Which Countries in the Western Hemisphere are Landlocked?

[DonRocks]

This is a great question that I just happened to think of, and despite my pride in knowing geography, cartography, and national capitals, I was wrong. Keep reading, and if you understand the answer, you will have learned a great deal in a very short amount of time.

I was talking with the lady cutting my hair yesterday, who happened to be from one of these countries. I said, "It's landlocked, isn't it?" She said yes, somewhat impressed.

This evening, I looked at a map of South America, and slam-dunked the countries in the Western Hemisphere that were landlocked.

That is, until I checked my answer, which was only partially correct.

Can you name the countries? This is by no means a trick question involving things such as "islands" (which wouldn't be landlocked anyway) or anything "weird" such as that. It's a straightforward question that is damnably difficult to guess.

Take a moment to think, and then I'll give you a series of progressive hints, starting with this one, which you'll need to run your cursor over in order to see:

Think of the gigantic oil company, BP (British Petroleum). Use the letters "B" and "P" as the first letters of the countries in South America.

Okay, you have the first letters - do you have the countries? Obviously, you can rule out North America (with Canada, the United States, and Mexico), and I'll just flat-out tell you that there isn't a single country in Central America that's landlocked. So, that leaves the two in South America. If you haven't gotten them yet, I'll give you another hint here:

The capitals of these countries are Sucre and Ascunsií³n.

So, by this time, you've probably gotten them, although that second capital isn't all that easy, so go ahead and Google it, and then the first hint will become clear.

That's it, right? And you'll remember this for the rest of your life.

At least, that's what *I* thought when I made my guess, and I was so proud of myself for getting it right, even though I only got it half-right.

Ponder this for a few minutes, and then look at my next clue:

The "Western Hemisphere" is defined as anything west of 0-degrees longitude, i.e., the Prime Meridian, which runs through Greenwich, England. It's an entirely arbitrary, geologically meaningless point that was only established because England was such an enormous political power when all this was sorted out. 

Things just got a little bit tougher, but the fact that I was "half-right" is also a clue. Now, you have to *really* put your thinking caps on. Go ahead and take a moment, and then I'll give you my penultimate clue, which won't give it away, but it will put you right on top of everything:

The two remaining countries are in Africa!

Yeah, right? I was as shocked as you are. Think for a few minutes about where things are, and then I'll give you my final clue, which still won't give you the answer, but Google will allow you to finish:

One of the countries has a capital which hosts the largest film festival in Africa, and the other has a famous, almost-mythical city which has had temperatures over 130 degrees Fahrenheit.

Okay, that's it! Now, all I ask, in return for me presenting you the question and the answer, is to *always remember* what the answer is. You have just taken a giant leap in knowledge. And here's one final trick to help you remember the answer:

Get a picture in your mind of a BP (British Petroleum) employee going to the bathroom (BM). BP-BM: Bolivia, Paraguay, Burkina Faso, Mali. Both of the African countries straddle the Prime Meridian, but both of their capitals lie in the Western Hemisphere, so you can decide for yourselves if you wish to include them.

[The Hersch]

A definition of "Western Hemisphere" that includes the great majority of the U.K., all of Ireland, a good bit of France, almost all of Spain, and absolutely all of Portugal does not enjoy wide popular currency, at least not in the English-speaking world.

[DonRocks]

A definition of "Western Hemisphere" that includes the great majority of the U.K., all of Ireland, a good bit of France, almost all of Spain, and absolutely all of Portugal does not enjoy wide popular currency, at least not in the English-speaking world.

Nevertheless, it is the definition - it is the *only* definition.

Gee, and here I thought I was going to get a back-slap along with a, "Great question, Don!"

[The Hersch]

Nevertheless, it is the definition - it is the *only* definition.

Gee, and here I thought I was going to get a back-slap along with a, "Great question, Don!"

Great question, Don!

It is not, however, the "only" definition when most of the people who use the term don't use it that way. The OED defines "Western Hemisphere" thus:

n. the half of the earth, divided longitudinally, which contains the Americas; spec. the half of the earth that is west of the prime meridian.

That is, generally, the Western Hemisphere is the part that includes the Americas. More specifically, for folks like you, it can mean the half west of the prime meridian to 180 degrees longitude. The fact that virtually nobody uses the term that way says something about the definition, not about the people speaking their native language. If you have access to the OED, you can see that there's no citation for the more specific meaning before 2004.

The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines Western Hemisphere thus (and only thus):

the half of the earth comprising North and South America and surrounding waters

which I'd wager good money is the way at least 95% of English-speakers use the term.

[DonRocks]

Great question, Don!

Would you shut up and stop being condescending?

I'm right and you know it!

BTW, how's life in West End?

And best of luck getting your GPS system to work in Mali or Burkina Faso. Likewise the westernmost Aleutian Islands, which are, of course, west, West, WEST, WEST, WEST! ... even though they aren't.

[johnb]

While it is true that both Bolivia and Paraguay are "landlocked" when viewed from above looking at a map (i.e. neither has an ocean shore), neither is truly landlocked in that they both have ports, and in the case of Paraguay are served by ocean-going vessels.  Paraguay has important ports at Encarnacií³n on the Paraní¡ River and Viletta (near Ascuncií³n) on the Paraguay River, both of which are reached regularly by small ocean-going vessels.  Bolivia has free port privileges at several ports in Peru and Chile on the Pacific and Brazil on the Atlantic; it has river ports in the Paraguay Basin and Amazon Basin serving vessels trading with neighboring nations that, with engineering works, could possibly reach salt water, although it is not likely such works could ever pay for themselves.  Currently, the furthest port up the Amazon reachable by ocean-going vessels from the Atlantic is Iquitos, Peru, 2,300 miles upriver from the mouth of the Amazon, making it the furthest distance from salt water of any port in the world serving ocean vessels; Iquitos also has the distinction of being the largest city in the world not reachable by road.

[DonRocks]

I want to congratulate you two for taking an interesting trivia question, and turning it into the single most-boring thread this website has ever had.

[johnb]

I want to congratulate you two for taking an interesting trivia question, and turning it into the single most-boring thread this website has ever had.

You started it. And anyway the part about Iquitos is probably the most interesting thing posted here in years. So there.

[DonRocks]

You started it.  And anyway the part about Iquitos is probably the most interesting thing posted here in years.  So there.  

No, I'm only kidding both of you - the part about Iquitos *is* interesting, and Herschel's point about usage is exactly what makes this question so challenging. But I also think it's important to keep in mind that when you see longitudinal coordinates, they *are* based on the Prime Meridian - that might not be fair, but that's the way it is. Why is the Prime Meridian in Greenwich? Because that's where the Royal Observatory is (Greenwich is a district in London).

Using Herschel's definition, no countries on this side of the Atlantic are without port - that's pretty amazing.

I would think that both Mali and Burkina Faso are both very poor, regardless of which hemisphere they're in, but Bamako was estimated to be the fastest-growing city in Africa in 2006, and the sixth-fastest growing city in the world - that's pretty interesting considering most people probably haven't even heard of it.