Signs With Interesting Facts

[corco]

I seem to recall a sign for the 45th parallel on I-5 in Oregon.

There's definitely one on I-84- I think I've only been on I-5 at the 45th parallel once, and it was a long time ago and I don't remember.

[Beeper1]

US-1 in Maine has a sign and roadside picnic area at the 45th parallel. 

Many state highways in California in the Sierras have signs teling the elevation every time you go up another 1000 feet. 

[xonhulu]

There's definitely one on I-84- I think I've only been on I-5 at the 45th parallel once, and it was a long time ago and I don't remember.

I live only a few miles from that I-5 sign.  The old one was just replaced along with most of the signs on I-5 through here, but the new one is basically the same.

The 45th parallel is posted on other routes in Oregon, as well.

Many state highways in California in the Sierras have signs telling the elevation every time you go up another 1000 feet. 

Oregon does this, too.  But at least in the Sierras and Cascades the elevation gets up to decent levels.  The cutest elevations signs are in the Coast Range passes are in the low hundreds and seem almost pathetic to even mention!

[1995hoo]

Prior to the 1980's, the Ohio Turnpike once posted signs which indicated some sort of "water shed" -- the dividing point in which water either flows north to the Great Lakes and on into the Atlantic or south to the Ohio River and on into the Gulf of Mexico.

I've passed Arctic Watershed signs on two roads in Ontario (Route 11 was one; I'd have to look at a map to recall the other, but I'm typing this on my phone). The opposite side said Atlantic Watershed. They provided a parking area since so many people stopped for photos.


Edited to add: The other road was Route 144 somewhere between Timmins and Sudbury on the way back south.

[hbelkins]

Pennsylvania has rather elaborate signs denoting whether you are entering or leaving the Chesapeake Bay watershed, and New York has plain text signs. Why this is so significant in states that don't even border that body of water is a mystery for the ages. Who cares, and why is that watershed relevant when, for example, New York doesn't sign the ECD crossings on I-86? (Some may not know that part of western NY is drained by the Ohio River rather than streams that flow into the Atlantic Ocean.)

Meanwhile, Maryland has removed such Chesapeake Bay signs from I-68 and only has "Eastern Continental Divide" signs.

[NE2]

Pennsylvania has rather elaborate signs denoting whether you are entering or leaving the Chesapeake Bay watershed, and New York has plain text signs. Why this is so significant in states that don't even border that body of water is a mystery for the ages. Who cares, and why is that watershed relevant when, for example, New York doesn't sign the ECD crossings on I-86?

It lets you know where to pull off to pee, depending on which body of water you wish to disrespect.

[usends]

Regarding 45th parallel signs, this is an interesting website:
http://www.wurlington-bros.com/Museum/45th
It includes a good map showing places that are intersected by that parallel, with links to photos:
http://www.wurlington-bros.com/Museum/45th/NAmer.html
(I contributed the photo from Stewartstown NH).

Regarding elevation signs, I thought this was an interesting one (in Alamogordo, New Mexico):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/usends/4750491874/in/set-72157624783845413

[Mr_Northside]

Pennsylvania has rather elaborate signs denoting whether you are entering or leaving the Chesapeake Bay watershed,

Meanwhile, Maryland has removed such Chesapeake Bay signs from I-68 and only has "Eastern Continental Divide" signs.

Apparently the more ornate C. Bay W-shed signs were put up by The Chesapeake Bay Commission with the assistance of the states of Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania.

[Duke87]

Chesapeake Bay is America's largest estuary. So it's environmentally significant, making it understandable why its watershed is important.

[Takumi]

I know I-95 at VA Exit 48 (Wagner Rd) used to have Entering/Leaving Chesapeake Bay Watershed signs. I always thought that was an odd place for them because it's not at a body of water. The few times I drive that way nowadays are usually at night, so I don't really remember if they're still there. I do know that the Appomattox River crossing a few miles north now has a Chesapeake Bay Watershed notation on it . It's a year or two old, so they may have made it the replacement for the signs at Wagner.

[Alex]

I know I-95 at VA Exit 48 (Wagner Rd) used to have Entering/Leaving Chesapeake Bay Watershed signs. I always thought that was an odd place for them because it's not at a body of water. The few times I drive that way nowadays are usually at night, so I don't really remember if they're still there. I do know that the Appomattox River crossing a few miles north now has a Chesapeake Bay Watershed notation on it . It's a year or two old, so they may have made it the replacement for the signs at Wagner.

Still there as of summer 2010.



You get one between Exits 156 and 162 on Interstate 81 as well.

[xcellntbuy]

Westbound on Interstate 24 just west of Chattanooga, Tennessee is a sign indicating the change of time zone from Eastern to Central Time.  I'm sure their is a similar sign eastbound for the converse.  These information signs may also exist elsewhere.

[NE2]

I know I-95 at VA Exit 48 (Wagner Rd) used to have Entering/Leaving Chesapeake Bay Watershed signs. I always thought that was an odd place for them because it's not at a body of water.

Er, a watershed boundary is never at a body of water, but at a ridge.

[vtk]

When I went to Boston last year I thought the Chesapeake Bay Watershed was oddly specific.  Sure, I care about whether my pee will flow to the Atlantic more or less directly, versus through the Gulf of Mexico or the St Lawrence Seaway, but I don't really care so much if it comes out at the Potomac or the Hudson or what have you along the eastern seaboard.  (By the way, where is the triple point of the St Lawrence / Mississippi / Atlantic watersheds?)

[NE2]

(By the way, where is the triple point of the St Lawrence / Mississippi / Atlantic watersheds?)

A peak in Pennsylvania apparently called Triple Divide (GNIS ID 1201370)

[hbelkins]

Westbound in Interstate 24 just west of Chattanooga, Tennessee is a sign indicating the change of time zone from Eastern to Central Time.  I'm sure their is a similar sign eastbound for the converse.  These information signs may also exist elsewhere.

Yes, and to me a time zone boundary is much more important information for a motorist than a watershed.

[codyg1985]

Tennessee has signs all across the state telling you which river's watershed you are going into. They are fairly large signs, too:

http://g.co/maps/9jzfd

[1995hoo]

Westbound in Interstate 24 just west of Chattanooga, Tennessee is a sign indicating the change of time zone from Eastern to Central Time.  I'm sure their is a similar sign eastbound for the converse.  These information signs may also exist elsewhere.

They appear whenever you cross the state line between Alabama and Georgia and when you cross from Maine to New Brunswick. (I don't remember if the same is true when you take the ferry to Newfoundland as it's simply been too long, almost 30 years.) I've seen pictures of similar signs in other locations. I agree with hbelkins, that's important info that is a lot more important than crossing a watershed, although I think if the sign is REALLY intended to be useful it would tell you how far to advance your clock.

My favorite may be this one for an unofficial time zone observed locally in a particular section of Western Australia (I've never been to Australia but I saw this picture online and enjoyed it, especially the graffiti on the bottom):

[Quillz]

Just north of Newport, Oregon has a sign proclaiming you're crossing the "D" River, which is supposedly the world's shortest officially recognized river.

[luokou]

Just north of Newport, Oregon has a sign proclaiming you're crossing the "D" River, which is supposedly the world's shortest officially recognized river.

Ah yes, every time my folks and I visit Lincoln City, we always have to mention this sign. An older photo, from google image search (with a wonderfully classic US-101 shield):

Interestingly, it's only the shortest river at high tide!

Several miles south of Lincoln City is Depoe Bay, touted as the "World's Smallest Harbor"

(from Wikipedia)

[agentsteel53]

here is the previous generation of the gantry, with a 16" shield as opposed to the 18"

[flowmotion]

I used to cross the 45th parallel twice a day commuting to and from work when I lived in the Twin Cities. There are no signs marking it there, nor elsewhere in Minnesota that I saw.

Just as a point of trivia, there is a small marker in North Minneapolis.

http://www.mnmuseumofthems.org/45th/Mpls.html

That site also has an interesting map:

http://www.mnmuseumofthems.org/45th/NAmer.html

[Brandon]

Westbound on Interstate 24 just west of Chattanooga, Tennessee is a sign indicating the change of time zone from Eastern to Central Time.  I'm sure their is a similar sign eastbound for the converse.  These information signs may also exist elsewhere.

All over, especially within Indiana around here.  There's sets of these within the UP of Michigan, and at the Indiana (LaPorte County) / Michigan State Line (I-94 for example).

[Jim]

I really like signs with mostly-useless but interesting information.  Two of my favorites that I know have been posted before in other threads are along I-90/Mass Pike in the Berkshires:

(eastbound)

(westbound)

The only thing that has always bothered me about these is the fact that there are also points in South Dakota with elevations 1725, 1726, 1727, and 1728.  But I'm glad these are out there.  It might get a few people who never leave New England to think about just what a long road I-90 really is.

[huskeroadgeek]

Westbound on Interstate 24 just west of Chattanooga, Tennessee is a sign indicating the change of time zone from Eastern to Central Time.  I'm sure their is a similar sign eastbound for the converse.  These information signs may also exist elsewhere.

All over, especially within Indiana around here.  There's sets of these within the UP of Michigan, and at the Indiana (LaPorte County) / Michigan State Line (I-94 for example).

Time Zone borders are marked almost everywhere that I've seen-Eastern/Central, Central/Mountain and Mountain/Pacific.