Technically the fewest number of county borders is zero, a situation that occurs frequently on islands. As an example, county borders do not split individual Hawaiian islands except for Molokai. Most of it sits within Maui County. Even so, it also cradles minuscule Kalowao County – the smallest county in the United States – on its northern shore. Hawaii seems to be a good place to start exploring this situation further.
By definition Islands are non-contiguous unless someone decides to draw an artificial line across it like on Molokai. Otherwise it remains self-contained without any borders.
So let’s take a closer look at these islands. Let’s decide which one of the remaining three counties might be the best candidate for “fewest” borders.
The Big Island
Most of Honolulu County involves the island of Oahu. However it also administers a string of minor islands, shoals and reefs stretching hundreds of miles northwest to Kure. Kauai County comes closer with just the island of Kauai and its nearby neighbor, Nihau. That leaves Hawaii County, composed solely of the “Big Island” of the same name, as a possible candidate. It is a county, it is self contained, and it involves a single chunk of earth surrounded by water.
Other Possibilities
We should also consider candidates within the continental United States. The Massachusetts counties of Dukes (Martha’s Vineyard) and Nantucket spread over open water. Nonetheless, both contain minor islands along with their more famous brethren. Island County, Washington also comes close with two islands: Whidbey and Camano. Likewise Alaska’s Kodiak and Aleutian counties along with those that line the Inside Passage spread across open water but all contain numerous islands.
If we must split hairs and say which county in the United States has the fewest borders, Hawaii County would be as good a candidate as any. However this is really just a trivia question, and a pretty lame one at that. Too many geography quizzes depend upon Hawaii as a stumper. Things get more interesting on the mainland.
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