 Broadway Bridge
On 2 Apr 2007 13:38:23 -0700, "Peter T. Daniels"
<grammatim@> wrote:
> Depends on how the boundaries are defined. In the very early 1800's
>> there were some cases brought in the Supreme Court of the United
>> States over property rights and local boundaries when river courses
>> shifted, and it was held that the definitions of the boundaries
>> ("center line of the river" versus surveyed coordinates) were the
>> governing factors.
>
>That, obviously, got superseded at some point, since there are quite a
>few examples of shifting rivers where the affected polities didn't
>change jurisdiction.
Please read my statement again, Peter. The boundaries depend on how
they are defined. If the definition is relative to natural formations
such as the shores or center of the river without any qualifiers, the
boundaries shift as the river shifts. If it refers to lines from
point A to point B to point C or to a natural boundary as it exists at
a specific point in time (lines of survey is the term of art), the
boundaries do not shift. The precedent case concerned an island that
was in one state until the river shifted and then it was in the
neighboring state because the boundaries were defined in terms of the
center of the river.
--
"Stand Clear of the Closing Doors, Please"
Phil Kane - Beaverton, OR
PNW Milepost 755 - Tillamook District
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