# Countries That Are Almost Neighbors But Separated By A Third Country? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 10, 2015, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countries-that-are-almost-neighbors-but-separated-by-a-third-country/740045 "2015-12-10T04:11:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![merrick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/58956e/32.png) [@merrick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/merrick)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2015, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countries-that-are-almost-neighbors-but-separated-by-a-third-country/740045/41 "2015-12-10T19:22:26Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > Not quite what was asked, but related - Moldova is separated from the Black Sea coast by a strip of Ukraine about a mile and a quarter wide at its narrowest. Are you sure? Looking [here](https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@46.3619095,30.1027089,13.93z) the strip seems to be less than half that width, and mostly water. A couple of other “nearlies” - Armenia and Iran have a border East of the Azerbaijani enclave of Nakhchivan. West of it, they’re separated by a thin strip of Turkey. - Nigeria and Chad have a border, but only over water (Lake Chad). On land, they’re separated by a strip of Cameroon. At the top of the Gulf of Aqaba, not only is Jordan separated from Egypt by less than 10kn of Israel, but Israel is separated from Saudi Arabia by about 20km of Jordan. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2015, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countries-that-are-almost-neighbors-but-separated-by-a-third-country/740045/42 "2015-12-10T19:43:48Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > New Jersey and Connecticut are also separated by New York. They’re only about ten miles apart without touching. > > Another more obscure pair is New York and Rhode Island. Fishers Island, which is part of New York, is only about two miles off the coast of Rhode Island. Not only that, Fishers Island has a Connecticut ZIP Code–the only postal station in the country with a ZIP Code deviating from the rest of its state. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2015, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countries-that-are-almost-neighbors-but-separated-by-a-third-country/740045/43 "2015-12-10T19:50:58Z")
> [@chrisk](#): > > Not as narrow by any means, but I was surprised when I first noticed that Kansas and New Mexico were only 70 miles away from touching at their nearest corners. 😉 Then you have the 4 corner states UT,CO,NM,AZ with the opposing corners mathematically only joined by a dimensionless point, not even enough to pass a joint from CO to AZ without running afoul of laws in NM and UT if one tried to use that point to exchange the hit. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2015, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countries-that-are-almost-neighbors-but-separated-by-a-third-country/740045/44 "2015-12-10T19:53:57Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > Trivia: if you actually ever manage to cross it, this is the biggest time-zone leap in the world, at three and a half hours… Wouldn’t the largest time zone jump have to do with the poles? ---
**Author:** ![bucketybuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2015, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countries-that-are-almost-neighbors-but-separated-by-a-third-country/740045/45 "2015-12-10T19:54:15Z")
England and Ireland are separated by the Isle of Man…😃 ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2015, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countries-that-are-almost-neighbors-but-separated-by-a-third-country/740045/46 "2015-12-10T20:00:26Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > Wouldn’t the largest time zone jump have to do with the poles? There are [no official time zones at the poles.](http://www.timeanddate.com/time/time-zone-antarctica.html) Antarctic stations may keep the time of their home country, the nearest inhabited land, or UTC. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2015, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countries-that-are-almost-neighbors-but-separated-by-a-third-country/740045/47 "2015-12-10T20:45:53Z")
> [@merrick](#): > > Are you sure? Looking [here](https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@46.3619095,30.1027089,13.93z) the strip seems to be less than half that width, and mostly water. Well, that part is a bit weird. They look like lagoons or something, not open water. I measured from the border to the actual coast, and it’s about 1.8 miles there. The closest point seems to be about [here](https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@46.3892746,30.1409657,6070m/data=!3m1!1e3). ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2015, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countries-that-are-almost-neighbors-but-separated-by-a-third-country/740045/48 "2015-12-10T20:50:55Z")
> [@merrick](#): > > - Nigeria and Chad have a border, but only over water (Lake Chad). On land, they’re separated by a strip of Cameroon. That seems to be a “nearly” that has turned into a “really”. Lake Chad looks pretty dry in this [satellite image](https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@13.3507156,13.7411,115654m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en). Certainly there seem to be plenty of dry dunes bisected by the border, with small stretches of water in between. In fact [both](https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@13.7080151,13.6330666,219m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en) of the [tripoints](https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@13.0831092,14.0830517,311m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en) in Lake Chad now seem to be on dry land. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2015, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countries-that-are-almost-neighbors-but-separated-by-a-third-country/740045/49 "2015-12-10T21:35:51Z")
Would the 535 miles that separate the United States and France be considered too wide for the discussion? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2015, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countries-that-are-almost-neighbors-but-separated-by-a-third-country/740045/50 "2015-12-10T22:08:48Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Would the 535 miles that separate the United States and France be considered too wide for the discussion? I presume you are talking about St. Pierre and Miquelon. By that standard, you would include virtually every country in Europe and a fairly large percentage elsewhere in the world. ---
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2015, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countries-that-are-almost-neighbors-but-separated-by-a-third-country/740045/51 "2015-12-10T23:07:50Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > However, the actual border runs down the middle of it. The two Koreas are contiguous. True enough… But it is basically turned into a de-facto wildlife preserve. And I doubt there will be any significant development anywhere along the corridor. Looked it up on wikipedia, and the estimated width of the DMZ is 4 KM (or 2.5 miles). The wiki article indicates that there are a few buildings that exist right on the line, that are accessible by representatives of North and South Korea, and the table in the room has a line on it. (Sort of like when Greg got into a fight with Peter and Bobby, so they put a piece of masking tape down on the floor. Oh, those crazy Brady’s!) Also, an interesting tidbit… North Korea claims there is a wall that has been constructed between the two countries, but South Korea & the US deny the wall exists. From the NK side, you can see the wall, but from the SK side, it looks like a hill. No wall is visible. The wiki page has a picture supposedly taken from NK that shows the wall does exist. (I’d link to all this, but I suffer from a perma-crashing issue when I try to insert links, so I’ve given up). ---
**Author:** ![Nema98](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d2c977/32.png) [@Nema98](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nema98)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2015, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countries-that-are-almost-neighbors-but-separated-by-a-third-country/740045/52 "2015-12-10T23:30:18Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > How small is small? It looks like Slovakia is about 50 miles wide where it separates Hungary and Poland. Too large to count for this thread? No more than 60 miles or 96 km, but much shorter than that. ---
**Author:** ![Nema98](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d2c977/32.png) [@Nema98](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nema98)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2015, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countries-that-are-almost-neighbors-but-separated-by-a-third-country/740045/53 "2015-12-10T23:37:38Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > Liechtenstein is between Austria and Switzerland, but they’re both big enough to have plenty of contact points either side; likewise, Andorra, France and Spain. On a rather larger scale, the Limburg province of the Netherlands protrudes southerly between Belgium and Germany, and you could say Luxembourg does the same job for Belgium, France and Germany further south. > > I don’t quite see the point of the OP’s “near misses when it comes to neighborliness ruined by a third country”. I meant to say essentially countries (or states) that nearly touch each other but another third entity prevents this. ---
**Author:** ![Nema98](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d2c977/32.png) [@Nema98](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nema98)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2015, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countries-that-are-almost-neighbors-but-separated-by-a-third-country/740045/54 "2015-12-10T23:51:08Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > [Where Three Countries Meet: Famous Tripoints Around the World » TwistedSifter](http://twistedsifter.com/2012/05/famous-tripoints-around-the-world/) > > Maybe you would like this Thanks, and thanks so far for all the examples everyone. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2015, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countries-that-are-almost-neighbors-but-separated-by-a-third-country/740045/55 "2015-12-11T03:47:55Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > I presume you are talking about St. Pierre and Miquelon. Considering they’re islands, you can make a plausible argument that France and Canada are separated by a twelve mile wide stretch of water. Thereby raising an interesting trivia question: Rank these three countries by how close they are to France at their nearest point: Brazil, Canada, the United Kingdom. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2015, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countries-that-are-almost-neighbors-but-separated-by-a-third-country/740045/56 "2015-12-11T04:25:48Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Thereby raising an interesting trivia question: Rank these three countries by how close they are to France at their nearest point: Brazil, Canada, the United Kingdom. Brazil of course is the closest, since it borders French Guiana, which is an Overseas Department of France. If one accepts the Virgin Islands as part of the US, then the distance to France is only 208 miles (Guadeloupe). ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2015, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countries-that-are-almost-neighbors-but-separated-by-a-third-country/740045/57 "2015-12-11T06:33:00Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Thereby raising an interesting trivia question: Rank these three countries by how close they are to France at their nearest point: Brazil, Canada, the United Kingdom. > [@Colibri](#): > > Brazil of course is the closest, since it borders French Guiana, which is an Overseas Department of France. > > If one accepts the Virgin Islands as part of the US, then the distance to France is only 208 miles (Guadeloupe). Saint Pierre and Miquelon is but 16 miles off the Newfoundland coast, so Canada comes in second place. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2015, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countries-that-are-almost-neighbors-but-separated-by-a-third-country/740045/58 "2015-12-11T06:37:26Z")
Hong Kong (former UK colony) and Macau (former Portuguese colony) are separated by a mere 37km of the South China Sea, and since they’re both now “Special Economic Zones” of China, it probably still counts. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2015, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countries-that-are-almost-neighbors-but-separated-by-a-third-country/740045/59 "2015-12-11T14:57:14Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > Saint Pierre and Miquelon is but 16 miles off the Newfoundland coast, so Canada comes in second place. Since it was mentioned earlier, I didn’t include it. However, Wiki has the distance wrong. Google maps indicates the shortest distance to land that is part of Canada is only five miles, between St. Pierre and tiny Green Island. The shortest distance between the UK and France appears to be about 14 miles from Jersey to Normandy, so that would beat the distance listed for St. Pierre by Wiki. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2015, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countries-that-are-almost-neighbors-but-separated-by-a-third-country/740045/60 "2015-12-11T15:04:03Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > The shortest distance between the UK and France appears to be about 14 miles from Jersey to Normandy, so that would beat the distance listed for St. Pierre by Wiki. Correction. If one accepts overseas territories, the closest seem to be Anguilla (UK) and the French part of St. Martin, which are only about 4.5 miles apart. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countries-that-are-almost-neighbors-but-separated-by-a-third-country/740045.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/countries-that-are-almost-neighbors-but-separated-by-a-third-country/740045.md?page=4)