Unit 5 Political Geography Shapes of States How

Unit 5 Political Geography Shapes of States

How many shapes? • States come in 5 shapes. • The shape of a state effects its ability to communicate. • Also, shapes can lead to conflicts with other states. • All 5 shapes can be seen in sub-Saharan Africa.

Elongated states • A state that is long and narrow. • Problems: • Potential Isolation. • Poor internal communication. • Isolation from the capital. • • Examples: Gambia Italy Chile

Fragmented states • A state that include several discontinuous pieces. • Problems: • Territory is separated by other states. • Examples: • Angola and the area of Cabinda trying to get independence. • Indonesia

Compact states • A state in which the distance from center to any boundary does not vary significantly. • Problems: • This state is the “best” state. • Allows for good communication between all regions of the state. • Examples: • Kenya • Uganda

Perforated states • A state that completely surrounds another state. • Problems: • The state that is surrounded has to rely on the perforated state for all international trade. • Examples • South Africa, surrounds Swaziland Lesotho • Italy, surrounds the Papal state and San Marino

Prorupted states • A compact state with a large projection extending out of it. • Usually to gain access to an important resource, like water. • Examples • Democratic Republic of Congo: proruption made by Belgium to have access to the sea. • Nambia: Germans made the Caprivi strip to stop communication between English colonies, and have access to Zambezi, one of Africa’s most important rivers.

Landlocked states • Lacks a direct outlet to the sea. • Landlocked states have to cooperate with coastal states to have international trade. • Examples • Zambia • Zimbabwe • Botswana