Namibia has a border shaped like a panhandle thanks to a strange reason resulting from a Victorian agreement between the British and Germans.
In the late 19th century, Africa comprised dozens of European colonies, with the British, French, Germans, Belgians and Dutch all possessing land across the continent.
Understandably, for the world’s second-largest continent, colonies could be dispersed significantly from one another, making travel from one place to the other difficult and time-consuming.
Nowhere was this more apparent than for the Germans, who had to travel from Namibia to their colony of German East Africa, comprising Burundi, Rwanda and Tanzania; they were forced to travel by sea around the continent’s southern tip before sailing up its east coast.
In a bid to reduce travel time between the two, Germany sought to gain access to the Zambezi River in British territory, believing that this would provide easy access to Africa’s east coast.
The strip of land they were given in exchange for the island of Zanzibar, known as the Caprivi Strip, is roughly 280 miles long and 20 to 65 miles wide.
The strip gave the Germans access to the Zambezi River, but their plans to access the East Coast hit a significant and easily foreseeable snag.
Unknown to the Germans was Victoria Falls, a spectacular waterfall double the size of Niagara Falls located close to the modern-day border of Zambia and Zimbabwe.
A stunning natural landmark, it is, but a passage for shipping it most certainly is not.
Of course, the British were aware of Germany’s intentions for the strip but felt under no obligation to warn them about the mistake they were due to make.
By the time the issue became apparent, the deal was completed with no mechanism in place for Germany to terminate the agreement, meaning that the colony was destined to remain one of the most awkwardly shaped borders with no discernible benefit.
Today, the Caprivi Strip consists of several national parks, which are home to a wide array of wildlife, floodplains, and forests.
It receives high rainfall compared to much of southern Africa, allowing lush vegetation and rich, diverse wildlife to thrive.
