This is true? - Geographic oddities that defy conventional wisdom

[kalvado]

I believe the actual southernmost point is in American Samoa (which I think is the only part of the US south of the equator, but I don't know the locations of all the guano islands).

If you're going to count territories, how about Amundsen-Scott Station?

I don't think that would count. US reserves right to claim Antarctic territories, but no such claim is actually made. I suspect station would be considered similar to ships - homeland laws are applied to people and property, but not territory. 

[kphoger]

[kkt]

I believe the actual southernmost point is in American Samoa (which I think is the only part of the US south of the equator, but I don't know the locations of all the guano islands).

If you're going to count territories, how about Amundsen-Scott Station?

I don't think that would count. US reserves right to claim Antarctic territories, but no such claim is actually made. I suspect station would be considered similar to ships - homeland laws are applied to people and property, but not territory. 

So if one of the researchers wallops another researcher over the head in a rage and kills them, under what laws is the attacker prosecuted?

[kalvado]

I believe the actual southernmost point is in American Samoa (which I think is the only part of the US south of the equator, but I don't know the locations of all the guano islands).

If you're going to count territories, how about Amundsen-Scott Station?

I don't think that would count. US reserves right to claim Antarctic territories, but no such claim is actually made. I suspect station would be considered similar to ships - homeland laws are applied to people and property, but not territory. 

So if one of the researchers wallops another researcher over the head in a rage and kills them, under what laws is the attacker prosecuted?

That is a messy question, actually. As far as I understand, if two US researchers are involved and that happened on US base, US laws should work and FBI would handle the case.
If US researcher hits Norwegian guy on Russian station in Australian claim zone.....  Most likely flag jurisdiction would apply - law of the country which operates the station. Same thing works on ships, for example. And most likely in case of Russian Vostok station,  Australia would make an effort to set precedent of enforcing their laws within the claim zone.
And  I have hard time thinking about Panama dealing  with a crime on Carnival cruise ship operating Miami-Bahamas with several US citizens involved - FBI would be the first in lline: https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/news/testimony/crimes-against-americans-on-cruise-ships 

[sparker]

Boise has a larger city population than Salt Lake City (216,282 vs. 191,180).

Not surprising; most of the growth in the SLC area has occurred in the various suburbs arrayed, for the most part, along I-15 to the north and south of the central city and which are mostly incorporated cities in their own right.  The fact that SLC is more or less hemmed in by its own suburbs in the most readily developed areas keeps the expansion of the central city in check.  Boise, on the other hand, "anchors" the east side of the "Treasure Valley" extended metro area and has had room to expand its own city limits without encroaching on other chartered jurisdictions, so it is more free to expand to accommodate an enlarged population.  The other cities in the region featuring sizeable populations (Nampa, Caldwell, etc.) are several miles to the west; the only significant city adjacent to Boise, Meridian, does occupy a space close to the west side of Boise -- but the capital city still has room to expand south and east -- and even a bit north into the foothills.  IIRC, projections show incorporated Boise exceeding 300K population by 2025. 

[Rothman]

SLC has also experienced an economic hollowing of its downtown area and areas south of downtown.  The Mormons tried to come to the rescue by building a mall near Temple Square a few years back.  Not sure if the mall has been successful or is still being propped up.

For as long as I've been alive, LDS Church leaders have spoken romantically of the Salt Lake Valley -- things like, "...and on that wonderful 24th day in July 1847, the pioneers entered this beautiful, fertile valley."  I think the idea of the valley being beautiful has caused a lot of people to simply not recognize the sprawl and how ugly the valley has become (my father also jokes now whenever someone refers to Point of the Mountain that there really isn't a point anymore now that it's been dug out).  Throw in the inversions and horrific air quality which pediatricians are now saying is so bad that people should really consider it in their decisions to have children (http://archive.sltrib.com/story.php?ref=/sltrib/news/55825755-78/pollution-utah-birth-studies.html.csp). 

Anyway, all I'm saying is that the population growth in Utah does equal sprawl and Utah is now living with the consequences of waiting to consider urban planning until after the fact, no matter how rosy their rosy-colored glasses are.

[bing101]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalawao_County,_Hawaii

The smallest populated county in the United states is Kalawao County, Hawaii and has only 89 people.

[kphoger]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalawao_County,_Hawaii

The smallest populated county in the United states is Kalawao County, Hawaii and has only 89 people.

What point of conventional wisdom does that defy?

[kalvado]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalawao_County,_Hawaii

The smallest populated county in the United states is Kalawao County, Hawaii and has only 89 people.

What point of conventional wisdom does that defy?

Maybe this should tell us that leprosy is very treatable today, so isolating those infected (that is 20-40 people annually in US) at the most distant point is a thing of a past? And that county is just a former leprosy settlement. Not geographical common wisdom, but probably average person doesn't think about leprosy at all these days

[wxfree]

Buzzfeed has a list of some pretty good ones.  The one that most impressed me is the first one.  The closest U.S. state to Africa is ... Maine.  Florida is more than 900 miles further away.
https://www.buzzfeed.com/terripous/mind-blowing-geography-facts-thatll-change-how-you-think

[freebrickproductions]

The closest U.S. state to Africa is ... Maine.  Florida is more than 900 miles further away.

That actually makes sense when you think about it for a bit, mostly due to the curvature of the earth.

[english si]

Or the eastward direction of the east coast and that Africa gets as far north as North Carolina.

[CNGL-Leudimin]

The closest U.S. state to Africa is ... Maine.  Florida is more than 900 miles further away.

I already somehow pointed that out (The Canary Islands are off the African coast):

What is mind-blogging, is that Hamlin ME is also the closest point of the US to the Canary Islands, despite them being located across the ocean from Florida.

[Rothman]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalawao_County,_Hawaii

The smallest populated county in the United states is Kalawao County, Hawaii and has only 89 people.

What point of conventional wisdom does that defy?

Used to be Loving County, TX, but the drilling boom raised its population a tad.

[bing101]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradise,_Nevada


Paradise, NV its officially in Clark County, NV Jurisdiction but is usually mistaken as a Las Vegas city district but not even in Las Vegas city territory.

It's land area is approximately the same size as San Francisco and has 200k people.


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=naDCCW5TSpU

[bing101]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._municipalities_in_multiple_counties

Wow This defies logic for me that in many states in the United states some cities are allowed to be in multiple counties not just New York or Atlanta though.

[7/8]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._municipalities_in_multiple_counties

Wow This defies logic for me that in many states in the United states some cities are allowed to be in multiple counties not just New York or Atlanta though.

And then there's Lloydminster, which is a single city in both Alberta and Saskatchewan (pretty cool).

[SP Cook]

Wow This defies logic for me that in many states in the United states some cities are allowed to be in multiple counties.

In WV it can cause some issues, as both courts/serious law enforcement and schools are operated on a county basis. 

Three of the places listed are actual cities, at least by WV standards.  Two are the county seats of one county (Wheeling for Ohio and Huntington for Cabell) and 95% or more of the population is in that one county, but the cops have to go to a much smaller town to deal with cases in the small part of the same town.  In Huntington that is the town of Wayne, which is a good half hour over bad roads.  In Wheeling the county only has on HS, which is, of course, in Wheeling, but the kids in the tiny part that is in Marshall have to bus much more than a half-hour to that county's HS.

The other case is Weirton, which is in the opposite situation, split down the middle and the county seat of neither.  Both counties have their county seats in what can only be described as wide spots in the road, north and south of Weirton.  This also places a burden on the cops and on the lawyers.

[CNGL-Leudimin]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._municipalities_in_multiple_counties

Wow This defies logic for me that in many states in the United states some cities are allowed to be in multiple counties not just New York or Atlanta though.

Leudimin's note: changed link to that of desktop version

In a similar vein there are four comarcas in my region of Aragon that cross provincial borders. All four have their seats in Huesca province and have municipalities in Zaragoza province. The most notable case is that of Murillo and Santa Eulalia de Gallego, both de iure in Zaragoza province, but just for juridic purposes, as they have the phone prefix ("area code") of Huesca, postcodes ("ZIP codes") of Huesca, and they are in a comarca that its seat is Huesca itself, thus making them de facto part of Huesca province.

[Roadgeekteen]

LA-Singapore was once the second longest flight behind NYC-Singapore, but there is LA-Sydney and NYC-Sydney is impossible. Source: an airfan.

[Max Rockatansky]

Currently I'm over 3,500 miles by car from the two points I was at today in Port Gamble opposed to last Friday in Key West.

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Monroe+County+Courthouse,+Fleming+Street,+Key+West,+FL/Port+Gamble,+WA+98370/@34.8272064,-119.5383824,4z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m13!4m12!1m5!1m1!1s0x88d1b6e93d0c7b9d:0x69a9634212abe51b!2m2!1d-81.8047379!2d24.5545248!1m5!1m1!1s0x54901e4fc1e5086d:0xee742e351034e6dd!2m2!1d-122.5837581!2d47.8542606?hl=en

Which ironically puts me north of Ottawa today and south of several Mexican States on Friday.

[empirestate]

LA-Singapore was once the second longest flight behind NYC-Singapore, but there is LA-Sydney and NYC-Sydney is impossible. Source: an airfan.

That actually seems to fit quite well with conventional wisdom.

[Roadgeekteen]

LA-Singapore was once the second longest flight behind NYC-Singapore, but there is LA-Sydney and NYC-Sydney is impossible. Source: an airfan.

That actually seems to fit quite well with conventional wisdom.

Maybe I just don't get geography.

[hbelkins]

In WV it can cause some issues, as both courts/serious law enforcement and schools are operated on a county basis. 

Three of the places listed are actual cities, at least by WV standards.  Two are the county seats of one county (Wheeling for Ohio and Huntington for Cabell) and 95% or more of the population is in that one county, but the cops have to go to a much smaller town to deal with cases in the small part of the same town.  In Huntington that is the town of Wayne, which is a good half hour over bad roads.  In Wheeling the county only has on HS, which is, of course, in Wheeling, but the kids in the tiny part that is in Marshall have to bus much more than a half-hour to that county's HS.

Wayne County's whole existence puzzles me. It's not very wide, and could easily be swallowed up by Cabell, Lincoln and possibly Mingo counties, although Mingo seems to be a bit unwieldy and probably too large geographically.

I've always thought a number of West Virginia's counties were either too big or not well thought out in relation to towns.

[kkt]

LA-Singapore was once the second longest flight behind NYC-Singapore, but there is LA-Sydney and NYC-Sydney is impossible. Source: an airfan.

NYC to Sydney is 16,032 km (Source airmilescalculator.com)

The longest range airliner is the Boeing 777-200LR, with a range of 17,395km (Source: http://www.aerospace-technology.com/features/feature-the-longest-range-airliners-in-the-world/), so it could make the flight BUT not with the required safety margin.