- For other meanings, see tripoint (disambiguation).
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A tripoint (also known as tri-border area) is a geographical point at which the borders of three countries or subnational entities meet. There are currently 157 international tripoints. Usually such a place is a site of special border markings and memorials.
Usually, the more neighbours a country has, the more international tripoints that country has. China with 16 tripoints and Russia with 10 lead the list of states by number of tripoints. Within Europe, landlocked Austria has nine tripoints, among them two with Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Island countries such as the UK or Japan have no international tripoints, nor have states with only one neighbour state, like Portugal or Denmark. Likewise the United States with two neighbour states has no international tripoints; it has a number of tri-state areas.
Well known international tripoints include:
- the Treriksröset tripoint of Finland, Norway and Sweden
- the Vaalserberg of The Netherlands, Germany and Belgium
- the Triple Frontier of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay
- the Tres Fronteras of Brazil, Peru and Colombia
- the historic Three Emperors' Corner of Austria–Hungary, the Russian and German Empire
For more examples, see list of tripoints.
It is often illegal to pass a national border outside border controls, and therefore illegal to walk around many tripoint markers. According to the Schengen rules, it is illegal to pass the outside border of the Schengen area except at border controls[1]. But it is legal to pass the border between two Schengen countries at any place.
See also
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Tripoint |
Gallery
.jpg) Dreiländereck Basel: Switzerland, Germany, and France |
 Europadenkmal: Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg |
 Zittau: Tripoint Germany, Czech Republic and Poland |
 Treriksröset: Finland, Norway and Sweden tripoint |
 Arnoldstein: Italy, Slovenia and Austria tripoint |
External links
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