features of the natural landscape whereas cultural boundaries follow the distribution of cultural characteristics. Neither type of boundary is better or more "natural," and many boundaries are a combination of both types.

Physical boundaries: Physical features on Earth's surface can make good boundaries because they are easily seen, both on a map and on the ground. Three types of physical elements serve as boundaries between states. Desert make effective boundaries because they are hard to cross and sparsely inhabited. In North Africa, the Sahara has generally proved to be a stable boundary separating Algeria, Libya, and Egypt on the north from Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Chad, and the Sudan on the south. Mountains can be effective boundaries if they are difficult to cross. Contact between nationalities living on opposite sides may be limited, or completely impossible if passes are closed by winter storms. Mountains are also useful boundaries because they are rather permanent and are usually sparsely inhabited. Finally, rivers, lakes, and oceans are commonly used as boundaries, because they are readily visible on maps and aerial imagery. Historically, water boundaries offered good protection against attack from another state, because an invading state had to transport its troops by ship and secure a landing spot in the country being attacked. The state being invaded could concentrate its defense at the landing point.

Cultural Boundaries: Two types of cultural boundaries are common. These are geometric and ethnic. Geometric boundaries are simply straight lines drawn on a map (parts of US-Canadian border). Ethnic boundaries between states coincide with differences in ethnicity, especially language and religion. Boundaries between countries have been placed where possible to separate ethnic groups. Language is an important cultural characteristic for drawing boundaries, especially in Europe. Religious differences often coincide with boundaries between states, but in only a few cases has religion been used to select the actual boundary line.