Editing 1986: River Border

{{comic
| number    = 1986
| date      = April 27, 2018
| title     = River Border
| image     = river_border.png
| titletext = I'm not a lawyer, but I believe zones like this are technically considered the high seas, so if you cut a pizza into a spiral there you could be charged with pieracy under marinaritime law.
}}

==Explanation==
This strip is about the complexities that arise when political boundaries are mapped to geographical features. [[Ponytail]] explains to [[Megan]] that many borders run along rivers, which can become tricky, since the courses of rivers can change over time. The specific example Ponytail uses is a segment of the Missouri-Nebraska state border which runs along the {{w|Missouri River}}. She explains that, when the course of rivers changes slowly, state boundaries generally move with them, but this section had changed abruptly, due to a {{w|meander cutoff}} and the border didn't move with it. That means that they are on a part of the Missouri side of the river that in fact belongs to Nebraska.

Rather than simply being interested in this geographical oddity, Megan mistakenly concludes that she could break the law in this area without consequences, which Ponytail immediately points out isn't true, but Megan seems to ignore her.

The notion of a "legal dead zone" in which laws either don't apply or can't be enforced intrigues many people, likely because people who've lived under a system of laws their whole lives often wonder what it would be like to be unrestricted by any legal code. While Megan's assertion is this case is wrong, there are a number of cases in history where areas, either in theory or in fact, fell beyond the reach of normal laws.

- In 2005, [https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=691642 An article in the Georgetown Law Review] noted that, due to a mismatch in state borders and federal districts in one region of Yellowstone National Park, it would theoretically be impossible to create a jury to convict someone for crimes committed in that region. This theory has never been tested, and it's not sure how the courts would respond, but that region has been referred to as a legal dead zone. (''What If? 2'' referenced this region.)  

- {{w|Bir Tawil}}, a region along the border between Egypt and Sudan, is claimed by neither country as a result of the {{w|Halaib Triangle}} border dispute. This makes it unlikely that either country would try to enforce its laws in this region (though the region is uninhabited, making the potential for crimes limited. 

- {{w|Kowloon Walled City}} was an enclave in British-controlled Hong Kong. The original treaty gave China the right administer this enclave, but they were driven out by the British. Following World War 2, China announced its intention to reclaim the enclave, setting up a decades-long stand-off in which neither side administered the area, making it effectively lawless. Unlike the earlier examples, this loophole was quickly taken advantage of by war refugees who built a dense city there out of reach of the authorities. 

- Border disputes between countries often result in enclaves controlled by one country within the other. That means that neither country's authorities can travel to the enclave without crossing international borders. When that isn't allowed, the enclave is effectively beyond the reach of law enforcement. This is arguably the closest case to what's portrayed in this comic: if there are no bridges over that section of the river, then Nebraska police couldn't enter the area without either travelling through Missouri or taking a boat across the river. In reality, though, there is no restriction against local authorities from travelling through a different jurisdiction to get to their own. Not to mention that, if Megan committed a federal crime in that region, national authorities could arrest her anywhere in the country. 

In the final panel, Megan reveals the "crime" she's excited to commit: cutting a pizza into a spiral. While unconventional, there's no law against doing so in any jurisdiction, making the entire point moot. Megan ignores this fact, simply shouting "crimes!", suggesting that her excitement about being free from the law is largely theoretical, rather than having specific crimes that she wants to commit. 

In the title text, [[Randall]] claims/hypothesizes the disputed region is probably considered like the {{w|International waters|high seas}}, suggesting the pizza case would then fall under {{w|Admiralty law|maritime law}}. Historically, the "high seas" have been the primary region that stands outside the jurisdiction of any specific authority. As a result, other areas that are similarly outside national boundaries (such as outer space) are often considered to be governed by maritime law, as it's the most convenient legal framework to use. "Pieracy" is a portmanteau of ''pie'' (another name for a pizza) and "piracy"; and pizzas are frequently made with marinara sauce, so "Maritime" law is rendered "Marinaritime".

The region mentioned in the comic can be seen here at [https://www.google.com/maps/@40.5270132,-95.6954944,10627m/ Google maps] and is known as {{w|McKissick Island}}. In 1904, the U.S. Supreme Court confirmed in Missouri v. Nebraska that a sudden change of a river's course does not change any border. See: [https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/196/23/case.html Missouri v. Nebraska, 196 U.S. 23 (1904)].

===Riverine Boundaries in Common Law and Surveying===
This strip is alluding to the concepts of 'accretion' and 'avulsion' in boundary law.

Accretion is the gradual change of the location of a river or stream by erosion or addition of sediment through natural river processes. According to common law in the United States and elsewhere, if a river or stream location changes gradually, then the boundary line moves with the stream. In cases of pure accretion, it is possible for a parcel of land to be entirely eroded away on one side of a river, and have material be added to the opposite side of the river. In such cases, one property owner could lose all their land.

An avulsion is a sudden change in the location of a river or stream, often due to flooding. In times of flood, a river can cut a new channel through surrounding land, which can create islands and oxbow lakes. According to common law, an avulsive change will not change the boundary of the land, as it is likely that the property is unchanged except for the new channel.

In the real world, however, river systems undergo both accretion and avulsion multiple times over a period of time. This makes the determination of property lines along riverine boundaries one of the most complicated aspects of boundary surveying. An examination of a river boundary will require in-depth research of the local history of the river, including reviewing deeds, government survey plats, private survey maps, aerial photos taken over time, local landowners recollections, and local lore. In situations where there is disagreement over whether an avulsive or accretive change happened, landowners may have to go to court for a suit to quiet title.

Further in-depth reading may be found in the US Bureau of Land Management's 2009 Manual of Surveying Instructions, Chapter 8, specifically pages 197-205. (See: [https://www.blm.gov/sites/blm.gov/files/Manual_Of_Surveying_Instructions_2009.pdf PDF (37.7 MByte)].)

=== Real-world examples ===
Often, borders defined by a river actually change. There are three methods to define a border:
*The border follows one of the river banks, often in reference to a low-water mark. The exact location of the border is defined in a clear way - but one of the territories will lose terrain through {{w|erosion}}. When the river bends, erosion occurs at the outer bank and much less at the inner bank.
*The border follows the middle of the river.
*The most usual definition of a riverine border uses the {{w|talweg}}. The talweg (German for "valley path") always follows the line of the deepest points in the water body. Especially at river bends, the talweg is rarely in the middle of the river. Incidentally, the talweg also signifies the navigable zone of a river. In terms of {{w|natural border}}s, one counterpart of a talweg is the {{w|drainage divide}}, but these divides are hard to recognize on a map and rarely used to define a real border.

The Mexican-US-Border that follows the Rio Grande is one of the most prominent examples of an international border that needs meticulous regulation. Thus, the {{w|International Boundary and Water Commission}} was created. This commission was involved when the two nations rectified the course of the river, ceding equal amounts of land to each other. The Canada-US-Border is overseen by a similar commission. There is also a strange section on the border to Canada, which Randall mentions in this comic: [[1902: State Borders]].

The border between Delaware and New Jersey veers from the median and talweg methods such that Delaware's border includes all the way to the New Jersey shore where the {{w|Delaware River}} is within what is known as the {{w|Twelve-Mile Circle}}.

One of the causes of the {{w|Iran-Iraq War}} was the dispute on shipping rights on the {{w|Shatt-el Arab river}}, and because the border was defined as the low water mark at the ''eastern'' side of that river, Iranian shipping was severely restricted. So the Shah of Persia announced to ignore the 1937 treaty on shipping rights, saying that most riverine borders all around the world are defined by the talweg.

Between Switzerland and Italy, the border is, at most locations, defined by the actual {{w|drainage divide}}. Because the {{w|Theodul Glacier}} between {{w|Zermatt}} (Switzerland) and {{w|Breuil-Cervinia}} (Italy) is slowly melting, the drainage divide moves southwards, thus slowly enlarging the Swiss territory.

Most other national borders in Europe are defined today as ''fiat borders'' instead of following natural landmarks like rivers. If a river changes course now, the depicted situation would occur; however, most larger rivers have been rectified more than a century ago and thus don't change course often.

==Transcript==
:[Ponytail and Megan are standing on a grassy riverbank, with the nearby part of the river shown above their heads. They are looking towards the river and Ponytail is gesturing at the river with her hand.]
:Ponytail: This is a cool spot.
:Ponytail: The Missouri-Nebraska state line follows this river. If the river's path changes gradually, the border moves with it.

:[A map is shown beneath the text spoken by Ponytail (off-panel). The map includes a bendy river shown in gray which is snaking its way from the left part of the panel down to the bottom. A dotted line indicates the old path of the river. It follows the gray river most of the way, but towards the bottom, this line moves away from the current river extending to north-east, including a large chunk of land that the river used to encompass previously. Two arrows point to the gray section of the river with the dotted line, and another arrow points to the section of the dotted line not following the gray section. Both are labeled. On each side of the dotted arc, where it is farthest from the gray part of the river the state names are labeled, so the text follows the direction of the river (almost north to south here).]
:Ponytail (narrating): But when it '''''abruptly''''' changes course, the border stays behind.
:Ponytail (narrating): This is a spot where that happened. We're on the Missouri side, but we're in Nebraska.
:River
:Old riverbed
:Nebraska 
:Missouri 

:[In a frame-less panel (with no background) Ponytail has turned to look at Megan who is holding a hand to her chin.]
:Megan: Wow.
:Megan: So...
:Megan: We can commit all the crimes we want here and the cops can't do a thing!

:[Megan runs away from Ponytail while she is holding her arm up in the air with a finger extended up.]
:Ponytail: What? No. Why would you even think that?
:Megan: I'm going to cut a pizza into a '''''spiral!'''''
:Ponytail: That's not even illegal!
:Megan: '''''Crimes!'''''

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Maps]]
[[Category:Geography]]