Boundaries, State

A boundary between a State and a territory is fixed by joint action of Congress and the State. Boundaries between territories are fixed by congressional action alone. Disputes between States regarding boundaries must be settled by the United States Supreme Court, whose decisions are final. It is a well-established principle, recognized by the courts and by Congress, that a State or national boundary line as marked on the ground and accepted by the parties interested is the legal boundary for all purposes whether or not it is the place designated by statute. Nearly all boundaries of States west of the Mississippi, as well as those of many central and southern States, were surveyed under the direction of the General Land Office. Notes of all such surveys, and plats for most of them, are now on file in the Bureau of Land Management, Dept of Interior, or in the Cartographic Records Div., National Archives and Records Service, Washington, D.C.