10 Strange Looking Weirdest Shaped Countries
One of my favorite pastimes is exploring the world map. I love studying the unique borders and geography of countries that never fail to captivate me. During one of my digital explorations, I stumbled upon a land with such an unusual shape that it immediately caught my attention. Does Finland really look like a rabbit, or is my imagination playing tricks on me? A quick Google search confirmed that I wasn’t alone in seeing strange shapes in national outlines. In fact, many countries around the world resemble animals or objects. Let’s have a look at some of the weirdest shaped countries and what causes these odd borders.
Why Do Some Countries Have Strange Shapes?
Contrary to popular belief, the shape of a country is not actually a result of chance. Instead, the shape of countries depends on a combination of historical, geographic, and political factors. Wars, treaties, geographic obstacles and even natural boundaries play a significant role in defining the boundaries and shape of countries.
- Historic Events: Wars and colonialism often played a massive role in shaping countries. For example, many African nations have straight-line borders because European colonizers drew them with little regard for the local geography or populations.
- Geopolitical Agreements: Some countries have strange shapes because of international agreements or political decisions made to balance power between nations. For example, the border between India and Pakistan was drawn based on the Radcliffe Line, a boundary proposed by Sir Cyril Radcliffe.
- Geographical Reasons: Natural landforms like rivers, mountains, and desert also shape countries in strange ways. For instance, the border between France and Spain follows the Pyrenees mountain range.
- Political Disputes: Political disputes can influence the shape of countries, leading to territorial changes, border adjustments, and even the creation of new nations. Countries like Croatia have strange borders due to long-standing border disputes with neighboring nations.
The world map consists of diverse countries, each with its unique identity. While some countries have standard symmetrical shapes, there are some countries that look like things sparking curiosity for map enthusiasts like me. Their odd shapes are what makes these strange looking countries memorable and iconic.
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What Essentially Is A Weird Shape For A Country?
What makes a country’s shape weird? As you can guess, a country’s shape is primarily influenced by its borders. These borders are influenced by several factors like historical conflicts, changes in political landscapes or even natural features.
Generally, a country with an unusual shape may have one or more of the following characteristics:
- Irregular Borders: While many countries have relatively regular borders, some weirdly shaped countries naturally have uneven and irregular boundaries.
- Disproportionate Land: Some countries have disproportionately long or narrow sections.
- Natural Calamities: Sometimes, a country’s shape can change due to natural disasters like earthquakes or floods, which can alter the boundaries over time.
What makes a country’s shape weird is often subjective. However, when you come across international borders that form strange and unexpected shapes, it is hard for it to go unnoticed.
Let’s have a look at some weirdest shaped countries that resemble animals, objects and more.
The 10 Weirdest Shaped Countries In The World
While there are many famous countries like Italy or Chile that are known for their iconic shapes, there are several unknown countries that often surprise travelers with their strange and irregular borders. Let’s have a look at the top 10 weirdest shaped countries:
1. Finland
Finland’s curious shape resembles that of a rabbit—you cannot miss the two ears standing and the little snout right at the place of the mouth. I mean, it’s uncanny!
Finland shares its border with Russia and Sweden. There have been several historical treaties and conflicts that may have contributed to make it one of the countries that look like animals.
2. Japan
Japan is another iconic example of a weirdly shaped country. The island nation forms a long arch that stretches across the Pacific Ocean. When combined with a few parts of Russia, the curved shape makes the country look like a seahorse on the map.
Fun fact: The Japanese word for seahorse, tatsu no ko, literally translates to Dragon’s child.
3. United Kingdom
The United Kingdom has a peculiar shape. Some people believe that the country’s outline resembles a witch riding a pig, whereas some claim that it looks like a dragon or dinosaur blowing out smoke.
Apparently the resemblance is so significant that American author Paul Theroux also mentioned it in his book The Kingdom by the Sea.
“England, of course, resembles a pig, with something on its back. Look at it. It is a hurrying pig; its snout is the south-west in Wales, and its reaching trotters are Cornwall, and its rump is East Anglia. The whole of Britain looks like a witch riding on a pig, and these contours – rump and snout and bonnet, and the scowling face of Western Scotland – were my route.”
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4. South Africa
South Africa’s shape is often compared to that of a rhino’s head. Coincidently, South Africa is also one of the few places on Earth where these endangered animals still thrive.
And what’s even more coincidental is that the rhino that takes the form of the country has two horns. The species of rhinos found in Africa are also known to have two horns.
If this doesn’t make this one of the most iconic country shapes, I don’t know what will.
5. Senegal
Another one of the countries that look like animals is Senegal. It looks like a talking animal face to be precise.
The shape of the country creates the exact shape of that of a face with a pointed nose sticking out followed by a mouth like shape that The Gambia clearly defines.
6. Sweden and Norway
The borders of Sweden and Norway share a long mountainous border of the Scandinavian Mountains. Both the countries are considerably long followed by a small bulge at the bottom.
When seen together both countries form the shape of a penis. No, I am not joking. Have a look at this user on Reddit who can’t stop thinking about these two weirdly shaped countries.
7. Cuba
Another one on the list of strange looking countries is Cuba. The largest island in the Caribbean is often described as resembling a crocodile. Its long, slightly curved shape has led many to think of it as a swimming crocodile.
What’s interesting is that the crocodile has a significant importance in Cuba as a national and political identity.
Other claims have also pointed out that Cuba looks like a swimmer’s hand coming out of the pool to take another stroke. What do you think?
8. Chile
Chile is one of the weirdly shaped countries that stretches vertically along the western coast of South America for thousands of kilometers. It is incredibly narrow, with an average width of just 177 kilometers.
Now comes the fun part. The long and thin shape it creates makes it look like a, you guessed it, chilly!
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9. Italy
You cannot wonder what country has an unusual shape, without thinking about Italy.
Italy’s iconic shape is world-renowned. But have you noticed that it’s one of the countries that look like things? If you look closely, the country looks like a boot, kicking a nearby island (Sicily).
This strange shape has even become part of Italy’s identity and is frequently referenced in cultural and tourism material.
Fun fact: Italy also boasts one of the creepiest places on Google Earth.
10. Croatia
Croatia’s shape is often compared to a crescent moon, a boomerang or even a croissant due to its long, curving almost U-shaped borders.
The country is so long that it stretches across the coast, almost stealing some of the coastline from its neighboring country, Bosnia and Herzegovina. This is also a result of centuries of political changes and disputes with neighboring countries.
Here are some of the other weirdly shaped countries that look like things or animals:
- Kazakhstan looks like a turtle.
- The country of Niger in West Africa resembles a turkey or a chicken leg
- There are a few round and oval shaped countries in the world but the roundest country is Sierra Leone.
- Australia is a massive island that looks like a giant box sitting alone in the Pacific Ocean
The World Is Weird Indeed
The world is full of fascinating surprises and these weirdest shaped countries just prove that. Whether it’s Italy resembling a boot or Finland that takes the shape of a rabbit– these countries that look like things are here to capture our imagination with their peculiar borders.
These distinct borders aren’t just a coincidence but the result of centuries of history, geography, and politics coming together. Whether it’s animals, objects, or just odd outlines, these unique shapes add a quirky charm to the global landscape, making the study of geography even more intriguing.