significant occupation. Boundaries that are formed simultaneously with the pro-
cess of the development of the human landscape are classified assubsequentboun-
daries. A subsequent boundary may follow the ethnographic landscape of a region,
holding to spatial divisions in the linguistic, religious, or ethnic geography. How-
ever, boundaries may also be created in regions that already feature a sophisticated
pattern of human occupation. Such a boundary is labeled asuperimposedboun-
dary, and frequently results from conflict. A contemporary example is the border
between North and South Korea, a boundary that divides a people who speak a
common language and share a common heritage, and who for centuries were part
of the same political space. Many current political boundaries in Africa fall into
this category as well.
Boundaries are drawn not only on solid land, but also in the air and on the high
seas. All modern sovereign states claim airspace over their territory, and unauthor-
ized violation of this space by another country is considered the equivalent of a
border incursion, and technically an act of war. By international agreement, coun-
tries may claim jurisdiction over the airspace contained by their borders, or out to
a distance of twelve miles along a coastline. There is no internationally recognized
standard for altitudinal limits to airspace, however, and some countries theoreti-
cally claim control over the airspace above their territory to outer space, although
such a claim is effectively impossible to enforce. According to theLaw of the Sea,
sovereign states that possess coastlines on an ocean or sea may claim aterritorial
seato a distance of 12 miles, over which the state may claim legal control. Some
countries attempt to claim a much larger area, in some cases out to a distance of
200 miles, but such boundaries are not generally observed by other seafaring
powers. Boundaries that govern the right to control and recover natural resources
extend further than the territorial sea, allowing coastal states to claim an Exclusive
Economic Zone (EEZ) to a distance of 200 miles from the outer margin of the
territorial sea boundary.Break-of-Bulk Point
“Break-of-bulk point” is a term from thegeography of economic development
that refers to a location where cargo transported in bulk must be broken into
smaller units so the cargo may be moved further and generally distributed over a
larger space. Usually the mode of transportation changes as well; for example,
from ship to railroad, or from rail to trucking. This results in a concentration of
economic development at the location, as storage, processing and transportation
facilities all cluster near the point of delivery. In essence, every port city is a40 Break-of-Bulk Point