book with the thought that it is of general interest and is readily available to the Geological Survey.
HOW BOUNDARIES ARE ESTABLISHED AND CHANGEDBoundaries between countries are established by treaties made by the sovereign powers concerned (Brigham, 1919, p. 201-219).A boundary between two States of the United States may be changed by agreement of the State legislatures, but this agreement must be approved by Congress. The U.S. Congress cannot change a State boundary without the consent of the State, nor can two States by mutual agreement change their common boundary without the consent of Congress. The consent of Congress to a change in a boundary need not be granted by a special act but may be inferred from subsequent legislation.3 Several times Congress has given its consent in advance for adjoining States to fix an indefinite water boundary between them.4 A boundary between a State and a Territory was fixed by joint action of Congress and the State. Boundaries between Territories were fixed by congressional action alone. Disputes between States regarding boundaries must be settled by the U.S. Supreme Court, whose decisions are final. (148 U.S. 503. For reference to the procedure for submitting boundary disputes to the U.S.
The first Geological Survey record setting forth the history of the boundaries of the United States and the several States and Territories was prepared by Henry Gannett, assisted by Franklin G. Butterfield, and was published as Bulletin 13 of the Geological Survey in 1885. The second edition, revised and enlarged by Henry Gannett, was published as Bulletin 171 in 1900. The third edition, also revised by Gannett, was published as Bulletin 226 in 1904. A revision and enlargement of Bulletin 226, which included additional matter incidentally connected with boundaries, was -prepared by Edward M. Douglas and issued in 1923 as Bulletin 689. It was again revised by Douglas in 1930 as Bulletin 817.The present bulletin, prepared in 1964, is a revision of the 1932 edition of Bulletin 817. The revisions include clarification and modification of descriptions of certain boundaries, some of which are based on court decisions or international agreements; they also include more accurate figures for certain statistical data and numerous minor additions and deletions as appropriate.
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