How Borders and Maps Changed
Explore how countries, coastlines, and our knowledge of the world have changed the maps we use.
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Questions with solutions-
1. Pilih jawaban yang benar.
What happened to these two countries in 1990?
A European map from 1985 shows East Germany and West Germany as separate countries.
- They remained separate countries with a shared capital.
- They reunited to become one country.
- They became two republics within the Soviet Union.
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- They reunited to become one country.
German reunification removed the national border between East and West Germany, although regional boundaries remained.
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2. Pilih jawaban yang benar.
Which event explains this difference?
A 1988 political map of the Soviet Union shows Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania inside its borders. On maps from 1992, they appear as independent countries.
- The enlargement of the European Union
- The reunification of Germany
- The breakup of the Soviet Union
Consider which event ended the larger state shown on the older map.
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- The breakup of the Soviet Union
The Soviet Union dissolved in 1991. Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, which had been independent before Soviet rule, regained their independence.
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3. Pilih jawaban yang benar.
What changed immediately because of this sale?
In 1803, France sold the Louisiana Territory to the United States.
- The United States gained a large area west of the Mississippi River.
- The entire Louisiana Territory became a single US state.
- France gained US territory east of the Mississippi River.
Gaining territory is not the same as creating a state.
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- The United States gained a large area west of the Mississippi River.
The purchased territory was much larger than today's state of Louisiana. Parts of it later became several different states.
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4. Pilih jawaban yang benar.
What process made this once-flooded land usable?
Some Dutch polders contain farmland where there was once water. Dikes keep surrounding water out, while pumps keep the enclosed ground dry.
- Letting tides deposit soil without human control
- Draining water from enclosed areas
- Waiting for a permanent worldwide drop in sea level
Think about the job performed by the pumps.
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- Draining water from enclosed areas
This is land reclamation. Maps can gain areas of dry land through engineering, not just through changes in national borders.
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5. Pilih jawaban yang benar.
Which new route did the canal provide?
Before the Suez Canal opened in 1869, ships traveling between Europe and Asia often sailed around southern Africa.
- A route across Panama between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans
- A route across Turkey between the Mediterranean and Black Seas
- A route across Egypt between the Mediterranean and Red Seas
Suez is in northeastern Africa.
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- A route across Egypt between the Mediterranean and Red Seas
The canal created a major shipping shortcut. A new waterway can change transport maps without creating a new country.
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6. Pilih jawaban yang benar.
Which description fits Pakistan between 1947 and 1971?
When British India was partitioned in 1947, Pakistan had western and eastern parts. The eastern part occupied the area that became Bangladesh in 1971.
- Its two main parts were separated by Indian territory.
- Its two main parts met along a shared land border.
- Its two main parts were separated only by the Arabian Sea.
Think about where Bangladesh lies in relation to India and present-day Pakistan.
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- Its two main parts were separated by Indian territory.
A country does not have to form one connected area. The distance between Pakistan's two parts complicated travel and administration.
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7. Pilih jawaban yang benar.
Why is Alaska often placed in a separate box?
Canada separates Alaska from the 48 connected US states. Many US maps show Alaska in a small box beside the main map.
- To indicate that Alaska is an independent country
- To include distant territory without stretching the main map
- To show Alaska's actual position beside the southwestern states
Consider page space rather than political ownership.
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- To include distant territory without stretching the main map
This separate box is called an inset. It may use a different scale, and being placed near the main map on the page does not mean being near it on Earth.
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8. Pilih jawaban yang benar.
Which feature of this map explains the difference?
On a Mercator world map, Greenland can look close in size to Africa, although Africa is much larger.
- It enlarges areas near the equator more than areas near the poles.
- It preserves relative land areas but changes national borders.
- It enlarges areas near the poles more than areas near the equator.
Greenland is much farther from the equator than most of Africa.
Show solution
- It enlarges areas near the poles more than areas near the equator.
A projection turns the curved Earth into a flat map. The Mercator projection is useful for navigation, but it does not preserve relative areas.
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9. Pilih jawaban yang benar.
What practical benefit did this bring?
In 1995, Kiribati moved the International Date Line east of all its islands. Previously, the line had passed through the country.
- All its islands could use the same calendar date.
- All its islands could experience sunrise at the same moment.
- All its islands could receive exactly the same hours of daylight.
A calendar boundary affects dates, not the movement of the sun.
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- All its islands could use the same calendar date.
The date line is a human convention, not a physical feature. It can bend around countries to make daily life easier.
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10. Pilih jawaban yang benar.
What does this example show about river borders?
In the nineteenth century, the Rio Grande shifted near El Paso, creating uncertainty along the US–Mexico border. The resulting Chamizal dispute was settled by an agreement in 1963.
- Every river shift automatically moves the legal border to the new channel.
- A moving river can require clarification of the legal boundary.
- The river's earliest recorded course always remains the legal border.
Physical geography and legal agreements do not always change together.
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- A moving river can require clarification of the legal boundary.
Border agreements may treat gradual erosion differently from a sudden change in a river's course. The cause of the movement can matter legally.
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11. Pilih jawaban yang benar.
What does this suggest about modern national borders?
After independence, many African countries retained boundaries inherited from colonial rule. Some of these lines divided communities and did not follow rivers or mountains.
- Independence always removed boundaries drawn during colonial rule.
- Each national border marks a clear change in both culture and landscape.
- National borders do not always match cultural or natural divisions.
A political line and a cultural boundary are different kinds of division.
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- National borders do not always match cultural or natural divisions.
Many leaders favored keeping inherited boundaries to limit new territorial disputes, even when those lines did not reflect local communities.
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12. Pilih jawaban yang benar.
Which conclusion is supported by this correction?
Some seventeenth-century European maps showed California as an island. Later surveys established its connection to the mainland, and newer maps removed the separation.
- A map can change because geographic knowledge improves.
- Correcting a coastline proves that the land itself has moved.
- A mistaken coastline must represent an earlier national border.
Distinguish a change in the world from a change in what people know about it.
Show solution
- A map can change because geographic knowledge improves.
Baja California is a peninsula, not an island. Older maps can preserve mistaken ideas rather than an earlier physical reality.