There’s only one place in the world where you can see four countries at once, thanks to a bridge that has been carefully created to connect two countries while avoiding two others
From this bridge, is where you can see four countries at once (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
There are some rather impressive, architecturally brilliant bridges dotted across the world. But there’s one that might be the most striking of all, as it allows visitors to see four countries at once.
The Kazungula Bridge might not be the most beautifully designed structure in the world, but its elaborate positioning over the Zambezi River is situated in one of the most bizarre locations in the world. The 3,028ft (923m) long and 60.7ft (18.5m) wide bridge serves as a major route through Africa, connecting Zambia and Botswana.
It consists of a two-car lane, a single railway track, and pedestrian walkways on either side, and was opened in May 2021. But what’s fascinating about this bridge is that while it connects Zambia and Botswana, there are two other countries on either side, Namibia and Zimbabwe.
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It was designed to accommodate complex border crossings between two countries, while being a stone’s throw from two others. This means that those using the bridge, which spans across the world’s second-shortest border, can see Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe simultaneously.
However, there’s more to this unusual geographical mastermind.
Maps show that this area is the world’s only quadripoint, meaning it’s the only place where four countries meet. This is known as the Kazungula Quadripoint, with Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe all meeting in the middle of the Zambezi River.
Many countries border two or three nations, but it’s incredibly unusual to have four countries connected. Instead, there is a North American quadripoint in the USA where the states of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah meet, as well as a sub-national quadripoint in Canada where the provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut meet.
While the Kazungula Bridge that passes the four connected countries has been widely known as the world’s only quadripoint, some believe this isn’t the case at all. Big Think reported that if the map of where the four countries connect is examined closely, the “point disappears”, and instead, the “quadripoint turns into two tripoints”.
The western point is claimed to be where Botswana and Zambia meet Namibia, while the eastern point is where the three countries meet Zimbabwe. Yet its confusion is valid, and remains relatively unconfirmed, with claims that the points are separated by more than a mere 443 feet (135m).
Regardless of its argued status as the world’s only quadripoint, it remains starkly impressive that visitors can see four countries at once. And it still remains as the only place in the entire world where you can witness such a marvel.
One traveller who got the chance to use the remarkable structure wrote on TripAdvisor: “This is a bridge that connects Botswana and Zambia via the mighty Rivers, Chobe River and Zambezi River, and this is the point where four countries meet at one point, right in the middle of the Bridge. A very breathtaking view and good sunsets on the bridge, it’s a good place to be and take pictures.”
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