El Chamizal

I ran across this neat map of El Chamizal, an uncertainty in the bed of the Rio Grande at El Paso/ Juarez. When the river shifted, it made a sort of island with no real jurisdiction and moved a few hundred acres from Mexico to Texas. The problem was big enough to require a treaty and brought JFK to town.

http://strangemaps.wordpress.com/2008/03/06/252-a-river-runs-through-it-the-cham\
izal-dispute-1895-1963/

My thoughts are echoed by the first comment: how can half a square
mile of land lead to a concrete channel, dislocation of families, and
a treaty? It the Rio Grande had water, it wouldn't endure such an insult.


FYI, this is a great blog: they publish some neat weird and alternate
history maps, among other things.