"The Slash": Canada closes border to U.S citizens once again

The U.S​. and Canada border is the world's longest, stretching 5,525 miles from Maine to Alaska.

In 1925, what was to be a temporary mission became permanent, to make sure that a person from either country who wanders close to the border can see and recognize the border. Each year American taxpayers pay about one-half cent to the International Boundary Commission to maintain the border.

As a result of the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States, Canada promptly shut the border without warning, and people were restricted from crossing. In 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the governments from Canada and the United States agreed to close the border for 30 days, but the closure has been extended until October 21, 2020.

This border, also known as “the Slash,” has a treeless zone 20 feet wide. The Slash is so remote that it barely receives any visitors—aside from bears. To maintain the Slash, it takes countless hours of labor to keep the border treeless.

“It all started in the 1800s when the US-Canada border line was set at the 49th parallel,” wrote Lew Blank. “The Slash was cut and over 8,000 original border markers were laid down, most of which are still standing along the Slash to this day.”