David:
>I thought there was still a dispute about whether it is a quadripoint
or
>two nearby tri-points, and if two tri-points, which two. Has it been
>solidly resolved to really be a quadripoint?
Sorry, I've caused confusion - I was actually making reference to this
dispute, and flagging it by putting "quadripoint" in quotes.
A while back Michael put up the URL for a site that discusses the
options in great detail (
http://www.angelfire.com/md2/polystate2/), but
I think I can microsummarise by saying:
a) The Namibian Caprivi Strip is bounded by two thalwegs (Zambezi &
Chobe), defining its borders with Zambia and Botswana respectively.
b) The Botswana/Zimbabwe border is defined by reference to the
extension of the line of an old road towards the midline of the Zambezi.
c) No-one seems to know where the Zambezi and Chobe thalwegs meet - it
could be either upstream or downstream of the imaginary line of the old
road, and therefore the exact topology of the border-meeting is
currently undefined, in particular the existence / extent of a
Botswana/Zambia border.
Hence my analogy of the quadripoint being out-of-focus: the god of
cartography having inexplicably mislaid his bifocals for the time
being. (Sexist usage I know, but I somehow feel confident that the
minor deity in charge of maps is a guy!)
I'm also pretty sure that, given the sniff of an opportunity, Michael
would be out there with a rowboat, a plumbline and a GPS, laying down
those thalwegs (thalwege?) once and for all ...
Grant