A salient, panhandle, or bootheel is an elongated protrusion of a geopolitical entity, such as a subnational entity or a sovereign state.
While similar to a peninsula in shape, a salient is most often not surrounded by water on three sides. Instead, it has a land border on at least two sides and extends from the larger geographical body of the administrative unit.
In American English, the term panhandle is often used to describe a relatively long and narrow salient, such as the westernmost extensions of Florida and Oklahoma, or the northernmost portion of Idaho. Another term is bootheel, used for the Missouri Bootheel and New Mexico Bootheel areas.
Origin The term salient is derived from military salients. The term "panhandle" derives from the analogous part of a cooking pan, and its use is generally confined to North America.
The salient shape can be the result of arbitrarily drawn international or subnational boundaries, which serve to separate culturally unified peoples. These occurred, for instance, during European colonialisation when colonial powers competed for Africa and the Western Hemisphere, after which post-colonial borders became based on colonial divisions. In many cases these salients correspond to routes of expansion or bases for such expansion, as in Namibia and Mozambique. Other modern salients originally served to provide barriers against other colonial powers, as with Britain against Tsarist Russia in Central Asia.
Salients may also arise when a national government shifts territory between subnational entities for internal political reasons, as with West Virginia's eastern panhandle during the Civil War. This also occurred with peripheral Tibetan-inhabited regions in Maoist China, which were split between provinces and from the Tibet Autonomous Region.
The location of administrative borders can also take into account other considerations such as economic ties, strategic needs, history or topography. Even in these situations, however, salients frequently fail to follow clear and logical criteria, as seen with the partition of India and the resultant northeastern salient. Upon partition numerous majority-Muslim areas remained within Hindu India, and some non-Muslim-majority areas within the exclave of East Pakistan.
Country-level salients Africa
Salient Country Cibitoke Province Far North Region Congo Pedicle Kongo Central Southern Red Sea Region Gambela Region Somali Region Nimba County Nsanje District Kayes Region Azawad Tete Province Caprivi Strip Casamance Somaliland Kalahari Gemsbok National Park Upper Nile Blue Nile Wadi Halfa Salient Kagera Region Cinkassé Prefecture
Asia
Salient Country Wakhan Corridor Chittagong Rangpur Sylhet Western Belait District Parrot's Beak Northeast China Yadong County (Tibet Autonomous Region) West Timor Jerusalem corridor Galilee panhandle Mafraq Governorate Mangystau Region Batken Phongsaly Province Houaphanh province Tfail Salient Myanmar Panhandle (Kayin State, Mon State and Tanintharyi Region) Puta-O District Maungdaw District Mong Yawng Township Rason,North Hamgyŏng, South Hamgyŏng and Ryanggang Primorsky Krai Sol-Iletsky District Sughd Southern Thailand Aralık, Iğdır Province Hatay Province Tashkent Region Fergana and Andijan Regions Namangan Tashkent City Jizzakh Region Sirdaryo Region Surxondaryo Region Nghệ An Province
Europe
Salient Country Syunik Tyrol and Vorarlberg West Flanders Tamashowka Neum Vidin Province Dalmatia Ilok Louroujina Salient Aš administrative district Šluknov Hook Laatre, Viljandi County Enontekiö Ain (around the border of Switzerland) Charleville-Mézières Berchtesgadener Land Kakheti Sagiada Western Thrace Felsőszölnök Sopron County Donegal County Monaghan Province of Trieste Ricciolo d'Italia Dragash Dieveniškės appendix Castelré, North Brabant Limburg Pasvikdalen valley Gmina Bogatynia Gmina Lutowiska Kłodzko County Melgaço and north of Monção and Arcos de Valdevez (Viana do Castelo District) Tourém in north of Montalegre (Vila Real District) Miranda do Douro, Mogadouro and Vimioso (Bragança District) Moura and eastern Barrancos (Beja District) and Mourão (Évora District) Alexandrovo-Gaysky District Bryansk Oblast Southern Russia Bor District Jamena Slovene Istria Prekmurje Galicia Canton of Geneva Canton of Schaffhausen Bernina, Inn, Lugano, Mendrisio and Porrentruy Districts Budjak County Fermanagh
South America
Salient Country Misiones Leticia Trapeze Southeast Guainía Department(La Guadalupe/San Felipe) Yavaraté, Vaupés Department Tumbes Region Amazonas
North America
Salient Country Southeast Alaska New England South Texas Southern Ontario (particularly Ontario Peninsula) Tatshenshini-Alsek Park, British Columbia Madawaska County, New Brunswick Petén Department
Subnational salients The following locations are salients in first-level administrative subdivisions of nations.
Africa
Salient Country Tafraoui and Oran Province Southwestern Saïda Province Northeastern Bié Province Western Mono Department Eastern Kgalagadi District Balé Province and Boucle du Mouhoun Region Kouritenga Province, Centre-Est Region Northwest Bujumbura Rural Province Northern Muyinga Province Kimongo District, Niari Department Northwestern Wele-Nzas Province Sitti Zone, Somali Region Haut-Komo Department, Woleu-Ntem Province Upper Denkyira West District, Central Region Télimélé Prefecture, Kindia Region Northeast Mamou Prefecture, Mamou Region Western Isiolo County Eastern Al Wahat District Southern Mzimba District, Northern Region Eastern Dakhlet Nouadhibou Region Boumdeid Department, Assaba Region Southeastern Tete Province Gossas Department, Fatick Region Southern Uvinza District, Kigoma Region Babati, Hanang, Mbulu Districts, Manyara Region Gokwe North and Gokwe South Districts, Midlands Province
South America
Salient Country Southern Buenos Aires Province Luis Calvo, Chuquisaca Department Sud Cinti, Chuquisaca Department Whale Coast, Bahia Alto Parnaíba, Balsas, and Tasso Fragoso, southernmost Maranhão Bico do Papagaio, Tocantins Northern Mato Grosso Ponta do Abunã in northwest Rondônia Triângulo Mineiro, Minas Gerais Arauco Province, Bío Bío Region San Antonio Province, Valparaíso Region Urabá region, Antioquia Department Unguía and Acandí in northernmost Chocó Department Santander Department northern tip Santa Rosa and Piamonte in southeastern Cauca Department Cotacachi Canton, Imbabura Province Western Cumandá Canton Eastern Tena Canton, Napo Province Balzar and El Empalme Cantons, Guayas Province Northern East Berbice-Corentyne Caravelí Province, Arequipa Region Northern Tapanahony, Sipaliwini District Páez, Apure Western Andrés Eloy Blanco Municipality, Barinas Arismendi Municipality, BarinasGuajira Municipality, Zulia
North and Central America Salient Country Toronto (East York, Etobicoke, Old Toronto, York) Northwestern British Columbia Middle Côte-Nord, Quebec Labrador West, Newfoundland and Labrador Western Puntarenas Province Guamá, Santiago de Cuba Province Southern Hato Mayor Province Southern Samaná Province Southern San Miguel Department Norte, Jalisco Eastern TabascoWestern Tamaulipas Southeastern Zacatecas Southern Zacatecas Chiriquí Grande District, Bocas del Toro Province Southern Chimán District, Panamá Province Mariato District, Veraguas Province Southeast Alaska Connecticut Panhandle Florida Panhandle Idaho Panhandle Western Maryland Nebraska Panhandle Oklahoma Panhandle Texas Panhandle Eastern West Virginia Missouri Bootheel Northern West Virginia New Mexico Bootheel Trans-Pecos
Asia
Salient Country Wakhan District, Badakhshan Province Nawa District, Ghazni Province Chishti Sharif District, Herat Province Eastern Sarpang District Tianchang, Anhui Maqu County, Gansu Fan County and Taiqian County, Henan Pingliang and Qingyang, Gansu Daxing'anling Prefecture, Heilongjiang Zhaotong, Yunnan Koraput and Malkangiri districts, Odisha Pathankot district, Punjab Kota division, Rajasthan Southern Jhansi division, Uttar Pradesh Wonogiri Regency, Central Java Pacitan Regency, East Java Mahakam Ulu Regency, East Kalimantan South Jakarta, Jakarta Special Capital Region, and Depok, West Java Tabalong Regency, South Kalimantan East Luwu Regency, South Sulawesi Ogan Komering Ilir Regency, South Sumatra Pasaman Regency, West Sumatra Semirom County, Isfahan Province Southwest Razavi Khorasan Province Southern Yazd Province Fukushima Prefecture salient, Kitakata, Fukushima Noda, Chiba Nose, Osaka Ōra District, Gunma (Wakasa), Fukui Wadi Araba Department, Aqaba Governorate Russeifa Department, Zarqa Governorate Southwest Panfilov District, Chuy Region Chong-Alay District, Osh Region Nabatieh District, Nabatieh Governorate Bandar Baharu District, Kedah, Northeast of Kuantan District, Eastern Pahang South of Kemaman District, TerengganuGangaw Township, Magway Region Thabeikkyin District, Mandalay Region Eastern Achham District, Far-Western Region Western Surkhet District, Mid-Western Region Bannu, Karak, and Kohat Divisions, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Tiwi, Albay Northernmost portion of barangay San Isidro, Cainta, Rizal Northwestern Cagayan Libis/Reparo, Santa Quiteria and Talipapa of southern Caloocan Carmona, Cavite Northeastern Ilocos Sur (roughly corresponding to its 1st district), Barangays Casile and Pittland, Cabuyao, Laguna Santa Maria, Laguna Las Piñas (Almanza Dos) Eastern Maguindanao del Sur, Philippines (municipalities east of Sultan sa Barongis) Carranglan, Nueva Ecija Alfonso Castañeda, southern Dupax del Norte and Dupax del Sur, Nueva Vizcaya Eastern Sultan Kudarat (roughly corresponding to its 1st district, excluding Isulan) San Manuel, TarlacZakamensky, Tunkinsky and Okinsky Districts, BuryatiaKatangsky District, Irkutsk OblastKirensky, Mamsko-Chuysky and Bodaybinsky Districts, Irkutsk Oblast Bikinsky District, Khabarovsk Krai Trincomalee District, Eastern Province Al-Suqaylabiyah District, Hama Governorate Chenggong and Changbin townships, Taitung County Darvoz District, Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region Kim Sơn District, Ninh Bình Province VietnamNghi Xuân District, Hà Tĩnh Province Western Dhamar Governorate
Europe
Salient Country Southern Gmunden, Upper Austria Pancharevo, Sofia City Province Kuhmoinen, Pirkanmaa Parikkala, South Karelia Pudasjärvi-Taivalkoski-Kuusamo, North Ostrobothnia Ruokolahti, South Karelia Varkaus, Pohjois-Savo Gironde, (panhandle is around the Gironde estuary) Drôme (Montfroc) Hauts-de-Seine Meurthe-et-Moselle Manche Lower Franconia, Bavaria Amt Neuhaus, District of Lüneburg, Lower Saxony Osnabrück District and City, Lower Saxony Altenburger Land, Thuringia Southeastern Mureș County Southeastern Győr-Moson-Sopron County Northern Pest County Clonlisk, County Offaly Tullyhaw, County Cavan Province of Rieti, Lazio Raseiniai District Municipality, Kaunas County Rivierenland, Gelderland Steenwijkerland, Overijssel Viken Wschowa County, Lubusz Voivodeship Mourão, Évora District Mozdoksky District, North Ossetia–AlaniaPriyutnensky, Yashaltinsky, and Gorodovikovsky Districts, KalmykiaWestern Chelyabinsk OblastOparinsky, Podosinovsky, and Luzsky Districts, Kirov Oblast Vorkuta District, Komi Republic Negueira de Muñiz, Galicia (Spain) Aranjuez, Madrid (Spain) A Mezquita, Galicia Diessenhofen, Schlatt bei Diessenhofen, and Basadingen-Schlattingen, Frauenfeld District, Thurgau Monthey District, Valais Buckfastleigh, Teignbridge Ceiriog Valley, Wrexham County Borough, Wales Maelor Saesneg, Wrexham County Borough, Wales Western New Forest District, Hampshire Newmarket, Suffolk North Cornwall, Cornwall Stamford, Lincolnshire South Staffordshire, Staffordshire The area around Tring, Hertfordshire, which is itself bounded on one side by a salient of Buckinghamshire in the area around Pitstone, Ivinghoe and Dagnall Ljig, Kolubara District Ljubovija, Mačva District Bosnian-Podrinje Canton Goražde, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Petrovo, Republika Srpska Ravno, Herzegovina-Neretva Canton
Oceania