Disconnected states

[Alps]

In Hawaii, are some of the islands far enough apart from the others that you would have to pass through international waters?  I don't know if this happens with Alaska or California either.

[florida]

What about Carter Lake, IA?

[usends]

Based on the OP's definition, Carter Lake wouldn't count, since you could theoretically take a boat or helo across the Missouri River and "stay in Iowa".

That's correct.  Let's think of it this way: the Des Moines River runs from Iowa's northern border to its south, dividing the state into roughly two halves.  To drive from one half to the other, you'd have to go over a bridge somewhere.  So could we then argue that Iowa has two parts that are "disconnected"?  Of course not... but the situation with Carter Lake is really no different.  Yes, the Missouri River separates Carter Lake from Council Bluffs, but there is no other state between the two.  Perhaps clouding the issue is the interesting fact that there is no bridge that goes directly between Carter Lake and Council Bluffs without passing through Nebraska... but as Froggie said, if you wanted to swim, or boat, or fly, you could stay in Iowa.

[Bickendan]

I don't believe there are any other examples in the US.

Canada, however... if I recall correctly, every island in Hudson Bay is part of the Northwest Territories, geographically separated by Nunavut. I think that's the only example in Canada.

I found several for Spain...

[mightyace]

Canada, however... if I recall correctly, every island in Hudson Bay is part of the Northwest Territories, geographically separated by Nunavut. I think that's the only example in Canada.

Is that still true?

I know that pre-Nunavut, most maps of Canada said:

"All islands within bays and straits lie within Northwest Territories"

When I look at recent Rand McNally atlases it looks to me like the Hudson Bay islands are now part of Nunavut.  However, either Rand McNally could have it wrong or I'm reading it wrong.

[Alps]

Appears that Nunavut does own the islands.  Images from the Canadian government's own website show that.

[roadman65]

Is Isle Royale Michigan one as it lies way too far off the coast of Michigan in a part of Lake Superior that is closer to Minnesota.  If it were not a national park it would be more of an issue as many feel that national parks are not part of a state as federal laws prevail there as well as police are usually rangers and I do not think that island is part of any Michigan County even.

[CtrlAltDel]

In Hawaii, are some of the islands far enough apart from the others that you would have to pass through international waters?  I don't know if this happens with Alaska or California either.

I know this is an old post, but assuming my interpretation of the Open Street Map is accurate, wherein the water borders are marked at 12 nautical miles, the answers are yes, yes, and no.

More specifically, for Hawaii, there is a sliver of international waters separating the island of Hawaii from the Oahu-Maui area, and a bigger gap between the Oahu-Maui area and Kauai, and then for pretty much all the islands to the west.

For Alaska, there are a number of islands separated from the mainland by international waters, of which the most notable is perhaps Saint Lawrence Island.

For California, the Channel Islands are all close enough to the mainland than none of them are separated by international waters.

Looking around a bit more, in Florida, the Dry Tortugas also seem far enough from Key West that they are separate by international waters.

While international waters extend 12 nautical miles, the exclusive economic zone extends for 200 miles, and none of the places mentioned above, as far as I can tell, are separated by that criterion. But if the Wikipedia is correct, the part of the exclusive economic zone beyond 12 nautical miles technically lies in international waters.

ETA: Having investigated the matter further, state waters (as opposed to waters under the jurisdiction of the federal government) only reach 3 nautical miles except for Texas and the Gulf Coast of Florida, which reach 9. This makes the answers to the question above for Hawaii, Alaska, and California, yes, yes, and yes. And for Florida, yes, and I don't know about the other 46.

[catch22]

Is Isle Royale Michigan one as it lies way too far off the coast of Michigan in a part of Lake Superior that is closer to Minnesota.  If it were not a national park it would be more of an issue as many feel that national parks are not part of a state as federal laws prevail there as well as police are usually rangers and I do not think that island is part of any Michigan County even.

Isle Royale is in Keweenaw County.

[thspfc]

What the heck is the deal with Carter Lake?

[Brandon]

What the heck is the deal with Carter Lake?

It was on the east side of the Missouri River there until a flood cut it off from the rest of Iowa.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carter_Lake,_Iowa

[bing101]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angle_Inlet,_Minnesota


Angle Inlet, Minnesota is separate from the rest of Minnesota because if one wants to leave the area they need to go to Canada to reach the rest of the state.

[thspfc]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angle_Inlet,_Minnesota


Angle Inlet, Minnesota is separate from the rest of Minnesota because if one wants to leave the area they need to go to Canada to reach the rest of the state.

Yes but no. It is physically disconnected, but, (much like with Carter Lake) Minnesota, not Canada, owns the part of Lake of the Woods you would pass through if getting there by boat.

[KEVIN_224]

Carter Lake...the area of Omaha's airport. I want to say Eppley Airfield? To go from the airport into Omaha, you have to pass into Iowa briefly. That would be a hell of a way for me to add Iowa lifetime! I've only been as far west as Chicago's Midway Airport and bordering Bedford Park, IL (the other side of IL Route 50/South Cicero Avenue).

[tolbs17]

Before I can answer this question, are you talking about America or other countries?

[KEVIN_224]

Um...the United States. I've never been in Canada or elsewhere. A whopping 18 state and Washington DC.

[tolbs17]

Um...the United States. I've never been in Canada or elsewhere. A whopping 18 state and Washington DC.

Ok. So Alaska and Hawaii.

[kurumi]

Here's a lot of detail about enclaves and exclaves, including the Kentucky Bend, San Marino, and I-684: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enclave_and_exclave

[Hot Rod Hootenanny]

Um...the United States. I've never been in Canada or elsewhere. A whopping 18 state and Washington DC.

Ok. So Alaska and Hawaii.

No, we're talking about parts of states that are cut off from the majority of said state. Feel free to go back to the start of this thread to get the gist of this topic.

[tolbs17]

Lol, I love to see this thread revived. Haha but yeah. Alaska and Hawaii are disconnected. Should we count Puerto Rico as well?

[1995hoo]

Lol, I love to see this thread revived. Haha but yeah. Alaska and Hawaii are disconnected. Should we count Puerto Rico as well?

No, under the specifications set at the start of this thread, Alaska and Hawaii are not disconnected.

[thspfc]

Lol, I love to see this thread revived. Haha but yeah. Alaska and Hawaii are disconnected. Should we count Puerto Rico as well?

What are you even saying? 

[vdeane]

Lol, I love to see this thread revived. Haha but yeah. Alaska and Hawaii are disconnected. Should we count Puerto Rico as well?

What are you even saying? 

He's referencing the fact that this thread was created 10 years ago while at the same time assuming it means "states that aren't connected to the contiguous 48 states" rather than "pieces of states that physically aren't connected to the rest of the state".

[Mark68]

Is there a state in which, to get to one mayor city of the state to another, you have to pass throught another state and then return to the first state, aside from the Arizona strip?

I don't know if this counts as "major cities" but US-395 goes from California to Nevada to California, between approximately Susanville and Bishop ... the city in between is Reno, NV, with a population significantly exceeding the population of ... well, the sum of just about every town on US-395 in California, really! 

In CA, US-395 is a very rural route (with its urban sections, including San Diego and San Bernardino, having been reverted years ago in favor of I-215 and I-15).  The largest city is ... probably Victorville, right at the southern terminus?  There really isn't anything on that road!  And that is part of the reason why it's my favorite highway in the whole wide world!



Conway Pass, 7800 feet elevation, not a soul for miles and that's the way I like it!

Well, as of the latest estimates, the triumvirate of Hesperia, Victorville & Adelanto eclipse Reno's population (barely): 251,746 for the three most southerly cities on 395 and 250,998 for Reno.

North of Reno, the next city of any size on US 395 is Kennewick, WA at 82,943 (357,946 in the Tri-Cities).

[1995hoo]

Lol, I love to see this thread revived. Haha but yeah. Alaska and Hawaii are disconnected. Should we count Puerto Rico as well?

What are you even saying? 

He's referencing the fact that this thread was created 10 years ago while at the same time assuming it means "states that aren't connected to the contiguous 48 states" rather than "pieces of states that physically aren't connected to the rest of the state".

It doesn't mean the latter, either, because the OP said the Northwest Angle and Point Roberts don't count as "disconnected" because you can travel to them via the territorial waters, such that you don't have to go outside the state's boundaries at all to get there. That's why the Kentucky Bend does count–there is no way to get there from the rest of Kentucky without leaving the state, regardless of whether it's by land, water, or air. The OP referred to it in terms of there being a completely separate polygon. (An example in Europe would be Baarle Hertog, portions of which cannot be reached from the rest of Belgium via any means without passing through, or over, part of the Netherlands.)