The Triple Frontier

Twelve Mile Circle reader “jlumsden” returned from vacation in South America recently and sent a couple of photographs. He visited an area called the Triple Frontier, or La Triple Frontera in Spanish or Tríplice Fronteira in Portuguese. It’s the place where Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay come together at a common spot, an international tripoint. So he wondered if this type of oddity interested me, and of course, it most absolutely does.

I’m not always able to see these these sights on my own. Even so, I love the next best thing: hearing from all of you as you reach your personal geographic milestones. Kudos to jlumsden and his tripoint!


On the Frontier

I’ve received permission to share his tripoint photos below. However, make sure you visit the jlumsden photostream on flickr. He’s stored his “good” photos under the “Southern Core” set. The tripoint photos below are functional. Meanwhile, the images on his site have genuine artistic merit.

Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay meet at a point. Photo by jlumsden; all rights reserved. Used by permission.

This is the Three Border Landmark in Argentina. Naturally Argentina gets prominent placement front-and-center on the marker. Also it lists Brazil as Brasil, using its Portuguese (and Spanish) spelling.

I should note that a purist would probably scoff at the marker’s claim. The actual tripoint sits in the middle of the river. Fair enough; that’s a true statement. However, one would need proper documentation for all three countries and a boat to reach it to a purist’s satisfaction. And I am not a purist.

Then, upon reading the appropriate Wikipedia page I realized that perhaps it might not be such a good idea to jump across various borders here. Personally I consider anyone reaching this marker to be “close enough” and well deserving of accolades.

A view of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay. Photo by jlumsden; all rights reserved. Used by permission.

This is a nighttime view. It’s a little dark and of course it’s hard to see details. However, Argentina is in the foreground, Brazil is across the river on the right, and Paraguay is across the river on the left. Lights twinkle along respective riverbanks. Everything appears peaceful and serene.

Thanks again, jlumsden. It looks like you had a great time… wish I could have been there too.


Posted

in

,

by

Comments

3 responses to “The Triple Frontier”

  1. Miguel Avatar
    Miguel

    Is there a mistake with the border on the Google Maps site? Is the border meant to be the river itself? Looks like the border touches the western shore of the river?

    1. Twelve Mile Circle Avatar

      Someone asked me that same question off-line, and upon further checking, it does indeed appear to be an error in Google Maps. The most convincing evidence I could find was this photo on Panoramio. Bring the photo to it’s highest resolution and you can see a sign on the white building in the foreground. It reads…."Bienvenidos al Paraguay."

  2. Lidiane - Brasil Avatar
    Lidiane – Brasil

    Hello, I am Brazilian and I realized that the reader who sent the photos have not visited or not sent pictures of Iguazu Falls, in my opinion, most beautiful place in the world. Big hug 😀

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Latest Comments

  1. Hi Mr. Howder — Just going from memory, I recall that your “rule” for counting a nation/state/county is “if I’m…

  2. Does anyone have actual music to the song – Tanaha ,Timpson. Bobo and Blair ?? It was recorded by Tex…