Subject: botswana namibia zambia<br/>
Date: Dec 05, 2000 @ 02:26<br/>
Author: michael donner (michael donner &lt;m@...&gt;)<br/>
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<div id="ygrps-yiv-970809992">the following analysis is actually a slight simplification of brownlie<br/>
since there is much too much detail to repeat<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
it is unresolved whether the easternmost point of namibia forms only an<br/>
ordinary tripoint with corners of botswana & zambia<br/>
or whether it actually combines to form a quadripoint with the westernmost<br/>
point of zimbabwe also<br/>
<br/>
& upon the resolution of this question hinges the further question of<br/>
whether botswana & zambia even share a common boundary at all or meet only<br/>
at the single common point<br/>
<br/>
there is by contrast no possibility at all that namibia & zimbabwe share a<br/>
common border<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
but to add to the problem & confusion<br/>
there also exist 5 possible configurations of the overall conjunction as<br/>
well as various combinations of these<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
happily tho<br/>
the maximum possible difference amongst all the various probabilities<br/>
appears to be a matter of no more than a few hundred meters<br/>
& the entire area of uncertainty is apparently confined well within the<br/>
river confluence<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
nevertheless the hard truth for this particular tripoint appears to be that<br/>
its position can only be clearly stated at the present time if it is<br/>
considered not to exist per se but only in association with the zimbabwe<br/>
corner<br/>
which point alone has the virtue of being positively fixed<br/>
namely at the thalweg junction of the zambezi & chobe rivers<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
but brownlie states<br/>
the quadripoint thesis as such would have to satisfy a high standard of proof<br/>
since it involves a considerable amount of coincidence among independent<br/>
variables<br/>
<br/>
in particular it involves an unwarranted assumption that a certain road<br/>
center line exactly coincides with the thalweg junction<br/>
<br/>
& he emphasizes that there is no evidence that those devising the various<br/>
alignments ever had a quadripoint in view<br/>
<br/>
his 10 pages on the quadripoint issue are posted beginning at<br/>
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.angelfire.com/md2/polystate2/bcwazazi1.JPG">http://www.angelfire.com/md2/polystate2/bcwazazi1.JPG</a><br/>
etc<br/>
changing url to<br/>
bcwazazi2<br/>
        3<br/>
        5<br/>
        6<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
the general vicinity for all this commotion is in<br/>
s lat 18d & e long 25d<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
conclusion<br/>
depending on river turbulence &or other unknowns<br/>
tripoint &or quadripoint search should concentrate first on the definitive<br/>
zimbabwe corner at the visible thalweg junction<br/>
& then ascend westward to the bankhead between the rivers while sweeping<br/>
the greatest possible area of potential tripoint positions<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
would love to see a good map of this area tho<br/>
m<br/>
<br/>
see also<br/>
botswana zambia zimbabwe</div>