--- In
BoundaryPoint@yahoogroups.com, "Peter Hering" <hering@m...>
wrote:
> is there anybody willing to answer Daniel from Liverpool?
yes pete & finally a real opportunity to do so too
tho i am actually answering him from northern arizona university
& at a free computer yet
which i just found available til midnight
yikes
& courtesy of yourself as intermediary if you wouldnt mind
ahhh what a multiple luxury
> > Which country has the greatest coastline to area ratio?
daniel
if you allow that coastlines are fractal
then they are all of infinite length
& so your question cannot be answered in that case
except to say that all countries that have any coastline at all have
an equal coastline to area ratio
& likewise
albeit dissimilarly
all those that dont have any coastline also have an equal coastline
to area ratio
& in fact
these 2 distinct sorts of equality are
positive & negative infinity respectively
but the coastline haves & the coastline have nots are not necessarily
equal to each other
only if positive infinity is postulated as being greater than
negative infinity do the countries that have a coastline have a
greater coastline to area ratio than those that have no coastline
& if on the other hand you consider coastlines to be nonfractal or in
other words of finite length then of course it all depends on the
size of the unit of measurement that you are using to measure them
off with
> > Is there any country every point in which is nearer to every
other
> point in
> > which than it is to any point in any other country?
yes many if not most island nations probably qualify
the most isolated & remote being naturally the most likely candidates
& if i may add tho not asked about the following
> > * believe it or not - but your enquiry has started a big
discussion
> > on the term "enclave" - in order to answer YOUR question it is ab-
> > solutely essential to being able to define the term "enclave"...
> >
> > * if we stick to the definition: part of a nation that is
separated
> > from the motherland by another territory (and NOT a body of water)
> > then the answer to your question would be
> >
> > - for Europe:
> >
> > 1- Büsingen: only 600 metres from Germany (over Swiss territ.)
> > 2- Llivia: - ca. 1 km - Spain (- French - )
> > 3- Campione: - - 1 km - Italy (- Swiss - )
> > 4- Baarle Nassau: - 5 km - Belgium (- Dutch - )
> > 5- Vennbahn enclaves: diff. distances from Germany (o. Belgian
t.)
> >
> > 6- Kaliningrad enclave (the WINNER!): ca. 370 km from Russia (over
> > Lithuanian and Belaruss. territory)
> >
> > this goes for Europe only...
& since kaliningrad is not really an enclave but only an exclave
& it is of course essential as you also say to define the terms
technically this really doesnt even go for europe either
however the questioner himself also appears to mean exclave while
also saying enclave here
so happily you do appear to be at least implicitly answering him
correctly to that extent
indeed the question only makes sense if exclaves are meant
& in that case i imagine alaska might be the winner
or better yet
ceuta
if measured by land distance
tho of course not if by sea distance
now
if what was meant is things that are both exclaves & enclaves at once
then i think we may have to look to asia for the global winner
tho it is too far for me to judge from here exactly which of the
asian claves
madha is my utterly wild guess
all nice questions in any case