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An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to denote a territory that is only partly surrounded by another state. The Vatican City and San Marino, both enclaved by Italy, and
Lesotho Lesotho ( ), officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a country landlocked country, landlocked as an Enclave and exclave, enclave in South Africa. It is situated in the Maloti Mountains and contains the Thabana Ntlenyana, highest mountains in Sou ...
, enclaved by South Africa, are completely enclaved sovereign states. An exclave is a portion of a state or district geographically separated from the main part by surrounding alien territory (of one or more states or districts etc). Many exclaves are also enclaves, but not all: an exclave can be surrounded by the territory of more than one state. The Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan is an example of an exclave that is not an enclave, as it borders Armenia, Turkey and Iran. Semi-enclaves and semi-exclaves are areas that, except for possessing an unsurrounded sea border (a coastline contiguous with international waters), would otherwise be enclaves or exclaves. Enclaves and semi-enclaves can exist as independent states ( Monaco, The Gambia and Brunei are semi-enclaves), while exclaves and semi-exclaves proper always constitute just a part of a sovereign state (like the Kaliningrad Oblast). A pene-exclave is a part of the territory of one country that can be conveniently approached—in particular, by wheeled traffic—only through the territory of another country. Pene-exclaves are also called functional exclaves or practical exclaves. Many pene-exclaves partially border their own territorial waters (i.e., they are not surrounded by other nations' territorial waters), such as Point Roberts, Washington and Minnesota's Northwest Angle. A pene-exclave can also exist entirely on land, such as when intervening mountains render a territory inaccessible from other parts of a country except through alien territory. A commonly cited example is the Kleinwalsertal, a valley part of Vorarlberg, Austria, that is accessible only from Germany to the north.


Origin and usage

The word ''enclave'' is French and first appeared in the mid-15th century as a derivative of the verb (1283), from the colloquial Latin (to close with a key).Le Grand Robert, ''Dictionnaire de la Langue Française'', 2001, vol. III, p. 946. Originally, it was a term of property law that denoted the situation of a land or parcel of land surrounded by land owned by a different owner, and that could not be reached for its exploitation in a practical and sufficient manner without crossing the surrounding land. In law, this created a ''servitude'' of passage for the benefit of the owner of the surrounded land. The first diplomatic document to contain the word ''enclave'' was the Treaty of Madrid, signed in 1526. Later, the term enclave began to be used also to refer to parcels of countries, counties, fiefs, communes, towns, parishes, etc. that were surrounded by alien territory. This French word eventually entered English and other languages to denote the same concept, although local terms have continued to be used. In India, the word "pocket" is often used as a synonym for enclave (such as "the pockets of Puducherry district"). In British administrative history, subnational enclaves were usually called detachments or detached parts, and national enclaves as detached districts or detached dominions. In English ecclesiastic history, subnational enclaves were known as peculiars (see also royal peculiar). The word ''exclave'' is a logically extended back-formation of ''enclave''.


Characteristics

Enclaves exist for a variety of
historical History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
, political and geographical reasons. For example, in the feudal system in Europe, the ownership of feudal domains was often transferred or partitioned, either through purchase and sale or through inheritance, and often such domains were or came to be surrounded by other domains. In particular, this state of affairs persisted into the 19th century in the Holy Roman Empire, and these domains (principalities, etc.) exhibited many of the characteristics of sovereign states. Prior to 1866 Prussia alone consisted of more than 270 discontiguous pieces of territory. Residing in an enclave within another country has often involved difficulties in such areas as passage rights, importing goods, currency, provision of utilities and health services, and host nation cooperation. Thus, over time, enclaves have tended to be eliminated. For example, two-thirds of the then-existing national-level enclaves were extinguished on 1 August 2015, when the governments of India and Bangladesh implemented a Land Boundary Agreement that exchanged 162 first-order enclaves (111 Indian and 51 Bangladeshi). This exchange thus effectively de-enclaved another two dozen second-order enclaves and one third-order enclave, eliminating 197 of the India–Bangladesh enclaves in all. The residents in these enclaves had complained of being effectively stateless. Only Bangladesh's Dahagram–Angarpota enclave remained. Netherlands and Belgium decided to keep the enclave and exclave system in Baarle. As both Netherlands and Belgium are members of the European Union and
Schengen Area The Schengen Area ( , ) is an area comprising 27 European countries that have officially abolished all passport and all other types of border control at their mutual borders. Being an element within the wider area of freedom, security and j ...
, people, goods and services flow freely with little or no restrictions.


Enclave versus exclave

For illustration, in the figure (above), A1 is a semi-enclave (attached to C and also bounded by water that only touches C's territorial water). Although A2 is an exclave of A, it cannot be classed as an enclave because it shares borders with B and C. The territory A3 is both an exclave of A and an enclave from the viewpoint of B. The singular territory D, although an enclave, is not an exclave.


True enclaves

An enclave is a part of the territory of a state that is enclosed within the territory of another state. To distinguish the parts of a state entirely enclosed in a single other state, they are called true enclaves. A true enclave cannot be reached without passing through the territory of a single other state that surrounds it. In 2007, Evgeny Vinokurov called this the restrictive definition of "enclave" given by international law, which thus "comprises only so-called 'true enclaves'". Two examples are
Büsingen am Hochrhein Büsingen am Hochrhein (, "Büsingen on the Upper Rhine"; Alemannic: ''Büesinge am Hochrhi''), commonly known as Büsingen, is a German municipality () in the south of Baden-Württemberg and an enclave entirely surrounded by the Swiss cantons ...
, a true enclave of Germany, and Campione d'Italia, a true enclave of Italy, both of which are surrounded by Switzerland. The definition of a territory comprises both land territory and territorial waters. In the case of enclaves in territorial waters, they are called maritime (those surrounded by territorial sea) or lacustrine (if in a lake) enclaves. Most of the true national-level enclaves now existing are in Asia and Europe. While subnational enclaves are numerous the world over, there are only a few national-level true enclaves in Africa, Australia and the Americas (each such enclave being surrounded by the territorial waters of another country). A historical example is West Berlin before the reunification of Germany. Since 1945, all of Berlin was ruled ''de jure'' by the four Allied powers. However, the East German government and the Soviet Union treated East Berlin as an integral part of East Germany, so West Berlin was a ''de facto'' enclave within East Germany. Also, 12 small West Berlin enclaves, such as Steinstücken, were separated from the city, some by only a few meters.


Enclaved countries

Three nations qualify as completely surrounded by another country's land and/or internal waters: * The Republic of San Marino, enclaved within Italy * Vatican City, enclaved within the city of Rome, Italy * The Kingdom of
Lesotho Lesotho ( ), officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a country landlocked country, landlocked as an Enclave and exclave, enclave in South Africa. It is situated in the Maloti Mountains and contains the Thabana Ntlenyana, highest mountains in Sou ...
, enclaved within South Africa The Republic of Artsakh, a disputed territory not recognised by any
UN member states The United Nations member states are the sovereign states that are members of the United Nations (UN) and have equal representation in the United Nations General Assembly, UN General Assembly. The UN is the world's largest international o ...
, controls part of Nagorno-Karabakh, which is an enclave within Azerbaijan. Historically, four Bantustans (or "Black homelands") of South Africa were granted nominal independence, unrecognized internationally, by the Apartheid government from 1976 until their reabsorption in 1994. Others remained under government rule from 1948 to 1994. Being heavily partitioned, various parts of these Bantustans were true enclaves. The United States' constitutional principle of tribal sovereignty treats federally recognized
Indian reservation An Indian reservation is an area of land held and governed by a federally recognized Native American tribal nation whose government is accountable to the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs and not to the state government in which it ...
s as quasi-independent enclaves.


True exclaves

''True exclave'' is an extension of the concept of ''true enclave''. In order to access a true exclave from the mainland, a traveller must go through the territory of at least one other state. Examples include: * Nakhchivan, which borders Turkey, Armenia and Iran, is an exclave of Azerbaijan. * Baarle-Hertog is a collection of Belgian exclaves in the Netherlands. * In the United Arab Emirates, four emirates have five true exclaves: Dubai ( Hatta),
Ajmān Ajman ( ar, عجمان, '; Gulf Arabic: عيمان ʿymān) is the capital of the emirate of Ajman in the United Arab Emirates. It is the fifth-largest city in UAE after Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Al Ain. Located along the Persian Gulf, it is ...
( Masfout and Manama),
Ras al-Khaimah Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) ( ar, رَأْس ٱلْخَيْمَة, historically Julfar) is the largest city and capital of the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates. It is the sixth-largest city in UAE after Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Al Ain ...
(the southerly of the emirate's two non-contiguous sections), and Sharjah (
Nahwa Nahwa is a territory that forms part of the Emirate of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. It is a counter-enclave (or second-order enclave) within the Omani territory of Madha, which is itself an exclave of Oman and an enclave within the United ...
, also both a true national-level enclave and a counter-enclave). * Llívia is an enclave and exclave of Spain surrounded by France. * Campione d'Italia is an enclave and exclave of Italy surrounded by
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
. *
Büsingen am Hochrhein Büsingen am Hochrhein (, "Büsingen on the Upper Rhine"; Alemannic: ''Büesinge am Hochrhi''), commonly known as Büsingen, is a German municipality () in the south of Baden-Württemberg and an enclave entirely surrounded by the Swiss cantons ...
is an enclave and exclave of Germany surrounded by Switzerland. The shortest distance from Büsingen's borders to the main portion of German territory is only about 700 metres (about 2,300 ft). * Likoma and Chizumulu Islands in Lake Malawi are lacustrine enclaves and exclaves of Malawi, surrounded by Mozambique territorial waters.


Related constructs and terms


Semi-enclaves and semi-exclaves

Semi-enclaves and semi-exclaves are areas that, except for possessing an unsurrounded sea border, would otherwise be enclaves or exclaves. Semi-enclaves can exist as independent states that border only one other state, such as Monaco, the Gambia and Brunei. ''Vinokurov (2007)'' declares, "Technically, Portugal, Denmark, and Canada also border only one foreign state, but they are not enclosed in the geographical, political, or economic sense. They have vast access to international waters. At the same time, there are states that, although in possession of sea access, are still enclosed by the territories of a foreign state." Therefore, a quantitative principle applies: ''the land boundary must be longer than the coastline.'' Thus a state is classified as a ''sovereign semi-enclave'' if it borders on just one state, and its land boundary is longer than its sea coastline. (Since Vinokurov's writing in 2007, Canada and Denmark have each gained a second bordering state — each other — with the 2022 division of
Hans Island Hans Island ( Inuktitut and kl, Tartupaluk, ; Inuktitut syllabics: ; da, Hans Ø; french: Île Hans) is an island in the very centre of the Kennedy Channel of Nares Strait in the high Arctic region, split between the Canadian territory of ...
.)
Vinokurov Vinokurov, feminine: Vinokurova, (also Winokurow, Winokurowa) is a Russian occupational surname derived from the word " винокур", which is an archaic name of the profession of spirit distilling. The Ukrainian-language version is Vynokurov, Vy ...
affirms that "no similar quantitative criterion is needed to define the scope of non-sovereign semi-enclaves/exclaves." Examples include: * Alaska, one of the states in the United States of America, is the largest semi-enclave in the world, separated from the US by Canada. * Oecusse, a district on the northwestern side of the island of Timor, is a semi-enclave of East Timor separated from the rest of the country by Indonesia. * Ceuta and
Melilla Melilla ( , ; ; rif, Mřič ; ar, مليلية ) is an autonomous city of Spain located in north Africa. It lies on the eastern side of the Cape Three Forks, bordering Morocco and facing the Mediterranean Sea. It has an area of . It was par ...
are Spanish semi-enclaves on the Mediterranean coast of Morocco. * Temburong District is a Bruneian semi-enclave surrounded by Malaysia. The Temburong Bridge connects Temburong to the Brunei mainland. * Kokkina, a village in the ''de facto'' state of
Northern Cyprus Northern Cyprus ( tr, Kuzey Kıbrıs), officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC; tr, Kuzey Kıbrıs Türk Cumhuriyeti, ''KKTC''), is a ''de facto'' state that comprises the northeastern portion of the Geography of Cyprus, isl ...
, is a semi-enclave situated on the Mediterranean coast. It is separated from the rest of the country by the Republic of Cyprus. * Kaliningrad Oblast is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast), a semi-exclave situated on the
Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages * Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originati ...
coast and bordering
Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
and Poland. Sea access from the Russian mainland is possible from Saint Petersburg via the
Gulf of Finland The Gulf of Finland ( fi, Suomenlahti; et, Soome laht; rus, Фи́нский зали́в, r=Finskiy zaliv, p=ˈfʲinskʲɪj zɐˈlʲif; sv, Finska viken) is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland to the north and E ...
without passing through other states' territory. * Cabinda (also spelled Kabinda, formerly Portuguese Congo) is a semi-exclave and a province of Angola on the Atlantic coast of southwestern Africa, separated by the only sea-access port of the Democratic Republic of the Congo; also bordered by the
Republic of the Congo The Republic of the Congo (french: République du Congo, ln, Republíki ya Kongó), also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply either Congo or the Congo, is a country located in the western coast of Central Africa to the w ...
. * French Guiana (a
French Overseas Department The overseas departments and regions of France (french: départements et régions d'outre-mer, ; ''DROM'') are departments of France that are outside metropolitan France, the European part of France. They have exactly the same status as mainlan ...
), in South America, is a semi-exclave that is bounded by
Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...
, Brazil, and the Atlantic Ocean. * The southern part of Dubrovnik-Neretva County in Croatia is separated from the rest of the country by Neum in Bosnia and Herzegovina and is also bordered by Montenegro. The Republic of Ragusa once gave the town of Neum to the Ottoman Empire because it did not want to have a land border with
Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400  ...
; this small municipality was inherited by Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Pelješac Bridge links the semi-exclave to the rest of country.


Subnational enclaves and exclaves

Sometimes, administrative divisions of a country, for historical or practical reasons, caused some areas to belong to one division while being attached to another. Examples include: * In India: **
Dadra Dadra is associated with the Hindustani classical music of the Indian subcontinent. Dadra tala This is a Hindustani classical '' tala'' (rhythmic cycle), consisting of six beats in two equal divisions of three. The most commonly accepted theka ...
, enclaved within the state of Gujarat, is part of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu in India. ** Puducherry district, of the Union Territory of Puducherry, is made of 12 non-contiguous parts, many of them are true enclaves entirely surrounded by the state of Tamil Nadu. Before Puducherry, along with the other territories of
French India French India, formally the ( en, French Settlements in India), was a French colony comprising five geographically separated enclaves on the Indian Subcontinent that had initially been factories of the French East India Company. They were ''de ...
, was absorbed into India in 1954, they were enclaved within the Union of India, and before that the British Raj.
Mahe district Mahé district ( ml, മയ്യഴി ജില്ല) is one of the four districts of the union territory of Puducherry, India. It consists of the whole of the Mahé region. Mahé is the smallest district of India by size. The total area of ...
of Puducherry is made of three non-contiguous parts, two of which are true enclaves within the state of Kerala.
Yanam district Yanam district is one of the four districts of the Union Territory of Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry in India. Geography Yanam district occupies an area of , It is located south of Kakinada port on the north bank of Godavari river ...
of Puducherry is an enclave surrounded entirely by the state of Andhra Pradesh. * From 1947 to 1971, Bangladesh was a part of Pakistan as its East Pakistan exclave, separated from West Pakistan by 1,760 kilometers (1,100 miles) of India. It eventually gained independence in 1971, during the
Bangladesh Liberation War The Bangladesh Liberation War ( bn, মুক্তিযুদ্ধ, , also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, or simply the Liberation War in Bangladesh) was a revolution and War, armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Benga ...
. * In the United Kingdom: ** Before 1974, and especially before 1844, there were many exclaves of counties in England and Wales. ** The
counties of Scotland The shires of Scotland ( gd, Siorrachdan na h-Alba), or counties of Scotland, are historic subdivisions of Scotland established in the Middle Ages and used as administrative divisions until 1975. Originally established for judicial purposes (bei ...
before reorganisation in 1889 included dozens of exclaves. This was especially notable in the case of Cromartyshire, which was split into at least nine parts spread across Ross-shire. * In France: ** The
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...
of Pyrénées-Atlantiques, in the southwest of France, surrounds two enclaves of the neighbouring department of
Hautes-Pyrénées Hautes-Pyrénées (; Gascon/Occitan: ''Nauts Pirenèus / Hauts Pirenèus'' awts piɾeˈnɛʊs es, Altos Pirineos; ca, Alts Pirineus alts piɾiˈneʊs English: Upper Pyrenees) is a department in the region of Occitania, southwestern France. ...
. ** The French department of Vaucluse has a rather large exclave to its north that is an enclave within the Drôme department – the
canton Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ent ...
of
Valréas Valréas (; oc, Vauriàs) is a Communes of France, commune in the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region in southeastern France. History The area around the town of Valréas is kno ...
(historically known as
Enclave des Papes An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...
). *
San Colombano al Lambro San Colombano al Lambro ( Lodigiano: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Milan in the Italian region Lombardy, located about southeast of Milan. San Colombano al Lambro borders the following municipalities: Borghetto Lo ...
is an exclave of the province of Milan at the junction between the Pavia and Lodi provinces. The exclave arose when the province of Lodi was carved out of the province of Milan, but a referendum in San Colombano indicated the locals' wish to stay in Milan. As a result, the commune is the only wine-producing area in the mostly urbanized province of Milan. * In the United States: **A portion of Ellis Island is an exclave of New York City within the boundaries of
Jersey City Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
State within the boundaries of New Jersey. ** The Kentucky Bend exists because of a meander of the Mississippi River. ** West Hollywood and
Beverly Hills, California Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. B ...
, adjoin one another, but are entirely surrounded by the City of Los Angeles. San Fernando, California is entirely surrounded by the City of Los Angeles. **
Jeddito, Arizona Jeddito ( nv, ) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Navajo County, Arizona, United States. The population was 293 at the 2010 census. Geography Jeddito is located at (35.772023, -110.127016). According to the United States Census Bureau, th ...
, lies within a exclave of the Navajo Nation. This exclave is surrounded by territory of the
Hopi Reservation The Hopi Reservation ( Hopi: Hopituskwa) is a Native American reservation for the Hopi and Arizona Tewa people, surrounded entirely by the Navajo Nation, in Navajo and Coconino counties in north-eastern Arizona, United States. The site has ...
, which is itself surrounded by the Navajo Nation.


"Practical" enclaves, exclaves and inaccessible districts

The term pene-exclave was defined in ''Robinson (1959)'' as "parts of the territory of one country that can be approached conveniently – in particular by wheeled traffic – only through the territory of another country." Thus, a ''pene-exclave'', although having land borders, is not completely surrounded by the other's land or territorial waters. Catudal (1974) and Vinokurov (2007) further elaborate upon examples, including
Point Roberts Point or points may refer to: Places * Point, Lewis, a peninsula in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland * Point, Texas, a city in Rains County, Texas, United States * Point, the NE tip and a ferry terminal of Lismore, Inner Hebrides, Scotland * Points ...
. "Although physical connections by water with Point Roberts are entirely within the sovereignty of the United States, land access is only possible through Canada." Pene-enclaves are also called functional enclaves or practical enclaves. They can exhibit continuity of state territory across territorial waters but, nevertheless, a discontinuity on land, such as in the case of Point Roberts. Along rivers that change course, pene-enclaves can be observed as complexes comprising many small pene-enclaves. A pene-enclave can also exist entirely on land, such as when intervening mountains render a territory, although geographically attached, inaccessible from other parts of a country except through alien territory. A commonly cited example is the Kleinwalsertal, a valley part of Vorarlberg, Austria, that is only accessible from Germany to the north, being separated from the rest of Austria by high mountains traversed by no roads. Another example is the Spanish village of
Os de Civís Os de Civís () is a village in the central Pyrenees mountains, in the municipality of Les Valls de Valira in Catalonia, Spain, and is located to the west of Andorra, near the villages of Aixàs and Bixessarri. Civís is the nearest Spanish villa ...
, accessible from Andorra. Hence, such areas are enclaves or exclaves ''for practical purposes'', without meeting the strict definition. Many pene-exclaves partially border the sea or another body of water, which comprises their own territorial waters (i.e., they are not surrounded by other nations' territorial waters). They border their own territorial waters in addition to a land border with another country, and hence they are not true exclaves. Still, one cannot travel to them on land without going through another country. Attribution of a pene-enclave status to a territory can sometimes be disputed, depending on whether the territory is considered to be practically inaccessible from the mainland or not. * Northern Ireland, an area of the United Kingdom, is bounded by the Republic of Ireland, the Irish Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. *
Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea ( es, Guinea Ecuatorial; french: Guinée équatoriale; pt, Guiné Equatorial), officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea ( es, link=no, República de Guinea Ecuatorial, french: link=no, République de Guinée équatoria ...
's continental portion, Río Muni, is a semi-exclave surrounded by Gabon, Cameroon and the Atlantic Ocean. * The Northwest Angle in the U.S. state of Minnesota is geographically separated from the rest of the state (and United States) by the
Lake of the Woods Lake of the Woods (french: Lac des Bois, oj, Pikwedina Sagainan) is a lake occupying parts of the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Manitoba and the U.S. state of Minnesota. Lake of the Woods is over long and wide, containing more than 14,55 ...
and is accessible on land only through the Canadian province of Manitoba. Additionally, Elm Point, south of the town of Buffalo Point in Manitoba, is separated from the rest of Minnesota by Lake of the Woods. *
Point Roberts Point or points may refer to: Places * Point, Lewis, a peninsula in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland * Point, Texas, a city in Rains County, Texas, United States * Point, the NE tip and a ferry terminal of Lismore, Inner Hebrides, Scotland * Points ...
, Washington, United States, is an unincorporated community in Whatcom County—located on the southernmost tip of the Tsawwassen Peninsula, south of Delta, British Columbia, Canada—that can be reached by land from the rest of the United States only by traveling through Canada. * The U.S. state of Vermont has two pene-enclaves with the Canadian province of Quebec. Province Point, a few kilometres to the northeast of the town of East Alburgh, Vermont, is the southernmost tip of a small promontory approximately in size (). The promontory is cut through by the U.S./Canadian border; as such the area is a practical enclave of the United States contiguous with Canada. Similarly, the southern point of
Province Island Province Island (french: Île de la Province) is an island mostly in the Canadian province of Québec, but partly in the U.S. state of Vermont. It is situated in Lake Memphremagog. The island's area is . Although (9%) at its southern point i ...
(), a small island mostly in Quebec, crosses into Vermont. It is situated in Lake Memphremagog, near Newport, Vermont. * Walvis Bay, now part of Namibia, was a pene-exclave of the Cape Colony in German South-West Africa, created in 1878. It became part of the Cape Province of the Union of South Africa in 1910, but from 1922, it was administered as a ''de facto'' part of
South-West Africa South West Africa ( af, Suidwes-Afrika; german: Südwestafrika; nl, Zuidwest-Afrika) was a territory under South African administration from 1915 to 1990, after which it became modern-day Namibia. It bordered Angola (Portuguese colony before 1 ...
, a League of Nations
Mandate Mandate most often refers to: * League of Nations mandates, quasi-colonial territories established under Article 22 of the Covenant of the League of Nations, 28 June 1919 * Mandate (politics), the power granted by an electorate Mandate may also ...
. In 1977, it was separated from that territory and re-integrated into the Cape Province. South Africa did not relinquish sovereignty over Walvis Bay until 1994, nearly four years after Namibia's independence. *
Baritú National Park The Baritú National Park ( es, Parque Nacional Baritú) is a national park in Argentina, located in Santa Victoria Department, in the north of Salta Province, in the Argentine Northwest. The park borders Bolivia (Tarija Department), and its only ...
in Argentina can only be accessed by road through
Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...
, as it is separated from the nearest Argentinian roads by vast stretches of uninhabited rainforest.


Subnational "practical" enclaves, exclaves, and inaccessible districts

* Although the Jervis Bay Territory, which occupies a coastal peninsula in Australia, is not part of the Australian Capital Territory, the laws of the ACT apply to it. This was to give the ACT coastal access, which it did not have as it was entirely surrounded by the state of New South Wales. * The Romanian village of
Nămoloasa Nămoloasa is a commune in Galați County, in the Western Moldavia region of Romania. It is composed of three villages: Crângeni, Nămoloasa, and Nămoloasa-Sat. The commune is located in the south-west of the county, on the border with Brăila ...
(
Galați County Galați () is a county ( județ) of Romania, in Moldavia region, with the capital city at Galați. History Historically Galați is part of Moldavia. In 1858, it was represented by Alexandru Ioan Cuza at the ''ad hoc Divan'' at Iași, in the wa ...
) can be accessed only through
Vrancea County Vrancea () is a county ( județ) in Romania, with its seat at Focșani. It is mostly in the historical region of Moldavia but the southern part, below the Milcov River, is in Muntenia. Demographics In 2011, it had a population of 340,310 and ...
(where there is a bridge over the Siret), because it is separated by the Siret from the rest of
Galați County Galați () is a county ( județ) of Romania, in Moldavia region, with the capital city at Galați. History Historically Galați is part of Moldavia. In 1858, it was represented by Alexandru Ioan Cuza at the ''ad hoc Divan'' at Iași, in the wa ...
. * The southern part of the Province of Venice, Veneto, can be reached directly from the rest of the province only by boat. By land it can be reached only by traveling through the Province of Padua because territorial continuity with the main part of the province exists only through some unconnected islands and islets. * It is not possible to drive from the northern half of County Leitrim in the Republic of Ireland to the southern half without leaving the county; Lough Allen and the
River Shannon The River Shannon ( ga, Abhainn na Sionainne, ', '), at in length, is the longest river in the British Isles. It drains the Shannon River Basin, which has an area of , – approximately one fifth of the area of the island of Ireland. The Shan ...
present a water barrier requiring one to drive through
County Cavan County Cavan ( ; gle, Contae an Chabháin) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of the Border Region. It is named after the town of Cavan and is base ...
to the east or
County Roscommon "Steadfast Irish heart" , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Roscommon.svg , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Connacht , subdi ...
to the west. * The community of
East Kemptville, Nova Scotia Argyle, officially named the Municipality of the District of Argyle, is a district municipality in Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia. Statistics Canada classifies the district municipality as a municipal district. The district municipality occupies th ...
, Canada, is part of the Municipality of Argyle, but it can only be reached by road from the rest of the municipality by travelling through the Municipality of Yarmouth or the Municipality of Shelburne. The latter route also requires travelling through the Municipality of Barrington. * The southeastern part of the Tai Po District (northern part of the Sai Kung Peninsula), Hong Kong, can be reached directly from the rest of the district only by boat. By land it can be reached only by traveling through the Sha Tin District because territorial continuity with the main part of the district is cut off by the Tolo Harbour. In the past, when there was no road network serving the region, the residents commonly travelled by boat to Tai Po Market for their daily lives, hence the districts were drawn this way, but now most of the ferries no longer exist, and residents travel by road to markets in Sha Tin District (Ma On Shan or Sha Tin) instead. * Within the United States: ** Several portions of land, including parts of
Finns Point Finns Point is a small strategic promontory in Pennsville Township, Salem County, New Jersey, and New Castle County, Delaware, located at the southwest corner of the cape of Penns Neck, on the east bank of the Delaware River near its mouth on Dela ...
and Artificial Island, on the New Jersey side of the
Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock (village), New York, Hancock, New York, the river flows for along the borders of N ...
are Delaware territory. Within the Twelve-Mile Circle, Delaware's border extends to the low-water mark across the river. Outside of the Circle, the Delaware – New Jersey border follows the middle of the river and Delaware Bay. ** The Eastern Shore of Virginia on the southern portion of the Delmarva Peninsula shares a border with Maryland but is only connected to the rest of Virginia by the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, which is part of
U.S. Route 13 U.S. Route 13 (US 13) is a north–south U.S. highway established in 1926 that runs for from Interstate 95 (I-95) just north of Fayetteville, North Carolina to US 1 in the northeastern suburbs of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in Morrisville. ...
. ** The city of
Carter Lake, Iowa Carter Lake is a city in Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States. A suburb of Omaha, Nebraska, it sits surrounding the south and west sides of the region's major airport, Eppley Airfield. It is separated from the rest of Iowa by the Missouri ...
is separated from the rest of the state of Iowa by the Missouri River, which changed course during a flood in 1877, cutting the city off from the rest of the state. It is now only accessible through
Omaha Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest city ...
, Nebraska. ** The village of
Kaskaskia, Illinois Kaskaskia is a village in Randolph County, Illinois. Having been inhabited by indigenous peoples, it was settled by France as part of the Illinois Country. It was named for the Kaskaskia people. Its population peaked at about 7,000 in the 18th c ...
, the state's first capital, is separated from the rest of Illinois by the Mississippi River due to a flood in 1881, which shifted the river to flow east of the town, rather than west. This resulted in the only access to the town being from Missouri. ** The Upper Peninsula of Michigan is separated from the Lower Peninsula by the
Straits of Mackinac The Straits of Mackinac ( ; french: Détroit de Mackinac) are the short waterways between the U.S. state of Michigan's Upper and Lower Peninsulas, traversed by the Mackinac Bridge. The main strait is wide with a maximum depth of , and connects ...
, so until the Mackinac Bridge was completed in 1957, the only land routes between them were through the states of Wisconsin, Illinois, and Indiana, or through the Canadian province of Ontario. ** The Marble Hill neighborhood of Manhattan was separated from the rest of the borough by the construction of the
Harlem Ship Canal Spuyten Duyvil Creek () is a short tidal estuary in New York City connecting the Hudson River to the Harlem River Ship Canal and then on to the Harlem River. The confluence of the three water bodies separate the island of Manhattan from th ...
in 1895 and then connected to the North American mainland and the Bronx when the Harlem River was filled in on its north side in 1914. ** Although
O'Hare International Airport Chicago O'Hare International Airport , sometimes referred to as, Chicago O'Hare, or simply O'Hare, is the main international airport serving Chicago, Illinois, located on the city's Northwest Side, approximately northwest of the Chicago Loop, ...
is located in Chicago, it can only be reached directly from the rest of the city by passing through the suburban edge city of
Rosemont Rosemont may refer to: * Rosemont (horse), an American Thoroughbred racehorse * ''Rosemont'', a 2015 film Places In Australia * Rosemont (Woollahra), located in the Sydney suburb of Woollahra and listed on the NSW State Heritage Register In Canada ...
.


Enclaves within enclaves

It is possible for an enclave of one country to be completely surrounded by a part of another country that is itself an enclave of the first country. These enclaves are sometimes called ''counter-enclaves''. Two such complexes containing them exist currently: *The Dutch municipality of Baarle-Nassau has seven exclaves in two exclaves of the Belgian municipality of Baarle-Hertog. *
Nahwa Nahwa is a territory that forms part of the Emirate of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. It is a counter-enclave (or second-order enclave) within the Omani territory of Madha, which is itself an exclave of Oman and an enclave within the United ...
of the United Arab Emirates is surrounded by Madha, an exclave of Oman within the U.A.E. The former complex of enclaves at Cooch Behar district included 24 second-order enclaves and one small third-order enclave called '' Dahala Khagrabari #51'': a piece of India within a part of Bangladesh, within a part of India, within Bangladesh. The Indo-Bangladesh enclaves were exchanged on 31 July 2015 by the ratified Land Boundary Agreement, and Dahala Khagrabari was ceded to Bangladesh. The border arrangements concerning the Vennbahn meant that, from 1922 to 1949, a Belgian counter-enclave existed within a German enclave.


Ethnic enclaves

An ethnic enclave is a community of an ethnic group inside an area in which another ethnic group predominates. Ghettos, Little Italys,
barrio ''Barrio'' () is a Spanish language, Spanish word that means "Quarter (urban subdivision), quarter" or "neighborhood". In the modern Spanish language, it is generally defined as each area of a city, usually delimited by functional (e.g. residenti ...
s and
Chinatown A Chinatown () is an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Austra ...
s are examples. These areas may have a separate language, culture and economic system. * Székely Land is a Hungarian ethnic enclave within Romania, with its people calling themselves
Székely Székely may refer to: *Székelys, Hungarian people from the historical region of Transylvania, Romania **Székely Land, historic and ethnographic area in Transylvania, Romania * Székely (village), a village in northeastern Hungary *Székely (sur ...
. Originally, the name ''Székely Land'' denoted an autonomous region within Transylvania. It existed as a legal entity from medieval times until the
Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 The Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 (german: Ausgleich, hu, Kiegyezés) established the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary. The Compromise only partially re-established the former pre-1848 sovereignty and status of the Kingdom of Hungary ...
, when the Székely and
Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...
seats were dissolved and replaced by the county system. Along with Transylvania, it became a part of Romania in 1920, according with the Treaty of Trianon signed on 4 June 1920 at the Grand Trianon Palace in Versailles, France. In 1938–1940, during World War II, post-Trianon Hungary temporarily expanded its territory and included some additional territories that were formerly part of the pre-war Kingdom of Hungary, under Third Reich auspices, the Second Vienna Award. It was later reduced to boundaries approximating those of 1920 by the peace treaties signed after World War II at Paris, in 1947. The area was called Magyar Autonomous Region between September 8, 1952 and February 16, 1968, a Hungarian autonomous region within Romania, and today there are territorial autonomy initiatives to reach a higher level of self-governance for this region within Romania. * There are several Serb enclaves in Kosovo where the institutions of Kosovo are not fully operational due to disputes.


Extraterritoriality

Diplomatic missions, such as embassies and consulates, as well as military bases, are usually exempted from the jurisdiction of the host country, i.e., the laws of the host nation in which an embassy is located do not typically apply to the land of the embassy or base itself. This exemption from the jurisdiction of the host country is defined as extraterritoriality. Areas and buildings enjoying some forms of extraterritoriality are not true enclaves since, in all cases, the host country retains full sovereignty. In addition to embassies, some other areas enjoy a limited form of extraterritoriality. Examples of this include: * Pavillon de Breteuil in France, used by the
General Conference on Weights and Measures The General Conference on Weights and Measures (GCWM; french: Conférence générale des poids et mesures, CGPM) is the supreme authority of the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM), the intergovernmental organization established i ...
. * United Nations headquarters in the United States, used by the United Nations. * United Nations Office at Geneva in
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
, used by the United Nations. * INTERPOL headquarters in Lyon, France, used by INTERPOL. * NATO (political) headquarters near Evere in Haren, a part of the
City of Brussels The City of Brussels (french: Ville de Bruxelles or alternatively ''Bruxelles-Ville'' ; nl, Stad Brussel or ''Brussel-Stad'') is the largest municipality and historical City centre, centre of the Brussels, Brussels-Capital Region, as well a ...
, Belgium. * Headquarters of Allied Command Operations ( NATO) at the area designated as Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE), north of
Mons Mons (; German and nl, Bergen, ; Walloon and pcd, Mont) is a city and municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the province of Hainaut, Belgium. Mons was made into a fortified city by Count Baldwin IV of Hainaut in the 12th century. T ...
, Belgium. *
Palazzo Malta Palazzo Malta, officially named as the Magistral Palace ( it, Palazzo Magistrale), and also known as ''Palazzo di Malta'' or ''Palazzo dell'Ordine di Malta'', is the more important of the two headquarters of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta ( ...
and the
Villa del Priorato di Malta Villa del Priorato di Malta or Magistral Villa, located on the Aventine Hill in Rome, is one of the two institutional seats of the government of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. Along with Magistral Palace, the estate is granted extraterrit ...
, the headquarters of Sovereign Military Order of Malta in Rome. In addition to extraterritoriality, Italy recognizes the exercise by SMOM of all the prerogatives of sovereignty in its headquarters. Therefore, Italian sovereignty and SMOM sovereignty uniquely coexist without overlapping. * Extraterritorial properties of the Holy See in Rome and surroundings. * By treaty of 2 November 1929, Czechoslovakia obtained the lease for 99 years of two plots of land (in the
Moldauhafen Moldauhafen is a lot in the port of Hamburg, Germany that Czechoslovakia acquired on a 99-year lease in 1929 pursuant to the Treaty of Versailles. In 1993, the Czech Republic succeeded to the rights of Czechoslovakia. The lease will expire in 2028 ...
and in the
Saalehafen Moldauhafen is a lot in the port of Hamburg, Germany that Czechoslovakia acquired on a 99-year lease in 1929 pursuant to the Treaty of Versailles. In 1993, the Czech Republic succeeded to the rights of Czechoslovakia. The lease will expire in 202 ...
), both within the perimeter of the free port of Hamburg. Another plot, in the
Peutehafen Moldauhafen is a lot in the port of Hamburg, Germany that Czechoslovakia acquired on a 99-year lease in 1929 pursuant to the Treaty of Versailles. In 1993, the Czech Republic succeeded to the rights of Czechoslovakia. The lease will expire in 202 ...
, was purchased by the Czechoslovak government in 1929; this plot lies just outside the free-port perimeter. ** Saalehafen – approximately 2 ha of land on Hallesches Ufer, on the southeastern bank of the Saalehafen. ** Moldauhafen – approximately 0.5 ha of land on Dresdener Ufer, on the southeastern bank of the Moldauhafen. ** Peutehafen – the narrow peninsula between the Peutekanal and the Peutehafen dock, comprising 8.054 ha of land and 0.5 ha of water surface. * In
Szczecin Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the German border, it is a major s ...
, Poland, a similar provision existed following the Treaty of Versailles for Czechoslovakia to have access to the harbor, which until the end of World War II was located in Germany. From 1945, when Szczecin became part of Poland, Czechoslovakia possessed no extraterritorial rights there. It appears that the German concession ceased at the end of the war and that no successor paid attention to the pre-war rights that Czechoslovakia had under the Versailles Treaty. Neither the Polish nor the occupying Russians appear to have assumed any of Germany's pre-war liabilities. Czechoslovakia gave up the rights to its territory in Szczecin under an agreement signed on 13 January 1956. * Saimaa Canal: the longitudinal half of the canal in Russia is leased by Finland until 2063. Russian law is in principle valid, but in reality, Finland maintains the area. * Under a treaty between the United Kingdom and the Kingdom of the Netherlands, a Scottish Court was established at Camp Zeist near Utrecht for the trial of those accused in the Lockerbie bombing. The premises were under the authority of the court and immune from external interference for the duration of the trial and subsequent appeal, which lasted from 1999 to 2002. Dutch law continued to apply there in principle but the court was allowed to enact superseding regulations, and court officials enjoyed diplomatic immunity. Contrary to a popular misconception, the area did not become territory of the United Kingdom and the Netherlands retained sovereignty over it as the host country, similar to the status of diplomatic missions.


Land owned by a foreign country

One or more parcels/holdings of land in most countries is owned by other countries. Most instances are exempt from taxes. In the special case of embassies/consulates these enjoy special privileges driven by international consensus particularly the mutual wish to ensure free diplomatic missions, such as being exempt from major hindrances and host-country arrests in ordinary times on the premises. Most non-embassy lands in such ownership are also not enclaves as they fall legally short of ''extraterritoriality'', they are subject to alike court jurisdiction as before their grant/sale in most matters. Nonetheless, for a person's offence against the property itself, equally valid jurisdiction in criminal matters is more likely than elsewhere, assuming the perpetrator is found in the prosecuting authority's homeland. Devoid of permanent residents, formally defined new sovereignty is not warranted or asserted in the examples below. Nonetheless, minor laws, especially on flag flying, are sometimes relaxed to accommodate the needs of the accommodated nation's monument. Embassies enjoy many different legal statuses approaching quasi-sovereignty, depending on the agreements reached and in practice upheld from time-to-time by host nations. Subject to hosts adhering to basic due process of international law, including giving warnings, the enforced reduction of scope of a foreign embassy has always been a possibility, even to the point of expelling the foreign embassy entirely, usually on a breakdown of relations, in reaction to extreme actions such as espionage, or as another form of sanction. The same seems to be possible in profit-driven moving or drilling under any of the sites below, providing safeguards as the structure or a new replacement site. The same possible curtailments and alterations never apply to proper exclaves. Examples of such land other than for diplomatic missions are: *
Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
's original grave in
Longwood, Saint Helena Longwood is a settlement and a district of the British island of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean. Description In 2021, Longwood had a population of 765, compared with a population of 960 in 1998. The area of the district is . The district ...
, owned by France. *
Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...
's house in Saint Peter Port (Saint-Pierre-Port),
Guernsey Guernsey (; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; french: Guernesey) is an island in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy that is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependency. It is the second largest of the Channel Islands ...
, owned by the city of Paris. * The Brest memorial in Brest, France is owned by the U.S. It commemorates World War I. * The Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial in Normandy, France, which contains the graves of 9,386 American military dead, most of whom died during the landings and ensuing operations of World War II, owned by the United States of America.Sourc
American Battle Monument Commission
*
Pointe du Hoc La Pointe du Hoc () is a promontory with a cliff overlooking the English Channel on the northwestern coast of Normandy in the Calvados '' department'', France. Pointe du Hoc was the location of a series of German bunkers and machine gun posts. P ...
, the 13-hectare site of a memorial and museum dedicated to the World War II
Normandy landing The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and ...
at
Omaha Beach Omaha Beach was one of five beach landing sectors designated for the amphibious assault component of operation Overlord during the Second World War. On June 6, 1944, the Allies invaded German-occupied France with the Normandy landings. "Omaha" r ...
, France, transferred to the U.S. on 11 January 1979. * The to Russia's final Generalissimo Alexander Suvorov near Göschenen in central
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
, was erected 99 years after his death by the Russian Empire. * The
Vimy Memorial The Canadian National Vimy Memorial is a war memorial site in France dedicated to the memory of Canadian Expeditionary Force members killed during the First World War. It also serves as the place of commemoration for Canadian soldiers of the First ...
in France, which commemorates the
Battle of Vimy Ridge The Battle of Vimy Ridge was part of the Battle of Arras, in the Pas-de-Calais department of France, during the First World War. The main combatants were the four divisions of the Canadian Corps in the First Army, against three divisions o ...
. The French government permanently granted the about to Canada as a war memorial in 1922 in recognition of Canada's military contributions in World War I in general and at Vimy Ridge in particular. * Two cemeteries on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, United States: one on Ocracoke Island and one on Hatteras Island in the town of Buxton, are owned by the United Kingdom hosting the British seamen washed ashore after World War II U-boat attacks of 10 April (one from the ''San Delfino'') and 11 May 1942 (five from HMT ''Bedfordshire''). Four graves are at Ocracoke and two at Buxton; three of the bodies were never identified; one of them could be that of a Canadian seaman. The plot of land at Ocracoke "has been forever ceded to England" and is maintained by the U.S. Coast Guard. The plot was leased to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission for as long as the land remained a cemetery. The graves on Hatteras Island are maintained by the U.S. National Park Service. * The Captain Cook Monument at Kealakekua Bay and about of land around it in Hawaii, United States, the place where
James Cook James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean an ...
was killed in 1779, is owned by the United Kingdom. An historian on the occasion of the monument's 50th anniversary recorded in 1928 that the white stone "obelisk monument aserected to the memory of Captain Cook, about 1876, and on land deeded outright to the British Government by Princess Likelike, sister of
King Kalakaua King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...
, about the same year, so that that square is absolute British Territory." Hawaii was a sovereign nation at the time. According to MacFarlane, "The land under the monument was deeded to the United Kingdom in 1877 and is considered as sovereign non-embassy land owned by the British Embassy in Washington DC. ... the Hawaiian State Parks agency maintained that as sovereign British territory it was the responsibility of the UK to maintain the site." * Tiwinza in Peru: In the 1998 peace agreement following the 1995
Cenepa War The Cenepa War (26 January – 28 February 1995), also known as the Alto Cenepa War, was a brief and localized military conflict between Ecuador and Peru, fought over control of an area in Peruvian territory (i.e. in the eastern side of the Cord ...
, Peru ceded to Ecuador the property, but not the sovereignty, of one square kilometre within Tiwinza (where 14 Ecuadorian soldiers were buried). Ecuador had established a frontier military outpost in Tiwinza, an area that was specified in the agreement as belonging to Peru. * The land under the John F. Kennedy memorial at Runnymede, United Kingdom was transferred from the Crown Estates to the United States of America by the John F. Kennedy Memorial Act 1964 (an Act of the
U.K. Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative supremacy ...
); however, it is in the care of the U.K.-based
Kennedy Memorial Trust Kennedy Scholarships provide full funding for up to ten British post-graduate students to study at either Harvard University or the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Susan Hockfield, the sixteenth president of MIT, described the schol ...
. * The Tomb of Suleyman Shah (of Suleyman Shah, the grandfather of Osman I, the founder of the Ottoman Empire) in Aleppo Governorate,
Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
, is the property of Turkey. Article 9 of the
Treaty of Ankara Treaty of Ankara may refer to: *Treaty of Ankara (1921) *Treaty of Ankara (1926) The Treaty of Ankara (1926), also known as The Frontier Treaty of 1926 ( tr, Ankara Anlaşması), was signed 5 June 1926 in Ankara by Turkey, United Kingdom and M ...
signed between France and Turkey in 1921, provides that the tomb "shall remain, with its appurtenances, the property of Turkey, who may appoint guardians for it and may hoist the Turkish flag there". * Property and land owned by
Sultan of Johor The Sultan of Johor is a hereditary seat and the sovereign ruler of the Malaysian state of Johor. In the past, the sultan held absolute power over the state and was advised by a ''bendahara''. Currently, the role of ''bendahara'' has been take ...
in Singapore, due to historical tie between the two. Notably the Temenggong Daeng Ibrahim Mosque in Singapore is administered by Majlis Agama Islam Johor instead of Islamic Religious Council of Singapore


Unusual cross-border transport channels


National railway passing through another state's territory

Changes in borders can make a railway that was previously located solely within a country traverse the new borders. Since diverting a railway is expensive, this arrangement may last a long time. This may mean that doors on passenger trains are locked and guarded to prevent illicit entry and exit while the train is temporarily in another country. Borders can also be in the "wrong" place, forcing railways into difficult terrain. In large parts of Europe, where the
Schengen Area The Schengen Area ( , ) is an area comprising 27 European countries that have officially abolished all passport and all other types of border control at their mutual borders. Being an element within the wider area of freedom, security and j ...
has eliminated border controls when travelling between its 27 member countries, this problem no longer exists, and railways can criss-cross borders with no need for border controls or locked trains. Examples include:


Africa

* Due to inability to agree in 1963 on a shorter route through easy terrain, the iron ore railway in
Mauritania Mauritania (; ar, موريتانيا, ', french: Mauritanie; Berber: ''Agawej'' or ''Cengit''; Pulaar: ''Moritani''; Wolof: ''Gànnaar''; Soninke:), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania ( ar, الجمهورية الإسلامية ...
originally had to use a longer route through a tunnel (built through 2 km of solid granite) near
Choum Choum ( ar, شوم) is a town in northern Mauritania, lying in the Adrar Region close to the border with Western Sahara. In the year 2000, Choum had a population of 2,735. History The town grew from its position on trans-Saharan trading rout ...
to avoid the territory of Spanish Sahara. The tunnel is no longer in use and trains now use the shorter route through 5 km of Western Saharan territory controlled by the Polisario Front. * In 2013, in Mozambique, the shortest railway route from coal mines at
Tete Tete is the capital city of Tete Province in Mozambique. It is located on the Zambezi River, and is the site of two of the four bridges crossing the river in Mozambique. A Swahili trade center before the Portuguese colonial era, Tete continues ...
to a port at Nacala passes through Malawi. A route through solely Mozambican territory is circuitous. * In 1928, Congo (Belgium) and Angola (Portugal) exchanged some land to facilitate the new route of the railway to Congo-Kinshasa.


Americas

*
Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...
is landlocked and has no access to the sea, but a rail route runs through Chile from La Paz to the port of Arica on the Pacific Ocean. The rail route was built by Chile under the
Treaty of Peace and Friendship of 1904 between Chile and Bolivia The Treaty of Peace and Friendship of 1904 between Chile and Bolivia was signed in Santiago de Chile on October 20, 1904, to delineate the boundary through 96 specified points between Cerro Zapaleri and Cerro Chipe and to regulate the relation ...
, with the Bolivian section transferred to Bolivia after 15 years. Bolivia enjoyed duty-free use of the railway and the ports connected. * The International Railway of Maine was a railroad constructed by the
Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...
(CPR) between Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, and
Mattawamkeag Mattawamkeag is a town in Penobscot County, Maine, United States, located where the Mattawamkeag River joins the Penobscot River. The population was 596 at the 2020 census. The village of Mattawamkeag is in the southwest part of the town. Railr ...
, Maine, closing a key gap in the railway's transcontinental main line to the port of Saint John, New Brunswick. The railway was, however, at all times under American jurisdiction within the borders of the United States. * In order to avoid such a trans-border arrangement, the United States made the
Gadsden Purchase The Gadsden Purchase ( es, region=MX, la Venta de La Mesilla "The Sale of La Mesilla") is a region of present-day southern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico that the United States acquired from Mexico by the Treaty of Mesilla, which took effe ...
of land from Mexico, on which it was planned to build a southern route for the transcontinental railroad. Owing to the topography of the area, acquisition of the land was the only feasible way to construct such a railroad through the southern
New Mexico Territory The Territory of New Mexico was an organized incorporated territory of the United States from September 9, 1850, until January 6, 1912. It was created from the U.S. provisional government of New Mexico, as a result of ''Santa Fe de Nuevo México ...
. * The former
San Diego and Arizona Railway The San Diego and Arizona Railway was a short line U.S. railroad founded by entrepreneur John D. Spreckels, and dubbed "The Impossible Railroad" by engineers of its day due to the immense logistical challenges involved. It linked San Diego, ...
, completed in 1919, ran between the California cities of San Diego and El Centro with 71 km of track in Mexico between Tijuana and Tecate. The Mexican segment is now operated as the short line Baja California Railroad.


Europe


= Current

= * Salzburg to
Innsbruck Innsbruck (; bar, Innschbruck, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian ) is the capital of Tyrol (state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the ...
(Austria) passes through Rosenheim, Germany. A railway line within Austria exists as well, but trains take about 1.5 hours longer than across German territory. * Trains on the
Birsig Valley Line The Birsig is a rather small river in eastern France and northern Switzerland. Its source is in the village Biederthal, in the French Haut-Rhin department, near the Swiss border. The Birsig is about long, and its watershed area is about . It flo ...
from Basel to Rodersdorf, Switzerland, which passes through Leymen, France. It is operated by Baselland Transport and serviced by line no. 10, which continues into the Basel tram network. * The
Hochrheinbahn The High Rhine Railway (german: Hochrheinbahn) is the Deutsche Bahn railway line from Basel to Singen. It is also part of the tri-national S-Bahn Basel and referenced as . It was built by the Grand Duchy of Baden State Railways as part of the B ...
(High Rhine Railway) from Basel via Waldshut to Schaffhausen is part of the
Deutsche Bahn The (; abbreviated as DB or DB AG) is the national railway company of Germany. Headquartered in the Bahntower in Berlin, it is a joint-stock company ( AG). The Federal Republic of Germany is its single shareholder. describes itself as the se ...
network, and is mostly in Germany, but the two ends are in Switzerland and it is only connected with the rest of the German railway network via Switzerland. At both Basel and Schaffhausen the railway has extraterritorial status: one can travel by train to and from the rest of Germany without going through Swiss customs, despite travelling over territory of the
Swiss Customs Area Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland *Swiss people Places *Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia *Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss International ...
. See Basel Badischer Bahnhof. * Trains from
Neugersdorf Neugersdorf ( hsb, Nowe Jěžercy) is a town in the district Görlitz, in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the border with the Czech Republic, 4 km south of Ebersbach, and 17 km northwest of Zittau Zittau ( hsb, ...
, Saxony to Zittau pass Czech territory at
Varnsdorf Varnsdorf (; german: Warnsdorf, hsb, Warnoćicy) is a town in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 15,000 inhabitants. It lies on the border with Germany. Administrative parts Villages of Studánka and Světliny 1.díl ...
, while Czech trains from Varnsdorf to
Chrastava Chrastava (; german: Kratzau) is a town in Liberec District in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 6,300 inhabitants. Administrative parts Chrastava is made up of town parts of Chrastava, Dolní Chrastava and Horní Chrastava, ...
pass through German territory at Zittau, and then a small part of Polish territory near the village of
Porajów Porajów (german: Großporitsch) is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Bogatynia, within Zgorzelec County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland, close to the Czech and German borders. Location It lies approximatel ...
. * Trains from
Görlitz Görlitz (; pl, Zgorzelec, hsb, Zhorjelc, cz, Zhořelec, :de:Ostlausitzer Mundart, East Lusatian dialect: ''Gerlz'', ''Gerltz'', ''Gerltsch'') is a town in the Germany, German state of Saxony. It is located on the Lusatian Neisse River, and ...
to Zittau, Germany, pass the border river Neisse several times (see Oder–Neisse line); the railway station for
Ostritz Ostritz (, hsb, Wostrowc) is a town in the district Görlitz, in Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the border with Poland, on the left bank of the Lusatian Neisse, 16 km south of Görlitz. It was the scene of a small battle in the Seven ...
, Germany, lies in Krzewina Zgorzelecka, Poland. * Belgrade–Bar railway crosses into Bosnia and Herzegovina for , between stations Zlatibor and Priboj (both in Serbia). There is one station, Štrpci, but there are no border-crossing facilities, and trains do not call at the station. * The Knin – Bihać railway between Croatia and Bosnia is split by the Croatian–Bosnian border several times. Similarly, the Savski Marof – Imeno railway was split by the Slovenian–Croatian border several times. * Lučenec
Veľký Krtíš Veľký Krtíš (before 1927 ''Veľký Krtýš'', hu, Nagykürtös) is a town in middle Slovakia, situated in the historical Novohrad region. The town's most important economic sectors are mining and agriculture. Etymology The name is of Hunga ...
line in Slovakia passes through Hungary from Ipolytarnóc to
Nógrádszakál Nógrádszakál is a village and commune in Nógrád County, Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukra ...
. * The local trains on the Burgenlandbahn in Austria cross the area of Hungary at Sopron. During the era of the Iron Curtain, the trains had their doors locked as they traversed Hungarian territory. * The line from Ventimiglia to
Limone Piemonte Limone Piemonte (Vivaro-Alpine: ''Limon'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about south of Turin and about south of Cuneo, on the border with France. As of September 2017, it had a po ...
, Italy, via
Breil-sur-Roya Breil-sur-Roya (, literally ''Breil on Roya''; it, Breglio sul Roia or simply ''Breglio''; lij, Breggio; oc, Brelh de Ròia) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France. Population Geography Breil-sur-Roya as ...
, France. * The railway between France and Italy briefly leaves France to enter Monaco before entering France once more. The railway has a 5300-metre tunnel that goes through Monaco and further, and has an underground station in Monaco. * For the Belgian Vennbahn (now a cycleway) narrow strips of Belgian territory were created running through Germany, creating five German exclaves. * The former Soviet republics have numerous examples: ** SemikhodyChernihiv-Ovruch railway of Ukraine passes through Belarus territory.
Railway Gazette International ''Railway Gazette International'' is a monthly business magazine and news website covering the railway, metro, light rail and tram industries worldwide. Available by annual subscription, the magazine is read in over 140 countries by transport p ...
April 2008 p 240
** Belarus/
Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
:
Adutiškis Adutiškis (; pl, Hoduciszki; be, Гадуцішкі) is a town in Švenčionys district municipality, in Vilnius County, in northeast Lithuania. According to the 2011 census, the town has a population of 689 people. The town is located near K ...
railway station straddles the Lithuania/Belarus border. Trains pass through Lithuanian territory while traveling to and from Belarus, and platforms are in both Belarus and Lithuania. The station is now mainly used for freight. ** Druzhba
Vorozhba Vorozhba (, ) is a city in Bilopillia Raion, Sumy Oblast, Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and north ...
line of Ukraine passes through Russian territory. ** In 2009, Russia and Kazakhstan agreed to transfer ownership of a cross-border section of line. *Trains running between Schaffhausen and Rafz pass through the German towns of Jestetten and Lottstetten.


= Historical

= * During the
Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
, underground lines in West Berlin ran under parts of
East Berlin East Berlin was the ''de facto'' capital city of East Germany from 1949 to 1990. Formally, it was the Allied occupation zones in Germany, Soviet sector of Berlin, established in 1945. The American, British, and French sectors were known as ...
. Ghost stations (german: Geisterbahnhöfe) were stations on Berlin's U-Bahn and S-Bahn metro networks that were closed during this period of Berlin's division. * In Finland,
Porkkala Porkkalanniemi ( sv, Porkala udd) is a peninsula in the Gulf of Finland, located at Kirkkonummi (Kyrkslätt) in Southern Finland. The peninsula had great strategic value, as coastal artillery based there would be able to shoot more than half ...
was leased to the Soviet Union as a Soviet naval base between 1944 and 1956. Porkkala is located on the Rantarata, the main railway line between Helsinki and Turku. Initially, only Soviet traffic was permitted through, forcing
Finnish State Railways VR-Group Plc ( fi, VR-Yhtymä Oyj, sv, VR-Group Abp), commonly known as VR, is a government-owned railway company in Finland. VR's most important function is the operation of Finland's passenger rail services with 250 long-distance and 800 co ...
to reroute the trains through a circuitous route via Toijala. However, in 1947, the Soviets agreed to let Finnish trains through. At the border, Finnish trains were shunted to a Soviet locomotive, windows were shuttered, guards were posted to the doors, and the Soviet locomotive would pull the train through the base area, to be shunted back to a Finnish locomotive at the opposite border.


= Proposals

= * The shortest and straightest route for a proposed east–west high-speed railway in Austria through Linz, Salzburg and
Innsbruck Innsbruck (; bar, Innschbruck, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian ) is the capital of Tyrol (state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the ...
would pass under some mountains belonging to Germany. * In 2012, a railway route was proposed from Angola proper to the enclave of Cabinda crossing not only the Congo River but also about 40 km of territory of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.


Highway of one state passing through another state's territory

This arrangement is less common as highways are more easily re-aligned. Some examples are:


Africa

* Congo Pedicle road: built to provide access for Zambia's Luapula Province to the Copperbelt through of territory of the
DR Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...
, requiring a change from
driving on the left Left-hand traffic (LHT) and right-hand traffic (RHT) are the practices, in bidirectional traffic, of keeping to the left side or to the right side of the road, respectively. They are fundamental to traffic flow, and are sometimes referred to ...
to driving on the right. * In
Guinea Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...
, where 20 km long tunnel(s) through a hillspur at
Naigaya Naigaya is a village in southwest Guinea. It is near the border with Sierra Leone. Its elevation . It is in the Prefecture of Kindia. Transport Naigaya is near a proposed railway to a new port at Matakong for iron-ore traffic from mines at ...
(elevation ), Sicourou,
Bokariadi Bokariadi is one of a number of towns in Guinea with this name. This is the one in the south east of the country near the border with Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coas ...
and Feraya might be avoided by crossing the border into Sierra Leone at
Yana Yana may refer to: Locations *Yana, Burma, a village in Hkamti Township in Hkamti District in the Sagaing Region of northwestern Burma *Yana, India, a village in the Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka, India * Yana, Nigeria, an administrative ca ...
(elevation ). * Senegal is practically and inconveniently divided almost in two by the sovereign territory of The Gambia. Until the completion of the
Senegambia bridge The Senegambia bridge, also known as the Trans-Gambia Bridge, is a bridge in The Gambia that carries the Trans-Gambia Highway connecting northern and southern Gambia. It also provides access to the isolated Casamance province from the rest of Seneg ...
in 2019, the easiest way to travel from northern Senegal to the southern Casamance region was through Gambia via the
Trans-Gambia Highway The Trans-Gambia Highway is a major highway in The Gambia, running across the centre of the nation in a north–south direction. Within the Gambia, the highway consists of two main stretches, the North Bank Road and South Bank Road, each corres ...
, with a connecting ferry being the only way to cross the Gambia River. The fare for the ferry crossing is a source of contention between the two countries.


Americas

* East Richford Slide Road in the U.S. state of Vermont crosses into the Canadian province of
Québec Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is ...
for a distance of approximately 100 metres (300 feet) before returning to the United States. A cemetery lies directly on the
border vista Border control refers to measures taken by governments to monitor and regulate the movement of people, animals, and goods across land, air, and maritime borders. While border control is typically associated with international borders, it a ...
.


Asia

* The road from Dubai to the tourist spot of Hatta, an exclave of the emirate of Dubai, passes through a small stretch of Omani territory. * The highway between
Bishkek Bishkek ( ky, Бишкек), ), formerly Pishpek and Frunze, is the capital and largest city of Kyrgyzstan. Bishkek is also the administrative centre of the Chüy Region. The region surrounds the city, although the city itself is not part of ...
and Issyk Kul, both in Kyrgyzstan, skirts the border with Kazakhstan, with the highway and the border crossing each other for short distances at various points.


Europe

* Various roads cross the
Republic of Ireland–United Kingdom border The Republic of Ireland–United Kingdom border, sometimes referred to as the Irish border or British–Irish border, runs for Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland, 1999
, back and forth between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The N54 in County Monaghan (RoI) twice becomes the A3 in County Fermanagh (NI), before continuing as the N54. Similarly, the N53 in Monaghan passes through County Armagh (NI) as the A37, before resuming as the N53 at a point where County Armagh, County Monaghan and County Louth (RoI) all meet. , no national or border signs are present: the only indication is the change in margin markings and signs to indicate a change in speed limits between mph and km/h. It remains to be seen whether Brexit will change this friendly arrangement, which has persisted since the Good Friday Agreement of 1998. * Between 1963 and 2002 the N274 road from Roermond to Heerlen, part of Dutch territory, passed through the German Selfkant, which had been annexed by the Netherlands after the Second World War but returned to Germany in 1963. * Close to
Narvik ( se, Áhkanjárga) is the third-largest municipality in Nordland county, Norway, by population. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Narvik. Some of the notable villages in the municipality include Ankenesstranda, Ball ...
, a road from Norway twice enters and leaves
Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
territory, following the southern shore of the
Kjårdavatnet or is a lake that is located on the border of Norway and Sweden, about south of the village of Elvegård in Norway. The Norwegian side lies in Narvik Municipality in Nordland county and the Swedish side lies in Gällivare Municipality Gäll ...
lake. It does not connect with any other Swedish road in either location before it enters Norwegian land once more. It is private and built for hydropower plants but usable for public. * Norwegian road 92 continues in Finland as road 92 before it continues as road 92 again in Norway. Norwegian road 7012 continues as road Z821 in Sweden before continuing as road 7012 in Norway again. Road Z821 (near
Gäddede Gäddede is a locality in Strömsund Municipality, Jämtland County, Sweden with 401 inhabitants in 2010. It is located in the far north-western corner of the municipality and it is more than to the locality of Strömsund by road. Gäddede is loc ...
) had right-hand driving also before 1967 when the rest of Sweden had left-hand driving. These roads are mostly number construction and do not have special privileges. * Road 402 between Podsabotin and Solkan in Slovenia, built when Slovenia was a state of Yugoslavia, passes through Italy for 1.5 kilometres. This section of the road does not intersect any other roads and is confined by high concrete walls topped by fences. As Slovenia and Italy are now both signatories to the Schengen Agreement, the barriers are little more than historical curiosities, although there is modern signage indicating that photography is forbidden along the Italian part of the road and that stopping is prohibited. * The
Saatse Boot Saatse ( seto, Satserina) is a village in Setomaa Parish, Võru County in southeastern Estonia. It has a population of 89 (as of 2007). Saatse and its neighbouring villages ( Kundruse, Litvina, Pattina, Perdaku, Saabolda, Samarina, Sesniki ...
Road in Estonia, between the villages of
Lutepää Lutepää is a small village on the Värska-to-Saatse road in southeast Estonia. (retrieved 28 July 2021) Lutepää is one of the few villages in the European Union that can only be reached by travelling through Russia. The one and only road thr ...
and
Sesniki Sesniki is a village in Setomaa Parish, Võru County in southeastern Estonia. (retrieved 28 July 2021) Sesniki and its neighbouring villages ( Kundruse, Litvina, Pattina, Perdaku, Saabolda, Saatse, Samarina and Ulitina) are notable as pa ...
, passes through Russian territory. The stretch of road passing through Russia is flanked by barbed wire fences and guard towers. Stopping and/or getting out of one's vehicle on the stretch of road is forbidden; the rule is enforced by Russian border guards. * The D8 coastal highway of Croatia passes through a small section of Bosnia and Herzegovina territory, at the town of Neum, as it heads south from Split, Croatia to Dubrovnik. * Geneva Airport in
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
has a ''French Sector'', which, while legally and geographically in Switzerland, is a ''de facto'' French domestic terminal used solely for flights to and from destinations in metropolitan France, and staffed by French officials. Thus, prior to Switzerland's accession to the
Schengen Area The Schengen Area ( , ) is an area comprising 27 European countries that have officially abolished all passport and all other types of border control at their mutual borders. Being an element within the wider area of freedom, security and j ...
(which entered into force for air travel in March 2009), the French Sector saved the need for border controls for flights between France and Geneva Airport. The French Sector is only accessible by a road connecting it directly to France, which passes through Swiss territory but has no junctions or other physical access to Switzerland. This road leads to a turn-off on the French side of the Ferney-Voltaire border crossing, thus bypassing Swiss passport controls when they were operational before 2009. While Switzerland's membership of the Schengen Area now renders the convenience of avoiding passport controls obsolete, there is still a small advantage gained in using the French Sector: Switzerland is not in the EU Customs Union, so customs (but not passport) checks are still carried out at Switzerland's border posts. The French Sector, with its road that leads directly to France without access to Switzerland, bypasses this requirement. **
EuroAirport EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg IATA airport 3-letter codes for the French area, the Swiss area, and the metropolitan area, french: Aéroport de Bâle-Mulhouse-Fribourg, it, Aeroporto di Basilea-Mulhouse-Friburgo, rm, Eroport da Basilea-Mu ...
on French territory near Basel/ Mulhouse is similar. It has a Swiss section with a customs-free road to Switzerland. **Basel (Badischer) and Geneva railway stations also have similar foreign areas.


Subnational highway passing through other internal territory


Americas

* United States: ** Interstate 684, connecting various points in New York State, passes through Connecticut near
Kensico Reservoir The Kensico Reservoir is a reservoir spanning the towns of Armonk ( North Castle) and Valhalla ( Mount Pleasant), New York, located 3 miles (5 km) north of White Plains. It was formed by the original earth and gravel Kensico Dam constructed in 18 ...
and Westchester County Airport but is maintained entirely by New York State. Motor vehicles cannot enter from nor exit to Connecticut roads, even though a portion of the highway is owned by Connecticut. ** A portion of
New York State Route 17 New York State Route 17 (NY 17) is a major state highway that extends for through the Southern Tier and Downstate regions of New York in the United States. It begins at the Pennsylvania state line in Mina and follows the Souther ...
/ Interstate 86 passes through South Waverly, Pennsylvania but is maintained entirely by New York State. This includes the roadway and traffic lights at the interchange with
US Route 220 U.S. Route 220 (US 220) is a spur route of US 20. It runs in a north–south layout in the eastern United States, unlike its parent route as well as conventionally even-numbered highways which run east-west. US 220 extends for fr ...
and a short portion of
Pennsylvania Route 199 Pennsylvania Route 199 (PA 199) is a state highway located in Bradford County in Pennsylvania. The southern terminus is at U.S. Route 220 (US 220) near Athens. The northern terminus is the New York state line in Sayre, where it connects to ...
. Nevertheless, Pennsylvania police enforce traffic laws on this short stretch, where there is one overpass built and owned by Pennsylvania. ** A portion of New Hampshire Route 153 runs along the border with and briefly passes through
Parsonsfield, Maine Parsonsfield is a town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was just 1,791 at the 2020 census. Parsonsfield includes the villages of Kezar Falls, Parsonsfield, and North, East and South Parsonsfield. It is part of the Portland& ...
as it sweeps around the eastern shore of
Province Lake Province Lake is a water body located on the border between New Hampshire and Maine in the United States. Approximately of the lake lie in the towns of Effingham and Wakefield, New Hampshire, with the remainder in Parsonsfield, Maine. Its outlet ...
. **
Minnesota State Highway 23 Minnesota State Highway 23 (MN 23) is a state highway that stretches from southwestern to northeastern Minnesota. At in length, it is the second longest state route in Minnesota, after MN 1. This route, signed east–west, runs roughl ...
passes through about of Wisconsin just west of Duluth, Minnesota. Maintained by the
Minnesota Department of Transportation The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT, ) oversees transportation by all modes including land, water, air, rail, walking and bicycling in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The cabinet-level agency is responsible for maintaining the state' ...
, it intersects only a few dead-end local roads while in Wisconsin. No state line signs are present. ** Hopkins Road north of Newark, Delaware, briefly enters Pennsylvania where the Twelve-Mile Circle meets the Mason–Dixon Line. The road is maintained by Delaware, and it appears that at one time Arc Corner Road in Pennsylvania may have intersected here. Further east, Beaver Dam Road enters
Chadds Ford Township, Pennsylvania Chadds Ford Township is an affluent township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. It is located about southwest of Philadelphia. Prior to 1996, Chadds Ford Township was known as Birmingham Township; the name was changed to allow the township to cor ...
at the intersection of Beaver Valley Road and re-enters Delaware about 0.5 miles later. It is unclear who is supposed to maintain the section in Pennsylvania. ** Wyoming Highway 70 enters
Moffat County, Colorado Moffat County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 13,292. The county seat is Craig. With an area of 4,751 square miles, it is the 2nd largest county by area in Colorado, behind Las An ...
for approximately . The route through Colorado is maintained by the
Wyoming Department of Transportation The Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) is a government agency charged with overseeing transportation infrastructure for the U.S. state of Wyoming. WYDOT's stated mission is “to provide a safe, high quality, and efficient transportatio ...
. **
Arizona State Route 101 Arizona State Route 101 (SR 101) or Loop 101 is a Ring road, semi-beltway looping around the Phoenix Metropolitan Area in central Arizona. It connects several suburbs of Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, including Tolleson, Arizona, Tolleson, Glendal ...
enters the sovereign
Salt River Pima–Maricopa Indian Community The Salt River Pima–Maricopa Indian Community comprises two distinct Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribes—the Pima people, Pima (O'odham language: Onk Akimel O'odham, ''meaning "Salt River People"'') and the Marico ...
for approximately as it skirts the eastern edge of Scottsdale, Arizona, whose neighborhoods were built out to the reservation boundary prior to construction. Use of the land for the freeway on Tribal land is under a lease agreement. The route is maintained by the
Arizona Department of Transportation The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT, pronounced "A-Dot") is an Arizona state government agency charged with facilitating mobility within the state. In addition to managing the state's state highways, highway system, the agency is also i ...
.


Asia

* India ** The highway connecting Guwahati (capital of Assam state) to Silchar (a city in Barak valley of Assam) passes through Meghalaya state. ** One has to travel through part of West Bengal while travelling from
Jamshedpur Jamshedpur (, ) or Tatanagar is the largest and most populous city in Jharkhand and the first planned industrial city in India. It is a Notified Area Council and Municipal Corporation and also the headquarter of the East Singhbhum district. It ...
(Tatanagar), Jharkhand to a few other cities of Jharkhand like
Ranchi Ranchi (, ) is the capital of the Indian state of Jharkhand. Ranchi was the centre of the Jharkhand movement, which called for a separate state for the tribal regions of South Bihar, northern Odisha, western West Bengal and the eastern area ...
or Dhanbad. ** Kota, a city in Rajasthan surrounded by territory of Madhya Pradesh, is connected to other parts of Rajasthan by roads passing through Madhya Pradesh. ** Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh) is connected to few other cities of Madhya Pradesh by highways passing through Uttar Pradesh, covering the city of Jhansi. * Turkey: ** The main road for travel to
Bartın Bartın is a city in northern Turkey and the central district of the province of Bartın. Formerly a district of Zonguldak Province, Bartın was made into a province seat in 1991 with the constitution of its province, including four districts: ...
via Zonguldak actually crosses Bartın first, traverses Zonguldak a short distance, then returns to Bartın.


Border transport infrastructure


Africa

* The Kazungula Bridge connects Zambia and Botswana in Southern Africa. The shared border between the two countries is approximately 150 m long, in the middle of the Zambezi River, and thus very nearly forms a quadripoint between Zambia, Botswana, Namibia, and Zimbabwe. Because the border between Zambia and Botswana is so short and because of the orientation of the river banks, the span of the bridge curves to avoid crossing the adjacent territory of Namibia or Zimbabwe.


Americas

* In 2009, the
Canada Border Services Agency The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA; french: Agence des services frontaliers du Canada, ''ASFC'') is a federal law enforcement agency that is responsible for border control (i.e. protection and surveillance), immigration enforcement, and cu ...
relocated its border inspection post from Cornwall Island, Ontario, a border region with the United States, to Cornwall, Ontario, across from the island and thus further inland, after protests erupted over the CBSA's firearm policy on Mohawk Nation’s sovereign land. To avoid severe penalty, people entering from the United States who are destined for the island are required to proceed across the island to report to the new CBSA post in Cornwall before making a U-turn to return to the island. Residents of the island visiting Cornwall or beyond must also report to the CBSA. Those returning to the island from Cornwall are the only group not required to go through any border inspection.


Asia

* The Hong Kong–Shenzhen Western Corridor on the Hong Kongmainland China border: the immigration control points for Hong Kong ( Shenzhen Bay Control Point) and mainland China ( Shenzhen Bay Port) are co-located in the same building on the Shenzhen side of the bridge in an effective pene-exclave. The Hong Kong portion of the service building and the adjoining bridge are leased to Hong Kong, and are under Hong Kong's jurisdiction for an initial period until 30 June 2047. * The Mainland Port Area in Kowloon High Speed Railway Station in downtown Hong Kong is under the jurisdiction of the Mainland Chinese authorities and courts. The 30 km long tunnel to the border is under Hong Kong jurisdiction, however, the train compartments of any train in operation (that is carrying passengers to or from the Mainland) are subject to Mainland Laws and jurisdiction. This arrangement was created to allow for immigration clearance to occur in Hong Kong for all trains travelling to and from the Mainland of China. This has stirred much controversy and multiple protests in Hong Kong. * As a legacy of
British Malaya The term "British Malaya" (; ms, Tanah Melayu British) loosely describes a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the island of Singapore that were brought under British hegemony or control between the late 18th and the mid-20th century. U ...
, the Malaysian rail network had its southern terminus at
Tanjong Pagar railway station Tanjong Pagar railway station ( ms, Stesen Keretapi Tanjong Pagar; ; ta, தஞ்சோங் பகார் ரயில் நிலையம்), also called Singapore railway station ( ms, Stesen Keretapi Singapura; ; ta, சிங் ...
in central Singapore. The land on which the station and the rail tracks stood was leased to Keretapi Tanah Melayu, the Malaysian state railway operator. Consequently, Malaysia had partial sovereignty over the railway land. Passengers had to clear Malaysian customs and immigration checks at Tanjong Pagar before boarding the train to Malaysia, even after Singapore shifted its border control facility to the actual border in 1998 and objected to the continued presence of Malaysian officials at the station. After a 20-year long dispute, the station was closed in 2011 and the railway land reverted to Singapore. A remnant of the rail corridor is still in use; KTM trains now terminate at Woodlands Train Checkpoint in northern Singapore near the border, which houses Malaysian and Singaporean border controls for rail passengers.


Europe

* Several bridges cross the rivers
Oder The Oder ( , ; Czech, Lower Sorbian and ; ) is a river in Central Europe. It is Poland's second-longest river in total length and third-longest within its borders after the Vistula and Warta. The Oder rises in the Czech Republic and flows thr ...
and Neisse between Germany and Poland. To avoid needing to coordinate their efforts on a single bridge, the two riparian states assign each bridge to one or the other; thus Poland is responsible for ''all'' maintenance on some of the bridges, including the German side, and vice versa. * The Hallein Salt Mine crosses from Austria into Germany. Under an 1829 treaty Austria can dig under the then-Kingdom of Bavaria. In return some salt has to be given to Bavaria, and up to 99 of its citizens can be hired to work in the Austrian mine. * The twin town of TornioHaparanda or HaparandaTornio lies at the mouth of river Tornio, Tornio on the Finnish side and
Haparanda Haparanda (; fi, Haaparanta, , aspen shore or bank) is a locality and the seat of Haparanda Municipality in Norrbotten County, Sweden. It is adjacent to Tornio, Finland. Haparanda had a population of 4,856 in 2010, out of a municipal total of 10,2 ...
on the
Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
side. The two towns have a common public transportation, as well as cultural services, fire brigade, sports facilities etc. * The Basel Badischer Bahnhof is a railway station in the Swiss city of Basel. Although situated on Swiss soil, because of the 1852 treaty between the Swiss Confederation and the state of Baden (one of the predecessors of today's Germany), the largest part of the station (the platforms and the parts of the passenger tunnel that lead to the German/Swiss checkpoint) is treated administratively as an inner-German railway station operated by the
Deutsche Bahn The (; abbreviated as DB or DB AG) is the national railway company of Germany. Headquartered in the Bahntower in Berlin, it is a joint-stock company ( AG). The Federal Republic of Germany is its single shareholder. describes itself as the se ...
. The shops in the station hall, however, are Swiss, and the Swiss franc is used as the official currency there (although the euro is universally accepted). The Swiss post office, car rental office, restaurant and a cluster of shops are each separately located wholly within a surrounding station area that is administered by the German railway. The customs controls are located in a tunnel between the platforms and the station hall; international trains that continue to Basel SBB usually had on-board border controls, until they were abolished in 2008 when Switzerland joined the
Schengen Area The Schengen Area ( , ) is an area comprising 27 European countries that have officially abolished all passport and all other types of border control at their mutual borders. Being an element within the wider area of freedom, security and j ...
. * The tram network in the French city of
Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...
was extended into the neighbouring German city of
Kehl Kehl (; gsw, label= Low Alemannic German, Low Alemannic, Kaal) is a town in southwestern Germany in the Ortenaukreis, Baden-Württemberg. It is on the river Rhine, directly opposite the French city of Strasbourg, with which it shares some munic ...
in 2017. * The railway stations of
Audun-le-Tiche Audun-le-Tiche (; ; ) is a commune in the Moselle department in Grand Est in northeastern France. Location and rail links Audun-le-Tiche is located adjacent to Esch-sur-Alzette, on the border with Luxembourg, and close to the borders of German ...
and Volmerange-les-Mines are both located in France but are owned, operated and maintained by the Luxembourg National Railway Company, as are the short stretches of railway between the stations and the Luxembourg border. Thus, holders of a Luxembourg railway pass can travel to these stations without requiring a French ticket. The stations are both end stations on different lines and are not physically connected to any French railway. There are no border issues, as both France and Luxembourg are in the
Schengen Area The Schengen Area ( , ) is an area comprising 27 European countries that have officially abolished all passport and all other types of border control at their mutual borders. Being an element within the wider area of freedom, security and j ...
. Likewise, a short stretch of narrow-gauge railway line connects Hendaye in south-western France to the rest of the
San Sebastián Metro Euskotren operates frequent commuter rail services in the city of San Sebastián and the surrounding Donostialdea area, in the Basque Country, Spain. The infrastructure is gradually being upgraded to rapid transit standards, in order to create ...
network over the border in Spain. * The bus network of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, extends to the nearby Austrian village
Wolfsthal Wolfsthal is a town in the district of Bruck an der Leitha in Lower Austria in Austria. It along with neighboring Berg were part of the municipality of Wolfsthal-Berg until 1996. It is the end of the line for S7 Vienna S-Bahn trains. Geography ...
where the train S7 (Schnellbahn) from Vienna has its terminal station. After the fall of the Iron Curtain, the abandoned rail road track from Wolfsthal to Bratislava could not be reinstalled because the land had been sold for housing projects.


See also

* Baarle * Baarle-Hertog * Baarle-Nassau *
Flagpole annexation Municipal annexation is a process by which a municipality expands its boundaries into nearby, usually adjacent, unincorporated areas. This has been a common response of cities to urbanization in neighboring areas. It may be done because the neighbo ...
* Landlocked country *
Panhandle A salient (also known as a panhandle or bootheel) is an elongated protrusion of a geopolitical entity, such as a subnational entity or a sovereign state. While similar to a peninsula in shape, a salient is most often not surrounded by water on ...
* Polynesian outlier


Lists

* List of countries that border only one other country * List of enclaves and exclaves *
List of ethnic enclaves in North American cities This is a list of ethnic enclaves in various countries of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds to the native population. An ethnic enclave in this context denotes an area primarily populated by a population with similar ethnic or racial ...
* List of former foreign enclaves in China


Notes


Bibliography

* *


External links


Rolf Palmberg's Enclaves of the world

Jan S. Krogh's Geosite

"Tangled Territories" 2005 review article on exclaves and enclaves in Europe published in ''Hidden Europe'' magazine



Evgeny Vinokurov's Theory of Enclaves - a comprehensive economic and political treatment of enclaves and exclaves
{{Terms for types of country subdivisions Border-related lists