Borders are generally defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain , or by political entities such as governments , sovereign states , federated states , and other subnational entities . Political borders can be established through warfare , colonization , or mutual agreements between the political entities that reside in those areas.
110-409: Bacon County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Georgia . As of the 2020 census , the population was 11,140. The county seat is Alma . The constitutional amendment to create the county was proposed July 7, 1914, and ratified November 3, 1914. It is named after Augustus Bacon , a former United States senator from Georgia. According to the U.S. Census Bureau ,
220-1054: A city , town , or village . A few counties directly provide public transportation themselves, usually in the form of a simple bus system. However, in most counties, public transportation is provided by one of the following: a special district that is coterminous with the county (but exists separately from the county government), a multi-county regional transit authority, or a state agency. In western and southern states, more populated counties provide many facilities, such as airports, convention centers , museums, recreation centers , beaches, harbors, zoos, clinics, law libraries , and public housing . They provide services such as child and family services, elder services, mental health services, welfare services, veterans assistance services, animal control , probation supervision, historic preservation, food safety regulation, and environmental health services. They have many additional officials like public defenders , arts commissioners, human rights commissioners, and planning commissioners. There may be
330-408: A conceptual artistic practice , however, opens up the possibility for artists to explore similar concerns of identity and national origin(s) but whose location is not specific to the U.S-Mexico border. A border can be a division, dividing groups of people and families. Borders can include but are not limited to language, culture, social and economic class, religion, and national identity. In addition to
440-446: A consolidated city-county or independent city exists, a city council usually governs city/county or city affairs. In some counties, day-to-day operations are overseen by an elected county executive or by a chief administrative officer or county administrator who reports to the board, the mayor, or both. In many states, the board in charge of a county holds powers that transcend all three traditional branches of government. It has
550-740: A DMZ unexposed to human influence and thus developed into a natural border or wildlife preserve, such as on the Korean Demilitarized Zone , the Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone , and the Green Line in Cyprus . Borders undermine economic activity and development by reducing trade activity. The presence of borders often fosters certain economic features or anomalies. Wherever two jurisdictions come into contact, special economic opportunities arise for border trade . Smuggling provides
660-543: A border may be a de facto military ceasefire line. In much of Europe, controls on persons were abolished by the 1985 Schengen Agreement and subsequent European Union legislation. Since the Treaty of Amsterdam , the competence to pass laws on crossing internal and external borders within the European Union and the associated Schengen Area states ( Iceland , Norway , Switzerland , and Liechtenstein ) lies exclusively within
770-630: A border often requires the payment of excise tax , often collected by customs officials. Animals (and occasionally humans) moving across borders may need to go into quarantine to prevent the spread of exotic infectious diseases. Most countries prohibit carrying illegal drugs or endangered animals across their borders. Moving goods, animals, or people illegally across a border, without declaring them or seeking permission, or deliberately evading official inspection, constitutes smuggling . Controls on car liability insurance validity and other formalities may also take place. A border may have been: In addition,
880-513: A cease-fire line, an LoC was first created with the Simla Agreement between India and Pakistan . Similar to a cease-fire line, an LoC is typically the result of war, military stalemates and unresolved land ownership conflict. A maritime border is a division enclosing an area in the ocean where a nation has exclusive rights over the mineral and biological resources, encompassing maritime features, limits and zones. Maritime borders represent
990-477: A classic case; contrariwise, a border region may flourish on the provision of excise or of import – export services — legal or quasi-legal, corrupt or legitimate. Different regulations on either side of a border may encourage services to position themselves at or near that border: thus the provision of pornography , of prostitution , of alcohol , fireworks , and/or of narcotics may cluster around borders, city limits, county lines, ports and airports . In
1100-424: A county fire department and a county police department – as distinguished from fire and police departments operated by individual cities, special districts, or the state government. For example, Gwinnett County, Georgia , and its county seat, the city of Lawrenceville , each have their own police departments. (A separate county sheriff's department is responsible for security of the county courts and administration of
1210-470: A decision). Fiat boundaries are typically the product of human demarcation, such as in demarcating electoral districts or postal districts. A relic border is a former boundary, which may no longer be a legal boundary at all. However, the former presence of the boundary can still be seen in the landscape. For instance, the boundary between East and West Germany is no longer an international boundary, but it can still be seen because of historical markers on
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#17330847294851320-523: A division, a border can also conceive a borderland area that can create a cohesive community separate from the mainstream cultures and identities portrayed in the communities away from the borders, such as the Tijuana-San Diego border between Mexico and the United States. Border art can be defined as an art that is created in reference to any number of physical or imagined boundaries. This art can but
1430-460: A few counties bear names of Native American , French, or Spanish origin. Counties are most often named for people, often political figures or early settlers, with over 2,100 of the 3,144 total so named. The most common county name, with 31, is Washington County , for America's first president, George Washington . Up until 1871, there was a Washington County within the District of Columbia , but it
1540-400: A land area of 20,057 square miles (51,947 km ). The least extensive county is Kalawao County, Hawaii , with a land area of 11.991 square miles (31.058 km ). The least extensive county equivalent in the 50 states is the independent city of Falls Church, Virginia , with a land area of 1.999 square miles (5.177 km ). If U.S. territories are included,
1650-453: A large number of counties, and many Western states were sparsely populated when counties were created by their respective state legislatures. The five counties of Rhode Island and eight of the 14 counties of Massachusetts no longer have functional county governments, but continue to exist as legal and census entities. Connecticut abolished county governments in 1960, leaving its eight counties as mere legal and census entities. In 2022,
1760-408: A more planned and official context, Special Economic Zones (SEZs) often tend to cluster near borders or ports. Even if the goods are not perceived to be undesirable, states will still seek to document and regulate the cross-border trade in order to collect tariffs and benefit from foreign currency exchange revenues. Thus, there is the concept unofficial trade in goods otherwise legal; for example,
1870-587: A particular state of mind for human activity. As such frontiers have been applied to borderlands identifying and claiming them as terra nullius , such as Marie Byrd Land in West Antarctica , the only territory in Antarctica unclaimed by any sovereign nation. In places where smuggling, migration, and infiltration are a problem, many countries fortify borders with fences and barriers , and institute formal border control procedures. These can extend inland, as in
1980-415: A population over 100,000; 137 counties have a population over 500,000; 45 counties have a population over 1,000,000; and 14 counties have a population over 2,000,000. At the other extreme, 35 counties have a population under 1,000; 307 counties have a population under 5,000; 709 counties have a population under 10,000; and 1,492 counties have a population between 10,000 and 50,000. At the 2000 U.S. Census ,
2090-428: Is Lake . Words from Native American languages, as well as the names of Native American leaders and tribes, lend their names to many counties. Quite a few counties bear names of French or Spanish origin, such as Marquette County being named after French missionary Father Jacques Marquette . The county's equivalent in the state of Louisiana, the parish (Fr. paroisse civile and Sp. parroquia ) took its name during
2200-564: Is 343 sq mi (890 km ), whereas in Utah it is 2,427 sq mi (6,290 km ). The most extensive county or county equivalent is the Yukon–Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska , with a land area of 145,505 square miles (376,856 km ). All nine of the most extensive county equivalents are in Alaska. The most extensive county is San Bernardino County, California , with
2310-573: Is a general agreement of vertical airspace ending at the point of the Kármán line . The Kármán line is a peak point at the altitude of 62 mi (100 km) above the Earth's surface, setting a boundary between the atmosphere (airspace) and outer space (which is governed by space law ). The frontier is a border that is open-ended to one side, identifying an expanding borderland to one side. This type of border can be fairly abstract and has been identified as
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#17330847294852420-428: Is an unusual case because it encompasses multiple entire counties in one city. Each of those counties is coextensive with one of the five boroughs of the city: Manhattan (New York County), The Bronx (Bronx County), Queens (Queens County), Brooklyn (Kings County), and Staten Island (Richmond County). Border Some borders—such as most states' internal administrative borders, or inter-state borders within
2530-500: Is either done at the state level or at the municipal level. In Connecticut and parts of Massachusetts, regional councils have been established to partially fill the void left behind by the abolished county governments. The regional councils' authority is limited compared with a county government—they have authority only over infrastructure and land use planning, distribution of state and federal funds for infrastructure projects, emergency preparedness, and limited law enforcement duties. In
2640-454: Is explained by an array of factors, some of which illustrate regional problems. Airspace is the atmosphere located within a country's controlled international and maritime borders. All sovereign countries hold the right to regulate and protect air space under the international law of Air sovereignty . The horizontal boundaries of airspace are similar to the policies of " high seas " in maritime law. Airspace extends 12 nautical miles from
2750-399: Is greater than the populations of 41 U.S. states, and is only slightly smaller than the combined population of the 10 least populous states and Washington, D.C. It also makes the population of Los Angeles County 17.4 times greater than that of the least populous state, Wyoming. The second most populous county is Cook County, Illinois , with a population of 5,275,541. Cook County's population
2860-455: Is larger than that of 28 individual U.S. states and the combined populations of the six smallest states. The least populous county is Loving County, Texas , with 64 residents in 2020. Eight county equivalents in the U.S. territories have no human population: Rose Atoll , Northern Islands Municipality , Baker Island , Howland Island , Jarvis Island , Johnston Atoll , Kingman Reef , and Navassa Island . The remaining three islands in
2970-766: Is no formal level of government (municipality, public education, or otherwise) existing below that of the county in the state. In most Midwestern and Northeastern states, counties are further subdivided into townships or towns , which sometimes exercise local powers or administration. Throughout the United States, counties may contain other independent, self-governing municipalities . In New England, counties function at most as judicial court districts and sheriff's departments (presently, in Connecticut only as judicial court districts—and in Rhode Island , they have lost both those functions and most others but they are still used by
3080-479: Is not limited to social , political , physical, emotional and/or nationalist issues. Border art is not confined to one particular medium . Border art/artists often address the forced politicization of human bodies and physical land and the arbitrary, yet incredibly harmful, separations that are created by these borders and boundaries. These artists are often "border crossers" themselves. They may cross borders of traditional art-making (through performance, video, or
3190-410: Is rarely a county responsibility, execution of capital punishment is never a county responsibility, and the state's responses to prisoners' appeals are the responsibility of the state attorney general , who has to defend before the state appellate courts the prosecutions conducted by locally elected district attorneys in the name of the state. Furthermore, county-level trial court judges are officers of
3300-557: Is simultaneously a city, which is a municipality (municipal corporation), and a county, which is an administrative division of a state, having the powers and responsibilities of both types of entities. The city limit or jurisdiction is synonymous with the county line, as the two administrative entities become a non-dichotomous single entity. For this reason, a consolidated city-county is officially remarked as name of city – name of county (i.e., Augusta–Richmond County in Georgia). The same
3410-501: Is true of the boroughs of New York City , each of which is coextensive with a county of New York State. For those entities in which the city uses the same name as the county, city and county of name may be used (i.e., City and County of Denver in Colorado). Similarly, some of Alaska 's boroughs have merged with their principal cities, creating unified city-boroughs. Some such consolidations and mergers have created cities that rank among
Bacon County, Georgia - Misplaced Pages Continue
3520-617: The 38th Parallel (between North and South Korea), Western Sahara conflict , and Kashmir region conflicts between India and Pakistan. A border conflict can occur due to several reasons. Most commonly, territorial disputes can result in border conflicts, as it is the case with the Kashmir conflict . Borders have sometimes been significantly shaped by physical border constructions and openings. From border crossings, over border markers to border barriers these constructions fulfill many different functions. Such as also providing crossover. Even
3630-634: The Alaska Constitutional Convention wanted to avoid the traditional county system and adopted their own unique model with different types of boroughs varying in powers and duties. In some states, these powers are partly or mostly devolved to the counties' smaller divisions usually called townships , though in New York, New England and Wisconsin they are called "towns". The county may or may not be able to override its townships on certain matters, depending on state law. The newest county in
3740-454: The City and County of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ; City and County of San Francisco, California ; and Lynchburg-Moore County, Tennessee A consolidated city-county may still contain independent municipalities maintaining some governmental powers that did not merge with the rest of the county. For example, the government of Jacksonville–Duval County, Florida , still provides county-level services to
3850-530: The European Union provides financial support to cross-border regions via its Interreg programme. The Council of Europe has issued the Outline Convention on Transfrontier Co-operation , providing a legal framework for cross-border co-operation even though it is in practice rarely used by Euroregions. There has been a renaissance in the study of borders starting with the end of the 1990s, partially from
3960-507: The French Revolution or in Europe since the 1940s, de-emphasizes border-based economic activity and fosters free trade . Euroregions are similar official structures built around commuting across boundary. Political borders have a variety of meanings for those whom they affect. Many borders in the world have checkpoints where border control agents inspect persons and/or goods crossing
4070-597: The Mid-Atlantic and Midwest , counties typically provide, at a minimum, courts, public utilities , libraries, hospitals, public health services, parks, roads, law enforcement, and jails. There is usually a county registrar, recorder, or clerk (the exact title varies) who collects vital statistics , holds elections (sometimes in coordination with a separate elections office or commission), and prepares or processes certificates of births, deaths, marriages, and dissolutions (divorce decrees). The county recorder normally maintains
4180-588: The Middle East . The Canada–United States border follows the 49th parallel for roughly 2,175 miles (3,500 km) from Lake of the Woods ( Ontario and Minnesota ) west to the Pacific Ocean . A generalization of the idea of geometric borders is the idea of fiat boundaries by which is meant any sort of boundary that does not track an underlying bona fide physical discontinuity ( fiat , Latin for "let it be done",
4290-552: The New York City Borough of Manhattan), with 72,033 persons per square mile (27,812 persons/km ) in 2015. The Yukon–Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska , is both the most extensive and the least densely populated county or county equivalent with 0.0380 persons per square mile (0.0147 persons/km ) in 2015. In the 50 states (plus the District of Columbia), a total of 981 counties have a population over 50,000; 592 counties have
4400-559: The Province of Maine founded York County . Massachusetts followed in 1643. Pennsylvania and New York delegated significant power and responsibility from the colony government to county governments and thereby established a pattern for most of the United States, although counties remained relatively weak in New England . When independence came, the framers of the Constitution left
4510-457: The Schengen Area —are open and completely unguarded. Most external political borders are partially or fully controlled, and may be crossed legally only at designated border checkpoints ; adjacent border zones may also be controlled. For the purposes of border control , airports and seaports are also classed as borders. Most countries have some form of border control to regulate or limit
Bacon County, Georgia - Misplaced Pages Continue
4620-437: The U.S. Minor Outlying Islands ( Midway Atoll , Palmyra Atoll and Wake Island ) have small non-permanent human populations. The county equivalent with the smallest non-zero population counted in the census is Swains Island, American Samoa (17 people), although since 2008 this population has not been permanent either. The most densely populated county or county equivalent is New York County, New York (coextensive with
4730-569: The USGS counts Guam's election districts (villages) as county equivalents. The U.S. Census Bureau counts the 3 main islands in the U.S. Virgin Islands as county equivalents, while the USGS counts the districts of the U.S. Virgin Islands (of which there are 2) as county equivalents. Common sources of county names are names of people, geographic features, places in other states or countries, and animals. Quite
4840-671: The United States Census Bureau and some other federal agencies for some federal functions), and most of the governmental authority below the state level is in the hands of towns and cities . In several of Maine's sparsely populated counties, small towns rely on the county for law enforcement, and in New Hampshire several social programs are administered at the state level. In Connecticut, Rhode Island, and parts of Massachusetts, counties are now only geographic designations, and they do not have any governmental powers. All government
4950-466: The county seat ("parish seat" in Louisiana, "borough seat" in Alaska, or " shire town " in several New England counties). The county seat usually resides in a municipality. However, some counties may have multiple seats or no seat. In some counties with no incorporated municipalities, a large settlement may serve as the county seat. The power of county governments varies widely from state to state, as does
5060-473: The median land area of U.S. counties was 622 sq mi (1,610 km ), which is two-thirds of the median land area of a ceremonial county of England , and a little more than a quarter of the median land area of a French département . Counties in the western United States typically have a much larger land area than those in the eastern United States. For example, the median land area of counties in Georgia
5170-687: The 3,600 km (2,200 mi) US-Mexico border is probably "the world's longest boundary between a First World and Third World country". Historic borders such as the Great Wall of China , the Maginot Line , and Hadrian's Wall have played a great many roles and been marked in different ways. While the stone walls , the Great Wall of China and the Roman Hadrian's Wall in Britain had military functions,
5280-451: The 50 states and District of Columbia. There are an additional 100 county equivalents in the territories of the United States . The average number of counties per state is 62, with a range from the three counties of Delaware to the 254 counties of Texas . Southern and Midwestern states generally tend to have more counties than Western or Northeastern states, as many Northeastern states are not large enough in area to warrant
5390-454: The 50 states and the District of Columbia. If the 100 county equivalents in the U.S. territories are counted, then the total is 3,244 counties and county-equivalents in the United States. The idea of counties originated with the counties of England . English (after 1707, British ) colonists brought to their colonies in North America a political subdivision that they already used in
5500-608: The African Borderlands Research Network and the founding of smaller border research centres at Nijmegen and Queen's University Belfast . Border art is a contemporary art practice rooted in the socio-political experience(s), such as of those on the U.S.-Mexico borderlands , or frontera . Since its conception in the mid-1980s, this artistic practice has assisted in the development of questions surrounding homeland , borders, surveillance , identity, race , ethnicity , and national origin (s). Border art as
5610-973: The British metropole : the counties. Counties were among the earliest units of local government established in the Thirteen Colonies that would become the United States. Virginia created the first counties in order to ease the administrative workload in Jamestown . The House of Burgesses divided the colony first into four "incorporations" in 1617 and finally into eight shires (or counties) in 1634: James City , Henrico , Charles City , Charles River , Warrosquyoake , Accomac , Elizabeth City , and Warwick River . America's oldest intact county court records can be found at Eastville, Virginia , in Northampton (originally Accomac) County , dating to 1632. Maryland established its first county, St. Mary's in 1637. In 1639,
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#17330847294855720-427: The European Union and NAFTA, have spurred the establishment of cross-border regions. These are initiatives driven by local or regional authorities, aimed at dealing with local border-transcending problems such as transport and environmental degradation. Many cross-border regions are also active in encouraging intercultural communication and dialogue as well as cross-border economic development strategies. In Europe ,
5830-644: The U.S. Census Bureau began to also count Connecticut's Councils of Governments , which took over some of the regional powers from the state's former county governments, as county equivalents. Territories of the United States do not have counties; instead, the United States Census Bureau also divides them into county equivalents. The U.S. Census Bureau counts American Samoa 's districts and atolls as county equivalents. American Samoa locally has places called "counties", but these entities are considered to be " minor civil divisions " (not true counties) by
5940-473: The U.S. Census Bureau recognized the state's nine Councils of Governments as replacement for the state's eight legacy counties for all statistical purposes; full implementation was completed in 2024. The average U.S. county population was 104,435 in 2019, while the median county, which is Nicholas County, West Virginia , had a population of 25,965 in 2019. The most populous county is Los Angeles County, California , with 10,014,009 residents in 2020. This number
6050-475: The U.S. Census Bureau treats American Samoa's three districts and two atolls as county equivalents). American Samoa's counties are treated as minor civil divisions. Most territories are directly divided into municipalities or similar units, which are treated as equivalent of counties for statistical purposes: The U.S. Census Bureau counts all of Guam as one county equivalent (with the FIPS code 66010), while
6160-683: The U.S. Census Bureau. The number of counties per state ranges from the three counties of Delaware to the 254 counties of Texas . County populations also vary widely: in 2017, according to the Census Bureau, more than half the U.S. population was concentrated in just 143 of the more than 3,000 counties, or just 4.6% of all counties; the five most populous counties, ordered from most to least, are Los Angeles County, California ; Cook County, Illinois ; Harris County, Texas ; Maricopa County, Arizona ; and San Diego County, California . As of 2022 , there are 3,144 counties and county-equivalents in
6270-446: The United States which consists of a geographic area with specific boundaries and usually some level of governmental authority. The term " county " is used in 48 states, while Louisiana and Alaska have functionally equivalent subdivisions called parishes and boroughs , respectively. Counties and other local governments exist as a matter of U.S. state law , so the specific governmental powers of counties may vary widely between
6380-484: The United States is the city and county of Broomfield, Colorado , established in 2001 as a consolidated city-county , previously part of four counties. The newest county equivalents are the Alaskan census areas of Chugach and Copper River , both established in 2019, and the Alaskan boroughs of Petersburg established in 2013, Wrangell established in 2008, and Skagway established in 2007. A consolidated city-county
6490-845: The United States where the U.S. Customs and Border Protection service has jurisdiction to operate up to 100 miles from any land or sea boundary. On the other hand, some borders are merely signposted. This is common in countries within the European Schengen Area and on rural sections of the Canada–United States border . Borders may even be completely unmarked, typically in remote or forested regions; such borders are often described as "porous". Migration within territorial borders, and outside of them, represented an old and established pattern of movement in African countries, in seeking work and food, and to maintain ties with kin who had moved across
6600-402: The board. These positions may include county clerk , county treasurer , county surrogate, sheriff , and others. District attorneys or state attorneys are usually state-level as opposed to county-level officials, but in many states, counties and state judicial districts have coterminous boundaries. The site of a county's administration, and often the county courthouse , is generally called
6710-468: The border's bounds. A DMZ can act as a war boundary, ceasefire line, wildlife preserve , or a de facto international border. An example of a demilitarized international border is the 38th parallel between North and South Korea . Other notable DMZ zones include Antarctica and outer space (consisting of all space 100 miles away from the earth's surface), both are preserved for world research and exploration. The prohibition of control by nations can make
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#17330847294856820-457: The borderland's natural geography and its building requires tremendous human labour and financial investment. Geometric boundaries are formed by straight lines (such as lines of latitude or longitude), or occasionally arcs (Pennsylvania/Delaware), regardless of the physical and cultural features of the area. Such political boundaries are often found around the states that developed out of colonial holdings, such as in North America , Africa and
6930-458: The borders separating said territories. They occur when one party constructs identities or interests related to the border which are incompatible with the other party's identities and interests . Border conflicts or the potential of such are the reason why many borders feature fortifications and zoning like no man's lands , demilitarized zones , demarcation lines and buffer zones . Examples of border conflicts include skirmishes and wars, such as
7040-495: The boundary itself, the area around the border is called the frontier . In the pre-modern world, the term border was vague and could refer to either side of the boundary, thus it was necessary to specify part of it with borderline or borderland . During the medieval period the government's control frequently diminished the further people got from the capital . Therefore borderland (especially impassable terrain) attracted many outlaws , as they often found sympathizers. In
7150-413: The boundary. Some borders require presentation of legal paperwork like passports and visas , or other identity documents , for persons to cross borders. To stay or work within a country's borders aliens (foreign persons) may need special immigration documents or permits ; but possession of such documents does not guarantee that the person should be allowed to cross the border. Moving goods across
7260-410: The city and the county at least nominally exist, they are properly classified as counties in their own right. Likewise, the boroughs of New York City are coextensive with counties and are therefore by definition also not county equivalents. There are technically no counties in U.S. territories. American Samoa has its own counties , but the U.S. Census Bureau does not treat them as counties (instead,
7370-401: The coast of a country and it holds responsibility for protecting its own airspace unless under NATO peacetime protection. With international agreement a country can assume the responsibility of protecting or controlling the atmosphere over International Airspaces such as the Pacific Ocean . The vertical boundaries of airspace are not officially set or regulated internationally. However, there
7480-421: The county (which merely implements state law). A typical criminal defendant will be arraigned and subsequently indicted or held over for trial before a trial court in and for a particular county where the crime occurred, kept in the county jail (if he is not granted bail or cannot make bail), prosecuted by the county's district attorney, and tried before a jury selected from that county. But long-term incarceration
7590-595: The county has a total area of 286 square miles (740 km), of which 259 square miles (670 km) are land and 27 square miles (70 km) (9.5%) are covered by water. The majority and western portion of Bacon County is located in the Satilla River sub-basin of the St. Marys River -Satilla River basin. The entire eastern and half of the southeastern edge of the county is located in the Little Satilla River sub-basin of
7700-457: The county jail.) In several southern states, public school systems are organized and administered at the county level. As of 2024 , there were 2,999 counties, 64 Louisiana parishes , 19 organized boroughs and 11 census areas in Alaska, 9 Councils of Government in Connecticut, 41 independent cities , and the District of Columbia for a total of 3,144 counties and county equivalents in
7810-489: The county's predominantly Christian population, Methodists , Holiness , and Pentecostal Christians formed the remainder of its religious landscape. 31°34′N 82°27′W / 31.56°N 82.45°W / 31.56; -82.45 County (United States) In the United States , a county or county equivalent is an administrative or political subdivision of a U.S. state or other territories of
7920-406: The county, up from 10,103 in 2000. Per the 2020 census, Bacon County's racial and ethnic makeup was 72.74% non-Hispanic white , 15.68% Black or African American , 0.04% Native American , 0.36% Asian American , 0.04% Pacific Islander American , 3.29% other or multiracial , and 7.85% Hispanic or Latino of any race. The 2022 American Community Survey estimated its racial and ethnic composition
8030-705: The creation of a counter-narrative to the discourse about the world becoming a borderless and deterritorialized place, which has accompanied theories about globalization . Examples of recent initiatives are the Border Regions in Transition network of scholars, the International Boundaries Research Unit at the University of Durham , the Association for Borderlands Studies based in North America ,
8140-548: The cross-border trade in livestock by pastoralists in the Horn of Africa . Ethiopia sells an estimated $ 250 to $ 300 million of livestock to Somalia , Kenya and Djibouti every year unofficially, over 100 times the official estimate. Human economic traffic across borders (apart from kidnapping ) may involve mass commuting between workplaces and residential settlements. The removal of internal barriers to commerce , as in France after
8250-424: The eleventh century. Such a border is political in the sense that it is human-demarcated, usually through a treaty . However, a landscape border is not demarcated by fences and walls but instead landscape features such as forests, mountains, and water bodies. It is different from a natural border, however, in the sense that the border landscape is not natural but human-engineered. Such a landscape usually differs from
8360-436: The entire length of the world's international boundaries. Natural borders are geographical features that present natural obstacles to communication and transport. Existing political borders are often a formalization of such historical, natural obstacles. Some geographical features that often constitute natural borders are: Throughout history, technological advances have reduced the costs of transport and communication across
8470-605: The entirety of the Roman borders were very porous, which encouraged Roman economic activity with neighbors. On the other hand, a border like the Maginot Line was entirely military and was meant to prevent any access in what was to be World War II to France by its neighbor, Germany; Germany ended up going around the Maginot Line through Belgium just as it had done in World War I . Border conflicts are disputes between territories that occur at
8580-399: The four independent municipalities within its borders: Atlantic Beach , Baldwin , Jacksonville Beach , and Neptune Beach . The term county equivalents is used by the United States Census Bureau to describe divisions that are comparable to counties but called by different names: Consolidated city-counties are not designated county equivalents for administrative purposes; since both
8690-532: The freedom of internal movement of its citizens, as for example in the former USSR. However, only a handful of nations have deregulated open borders with other nations, an example of this being European countries under the Schengen Agreement or the open Belarus-Russia border . Open borders used to be very common amongst all nations, however this became less common after the First World War , which led to
8800-461: The general law of the state or by a charter specific to that county. States may allow only general-law counties, only charter counties, or both. Generally, general-law local governments have less autonomy than chartered local governments. Counties are usually governed by an elected body, variously called the county commission , board of supervisors , commissioners' court , county council , county court , or county legislature . In cases in which
8910-622: The geographically largest cities in the world, though often with population densities far below those of most urban areas. There are 40 consolidated city-counties in the U.S., including Augusta–Richmond County; the City and County of Denver, Colorado; the City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii ; Indianapolis–Marion County, Indiana ; Jacksonville–Duval County, Florida ; Louisville–Jefferson County, Kentucky ; Lexington–Fayette County, Kentucky ; Kansas City–Wyandotte County, Kansas ; Nashville–Davidson County, Tennessee ; New Orleans–Orleans Parish, Louisiana ;
9020-405: The judicial branch of the state government rather than county governments. In many states, the county controls all unincorporated lands within its boundaries. In states with a township tier, unincorporated land is controlled by the townships. Residents of unincorporated land who are dissatisfied with county-level or township-level resource allocation decisions can attempt to vote to incorporate as
9130-544: The jurisdiction of the European Union, except where states have used a specific right to opt out (United Kingdom and Ireland , which maintain the Common Travel Area amongst themselves). The United States has notably increased measures taken in border control on the Canada–United States border and the United States–Mexico border during its War on Terrorism (See Shantz 2010). One American writer has said that
9240-627: The jurisdictional borders of a maritime nation and are recognized by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea . Maritime borders exist in the context of territorial waters , contiguous zones , and exclusive economic zones ; however, the terminology does not encompass lake or river boundaries, which are considered within the context of land boundaries. Some maritime borders have remained indeterminate despite efforts to clarify them. This
9350-517: The landscape; it remains a cultural and economic demarcation in Germany . Other examples include the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Vietnam (defunct since 1975) and the border between North and South Yemen (defunct since 1990). Occasionally a relic border is reconstituted in some form, for example the border between British Somaliland and Italian Somaliland ceased to exist when
9460-560: The least extensive county equivalent is Kingman Reef , with a land area of 0.01 square miles (0.03 km ). In some states, a municipality may be in only one county and may not annex territory in adjacent counties, but in the majority of states, the state constitution or state law allows municipalities to extend across county boundaries. At least 32 states include municipalities in multiple counties . Dallas , for example, contains portions of five counties, while numerous other cities comprise portions of four counties. New York City
9570-416: The legislative power to enact laws for the county; it has the executive power to oversee the executive operations of county government; and it has quasi-judicial power with regard to certain limited matters (such as hearing appeals from the planning commission if one exists). In many states, several important officials are elected separately from the board of commissioners or supervisors and cannot be fired by
9680-674: The matter to the states. Subsequently, state constitutions conceptualized county governments as arms of the state. Louisiana instead adopted the local divisions called parishes that dated back to both the Spanish colonial and French colonial periods when the land was dominated by the Catholic Church . In the twentieth century, the role of local governments strengthened and counties began providing more services, acquiring home rule and county commissions to pass local ordinances pertaining to their unincorporated areas . In 1955, delegates to
9790-699: The most fortified borders reserve specific places to allow crossing. The many forms of borders have different ways of enabling and controlling passage. Borders can have a significant impact on and function for movement. It can enable and stop movement, across as well as along borders. The permeability of borders depends on its construction, availability of crossings, regulation and types or scope of activity. The permeability can vary, borders can be barriers for humans, but also for animal migration or types of pollution . Borders facilitate or block hybrids like border overlap and cooperation beyond mere encounter and exchange. Macro-regional integration initiatives, such as
9900-751: The most regulated borders in the world include: Australia , the United States , Israel , Canada , the United Kingdom , and the United Arab Emirates . These nations have government-controlled border agencies and organizations that enforce border regulation policies on and within their borders. An open border is the deregulation and or lack of regulation on the movement of persons between nations and jurisdictions. This definition does not apply to trade or movement between privately owned land areas. Most nations have open borders for travel within their nation of travel, though more authoritarian states may limit
10010-416: The movement of people, animals, and goods into and out of the country. Under international law, each country is generally permitted to legislate the conditions that have to be met in order to cross its borders, and to prevent people from crossing its borders in violation of those laws. Buffer zones may be set up on borders between belligerent entities to lower the risk of escalation. While border refers to
10120-523: The movement of persons and trade between nations and jurisdictions . Most industrialized nations have regulations on entry and require one or more of the following procedures: visa check, passport check or customs checks. Most regulated borders have regulations on immigration, types of wildlife and plants, and illegal objects such as drugs or weapons. Overall border regulations are placed by national and local governments and can vary depending on nation and current political or economic conditions. Some of
10230-535: The natural borders. That has reduced the significance of natural borders over time. As a result, political borders that have been formalized more recently, such as those in Africa or Americas, typically conform less to natural borders than very old borders, such as those in Europe or Asia, do. A landscape border is a mixture of political and natural borders. One example is the defensive forest created by China's Song dynasty in
10340-514: The next most common source of county names are geographic features and locations, with some counties even being named after counties in other states, or for places in other countries, such as the United Kingdom (the latter is most common in the area of the original Thirteen Colonies in the case of the United Kingdom, or in places which had a large number of immigrants from a particular area for other countries). The most common geographic county name
10450-424: The official record of all real estate transactions. Other key county officials include the coroner / medical examiner , treasurer , assessor , auditor , comptroller , and district attorney . In most states, the county sheriff is the chief law enforcement officer in the county. However, except in major emergencies where clear chains of command are essential, the county sheriff normally does not directly control
10560-582: The past, many borders were not clearly defined lines; instead there were often intervening areas often claimed and fought over by both sides, sometimes called marchlands . Special cases in modern times were the Saudi Arabian–Iraqi neutral zone from 1922 to 1991 and the Saudi Arabian–Kuwaiti neutral zone from 1922 until 1970. In modern times, marchlands have been replaced by clearly defined and demarcated borders. Political borders are imposed on
10670-448: The police departments of city governments, but merely cooperates with them (e.g., under mutual aid pacts). Thus, the most common interaction between county and city law enforcement personnel is when city police officers deliver suspects to sheriff's deputies for detention or incarceration in the county jail. In most states, the state courts and local law enforcement are organized and implemented along county boundaries, but nearly all of
10780-578: The previously porous borders of their homelands. When the colonial frontiers were drawn, Western countries attempted to obtain a monopoly on the recruitment of labor in many African countries, which altered the practical and institutional context in which the old migration patterns had been followed, and some might argue, are still followed today. The frontiers were particularly porous for the physical movement of migrants, and people living in borderlands easily maintained transnational cultural and social networks. Regulated borders have varying degrees of control on
10890-409: The regulation of open borders, making them less common and no longer feasible for most industrialized nations . An example of Open orders include the Schengen Area where 29 European nations mutually abolished their border control. A demilitarized zone (DMZ) is a border separating two or more nations, groups or militaries that have agreed to prohibit the use of military activity or force within
11000-578: The relationship between counties and incorporated cities. The powers of counties arise from state law and vary widely. In Connecticut and Rhode Island , counties are geographic entities, but not governmental jurisdictions. At the other extreme, Maryland counties and the county equivalent City of Baltimore handle almost all services, including public education , although the state retains an active oversight authority with many of these services. Counties in Hawaii also handle almost all services since there
11110-458: The same St. Marys-Satilla River basin. The county forms part of Southeast Georgia . According to the 1920 United States census , the county had a population of 6,460 which has increased since every decennial census except from 1960 and 1970; in 1960, its population declined from 8,940 to 8,359; and in 1970, its population declined to 8,233. In the 2020 United States census , there were 11,140 people, 3,874 households, and 2,706 families residing in
11220-541: The state's French and Spanish colonial periods. Before the Louisiana Purchase and granting of statehood, government was often administered in towns where major church parishes were located. Of the original 19 civil parishes of Louisiana that date from statehood in 1807, nine were named after the Roman Catholic parishes from which they were governed. The structure and powers of a county government may be defined by
11330-727: The states, with many providing some level of services to civil townships , municipalities , and unincorporated areas . Certain municipalities are in multiple counties ; New York City is uniquely partitioned into five counties, referred to at the city government level as boroughs . Some municipalities have been consolidated with their county government to form consolidated city-counties , or have been legally separated from counties altogether to form independent cities . Conversely, counties in Connecticut and Rhode Island , eight of Massachusetts's 14 counties , and Alaska's Unorganized Borough have no government power, existing only as geographic distinctions. The United States Census Bureau uses
11440-421: The substantive and procedural law adjudicated in state trial courts originates from the state legislature and state appellate courts. In other words, most criminal defendants are prosecuted for violations of state law, not local ordinances, and if they, the district attorney, or police seek reforms to the criminal justice system, they will usually have to direct their efforts towards the state legislature rather than
11550-399: The term "county equivalent" to describe places that are comparable to counties, but called by different names. Louisiana parishes, the organized boroughs of Alaska, independent cities, and the District of Columbia are equivalent to counties for administrative purposes. Alaska's Unorganized Borough is further divided into 11 census areas that are statistically equivalent to counties. In 2024,
11660-485: The two colonies merged to form the independent state of Somalia in 1960, however when the former British Somaliland declared independence in 1991 it claimed the former British-Italian line as its eastern border. A line of control (LoC) refers to a militarized buffer border between two or more nations that has yet to achieve permanent border status. LoC borders are typically under military control and are not recognized as an official international border. Formally known as
11770-422: The world through human agency. That means that although a political border may follow a river or mountain range, such a feature does not automatically define the political border, even though it may be a major physical barrier to crossing. Political borders are often classified by whether or not they follow conspicuous physical features on the earth. William Miles said that Britain and France traced close to 40% of
11880-655: Was $ 95,600. Approximately 53% of housing units were valued under $ 100,000. Religiously, as of 2020, the Association of Religion Data Archives determined the Southern Baptist Convention was the county's largest religious group, being within the Bible Belt . The Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee) was the second-largest Christian denomination in the county, followed by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and National Association of Free Will Baptists . Among
11990-418: Was 73% White , 15% African American, 1% Asian, 3% multiracial, and 9% Hispanic or Latino of any race. In 2022, the median household income for the county was $ 43,938 with a per capita income of $ 24,654. An estimated 21.6% of the county population lived at or below the poverty line. With an estimated 4,807 housing units in the county, 72% were owner-occupied and the median value of an owner-occupied housing unit
12100-440: Was dissolved by the District of Columbia Organic Act . Jefferson County , for Thomas Jefferson , is next with 26. The most recent president to have a county named for him was Warren G. Harding , reflecting the slowing rate of county creation since New Mexico and Arizona became states in 1912. The most common names for counties not named after a president are Franklin (25), Clay (18), and Montgomery (18). After people,
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