# COUNTRIES WITH THE ODDEST LOCATIONS



## PanaManiac (Mar 26, 2005)

*That said (a picture is worth a thousand words), any country with at least a region above the Arctic Circle - Sweden, Norway, USA (Alaska) and Canada - to name a few, have the odd previlage of seeing the sun at midnight for part of the summer and the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) for part of the winter.

Midnight Sun









Northern Lights






*


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## Sinjin P. (Jul 17, 2005)

Philippines - inverted Y shaped archipelago


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## Satsi (May 17, 2006)

*Panama - The reclined S-shaped isthmus*

*Due to it's centrally located spot on the face of the earth, the isthmus of Panama has been dubbed:

Crossroads of the World
Hub of the Western Hemisphere
Bridge of the Americas
The Quintessential Intersection
Wasp waist between the Americas
The Hourglass Bottleneck

Isthmus of Panama









Panama Canal - Path Between the Seas







Other countries (regions) with fascinating geographical locations:

Oceania (Australia, New Zeland, et al)
Iberian Peninsula (Spain/Portugal)
Scandinavian Region (Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, etc.)*


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## Neutral! (Nov 19, 2005)

Lichtenstein and/or Uzbekistan. They are both double land-locked countries.


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## Tubeman (Sep 12, 2002)

Vatican City

A country within another country's capital city

Beat that!


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## Neutral! (Nov 19, 2005)

Tubeman said:


> Vatican City
> 
> A country within another country's capital city
> 
> Beat that!


Allow me to gather my thoughts.....hmmm

I present to you:

THE GAMBIA, a country within a country that's basically a river and it's bank.


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## Maxx☢Power (Nov 16, 2005)

Panamaniac said:


>


Hey, my old university 

As for wierd places to put a country, I nominate Gambia,










and Azerbaijan:










Note the exclave between Armenia and Iran. There's lots of other interesting exclaves too, like Kaliningrad Oblast (Russia, completely surrounded by the European Union), the remains of the British Empire, French Guiana and lots of general wierdness in *-stan. And then of course there's the European microstates (the latter being run by the French president and a Spanish bishop). Just noticed this little Spanish exclave too. Cute  Spain also has these two tiny parts of EU territory in Africa.


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## Maxx☢Power (Nov 16, 2005)

Looks like someone Zelaya beat me with the Gambia by a few seconds


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## gonzo (Jul 30, 2006)

I was considering mentioning the Gambia after the Lesotho post but I thought the 'landlocked/highest-lowest point' thing gave it the edge....not that I think Lesotho is the "oddest" on earth.


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## Tubeman (Sep 12, 2002)

Equatorial Guinea also warrants a mention:

A mainland portion and the island of Bioko, nowhere near each other, and the capital Malabo is on Bioko :crazy:










Also, another exclave, Cabinda (Angola)


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## gonzo (Jul 30, 2006)

^


> Spain also has these two tiny parts of EU territory in Africa.


I thought MaxxPower was refering to Equatorial Guinea but, silly me, they've long since gained independence from Spain.:hammer:


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## Verso (Jun 5, 2006)

Some forumers from Panama are really annoying. Let me just quote myself:


Verso said:


> Ok, Panama has the Panama Canal, but that's about it! It's also true that it's the crossroads between North and South America, but just geographically. Since there's neither road nor railway connection between Panama and Colombia (through the Darien Gap), calling it the most important crossroads in the world is a little hilarious.:hahaha:


 

Anyway, I don't even know what the point of this thread is. I thought 'odd' meant strange or sth like that; majority of the countries in the poll I don't find strange.

I think one of the most important crossroads in the world is certainly Turkey.

One of the oddest countries in the world is in fact Canada. The second biggest country in the world, but so few people and a pretty odd location (at least the big majority of it).

One of the least important crossroads in the world, especially for its (big) size, is - Russia. The biggest country in the world, but so few significant world's routes.


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## Xusein (Sep 27, 2005)

Probably Ethiopia, nearly 70 million people and no shoreline...

...being next to the country with Africa's longest shoreline is even odder..


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## kevinb (Jan 30, 2006)

Australia is odd regarding its population. The number of sheep there is greater than the number of its citizens! :tongue4:


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## Zwanderlust (Apr 7, 2005)

*Re: Thread Title*



Verso said:


> Anyway, I don't even know what the point of this thread is. I thought 'odd' meant strange or sth like that; majority of the countries in the poll I don't find strange.


*For lack of a better (all-encompassing) term while posting the thread, I chose "oddest." I also addded, "chose your adjetive" and suggested terms like peculiar, fascinating and conspicuous, among others.*


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## edolen1 (Oct 12, 2004)

Well, when it comes to shape, Slovenia is pretty.. interesting..










Doesn't it look like a certain farm animal?

Haha, maybe this'll help..


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## Bitxofo (Feb 3, 2005)

kevinb said:


> Australia is odd regarding its population. The number of sheep there is greater than the number of its citizens! :tongue4:


Same for New Zealand!


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## nex (Jul 22, 2005)

what about India?


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## Verso (Jun 5, 2006)

^ What about it?


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## Canadian Chocho (May 18, 2006)

Brunei:










Croatia (poor B 'n' H):


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