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, though the location of administrative borders can also take into account other considerations such as economic ties or topography.

Country-level salients

Africa

Asia

Europe

South America

North America

Subnational salients

The following locations are salients in First-level administrative subdivisions of nations.

Africa

South America

North and Central America

Asia

Europe

Oceania