This is true? - Geographic oddities that defy conventional wisdom

[empirestate]

Fisher's Island, NY, is closer to Westerly, RI, than anywhere else in New York - interestingly, though, all the ferries to Fisher's Island come from Connecticut and it feels so much like CT that the island should be part of that state than NY.  In fact, Fisher's Island used to be part of Connecticut (as part of the Town of New London); somehow during the 19th century (IIRC) it got moved to NY for God-knows-what-reason.

Yes, and its ZIP code is 06390, beginning with a '0' as only New England and New Jersey do. It is, as I recall, the only place in the U.S. where the first digit of a ZIP code isn't constrained by the state boundary; all other states have the same first digit everywhere (in New York it's '1').

[Big John]

^^ Puerto Rico also has zip codes beginning with "0".  The second digit there is also "0".

[empirestate]

^^ Puerto Rico also has zip codes beginning with "0".  The second digit there is also "0".

Yes, and the Virgin Islands. I was using the word "only" loosely. :-) (Perhaps I meant just the incorporated U.S.–oh crap, what's the ZIP code for Palmyra Atoll?)

[mgk920]

There are some rural addresses in far southwestern Wisconsin that are served by post offices in Illinois and have ZIP codes that start with '6' (Wisconsin-based post offices start with '5').  Yes, it has caused occasional problems with driving licensing and voting.

Mike

[Pete from Boston]

Memphis TN is closer to Falls City NE than to Mountain City TN
Mountain City is about the same distance to Buffalo NY as it is to Memphis

Mike

I once drove from Nashville to Asheville (try saying THAT one aloud), TN is a deceptively long state.

As a youngster, my traveling companion and I, staying at the first motel inside the Tennessee/North Carolina border, decided on a whim that to be in Tennessee and not visit Graceland would be a shame.  It did not occur to us that this was in the same ballpark as going to Chicago or Florida from there.  That was a long day on the road.

[dcbjms]

^^ Puerto Rico also has zip codes beginning with "0".  The second digit there is also "0".

Yes, and the Virgin Islands. I was using the word "only" loosely. :-) (Perhaps I meant just the incorporated U.S.–oh crap, what's the ZIP code for Palmyra Atoll?)

96898.   Not that you'd use it, in any case - it's a wildlife refuge.

[freebrickproductions]

Decatur, AL and Huntsville, AL actually have their city limits touching each other, even though the parts of the city that people refer too when talking about each one are on opposite ends of I-565.

[CNGL-Leudimin]

Continuing with postcodes ('ZIP codes'), it also happens in Spain. I know a couple towns in Zaragoza province (where postcodes start with 50) that have postcodes beginning with 22, which belongs to Huesca province. The same towns have also the 974 phone prefix ('area code') instead of the usual 976.

[ghYHZ]

There is no public road access to Estcourt Station, Maine without travelling through Canada. Phones use Quebec's Area Code and power is provided by Hydro Quebec. Municipal services are also supplied by the Municipality of Lac Pohenegamook, Quebec. Wonder if they have a Zip Code or is mail delivered by Canada Post?

http://tinyurl.com/hey9wl7

[empirestate]

There are some rural addresses in far southwestern Wisconsin that are served by post offices in Illinois and have ZIP codes that start with '6' (Wisconsin-based post offices start with '5').  Yes, it has caused occasional problems with driving licensing and voting.

Mike

But am I right that these ZIP codes serve towns in Illinois? In other words, you're sending mail to Anytown, IL 6xxxx, not Anytown, WI 6xxxx?

In Fishers Island's case, you're actually sending mail that includes the string "..., NY 0..." which I believe is unique.


iPhone

[dcbjms]

There is no public road access to Estcourt Station, Maine without travelling through Canada. Phones use Quebec's Area Code and power is provided by Hydro Quebec. Municipal services are also supplied by the Municipality of Lac Pohenegamook, Quebec. Wonder if they have a Zip Code or is mail delivered by Canada Post?

http://tinyurl.com/hey9wl7

What's more, most people there speak their own dialect of French which is nothing like either Québec French or Acadian French.  It's one of the last remaining communities in New England where French is still spoken, and only because it's that close to the border.

[vdeane]

Interesting, one would think they'd be like Québec French, considering that they're essentially a part of Québec that gets harassed by customs due to an arbitrary line (on the other hand, they get to have cheap gas).  And yes, US customs makes everyone report when crossing the line, even though only logging trucks can continue further (the border is at the start of the logging road; everyone has to go there and turn around).  Extremely limited border hours can make this problematic.  There was a story of a guy who got arrested just for getting gas.  The border even cuts some houses in half.

[dcbjms]

Interesting, one would think they'd be like Québec French, considering that they're essentially a part of Québec that gets harassed by customs due to an arbitrary line (on the other hand, they get to have cheap gas).

Well, technically what they speak is what is called a "transitional" variety, however this particular community (and all the others, mainly in northeastern New Brunswick and adjacent areas of Québec and Maine) claims that they are a distinct people all their own.  Notwithstanding the fact that Québec French itself is very diverse, with its own dialectal variation (for example - traditionally, before the 1950s (and to a large extent still holds today), you could tell where in Québec a person lived with several different criteria, including how one pronounced the "R"; if the person lived west of the St.-Maurice River, one would pronounce the "R" like a trill, Italian or Spanish style, whereas if the person lived east of the St.-Maurice River, one would pronounce the "R" in a manner closer to (but not quite exactly) the European French pronunciation, with the sole exception being the Cantons-de-l'Est, where their "R" was much closer to a New England "R").  So whether or not this particular region has a dialect of its own or not is heavily disputed, even among linguists.

And yes, US customs makes everyone report when crossing the line, even though only logging trucks can continue further (the border is at the start of the logging road; everyone has to go there and turn around).  Extremely limited border hours can make this problematic.  There was a story of a guy who got arrested just for getting gas.  The border even cuts some houses in half.

I guess they should revive the Republic of Madawaska, making it more than just a ceremonial title of the Mayor of Edmunston, NB and similar to the Conch Republic, if not more so.   Hey, if it worked for Key West, why not far northern Maine and adjacent areas of Canada?

[ghYHZ]

I guess they should revive the Republic of Madawaska, making it more than just a ceremonial title of the Mayor of Edmunston, NB and similar to the Conch Republic, if not more so.   Hey, if it worked for Key West, why not far northern Maine and adjacent areas of Canada?

I was in Edmundston, New Brunswick during the Acadian World Congress a year ago and they certainly didn't let an international border get in the way.......cultural events and a party atmosphere on both sides!

Many people on the US side have dual citizenship. The local hospital is in Edmundston......not in the US. 

http://tourismedmundston.com/en/informations.php?cat=History+and+Culture

[Dr Frankenstein]

Said by mtantillo during the Quebec City road meet: Montreal is closer by road to Washington, DC than it is to Kegaska, QC. Quebec City is a slightly closer to Kegaska than to Washington but it still takes more time to drive from there to the former (according to Google Maps).

Like Maine's road exclave mentioned upthread (Estcourt Station), St. Regis, QC (part of the Akwesasne reserve) is only accessible by road from NY.

I wonder who delivers mail to the adresses on Canusa Avenue in Derby Line, VT (the road itself is in Canada, maintained by MTQ and past the customs station).

[noelbotevera]

It looks really deceptive, but it's 86 miles from Harrisburg to State College. You'd expect it to be more than that, if you looked at a map.

[empirestate]

Like Maine's road exclave mentioned upthread (Estcourt Station), St. Regis, QC (part of the Akwesasne reserve) is only accessible by road from NY.

And since it's Mohawk territory on both sides of the border, you can cross there without reporting to customs (but you can't get anywhere else in Quebec since it's on a peninsula).

[freebrickproductions]

Decatur, AL and Huntsville, AL actually have their city limits touching each other, even though the parts of the city that people refer too when talking about each one are on opposite ends of I-565.

Huntsville, AL's city limits also touch Athens, AL's city limits.

[mrsman]

The Palm Springs area is closer to the Mexican border: Indio-Coachella is 85 miles from Mexicali, than it is to downtown Los Angeles (126 miles). It appears San Diego is closer to us on the map and San Clemente is the closest beach, then I may be wrong. And both the Santa Barbara and Bakersfield areas are as close to L.A. like the Riverside-San Bernardino area (60-90 mile range).

Just doing a quick check via Google Maps directions: (which link the centers of each cities, more or less)

S. Bernardino - LA: 61.3 miles
Riv - LA: 58.5 miles

S Barbara - LA: 95.1 miles
Bakersfield - LA: 112 miles

There is a difference of about 30 miles between SB/Riv and SBarba/Bkrsfld.  This is not that close.  SBern and Riv are considered commutable to LA (and even have Metrolink stations), SB and Bak are not.

[6a]

There is no public road access to Estcourt Station, Maine without travelling through Canada. Phones use Quebec's Area Code and power is provided by Hydro Quebec. Municipal services are also supplied by the Municipality of Lac Pohenegamook, Quebec. Wonder if they have a Zip Code or is mail delivered by Canada Post?

http://tinyurl.com/hey9wl7

This also happens with Hyder, AK. Residents there use the 250 area code of BC as well as the Pacific time zone, and the RCMP responds to police calls.

[Bruce]

Seattle is closer to Vancouver (145 mi) than it is to Portland (173 mi).

Also, I find it amusing that I commute across the 48th parallel on a near-daily basis. My community college and the regional hospital (where I was born) are both located just north of the parallel (the hospital is actually right on it and has a skybridge over it) and my bus transfer is just south of the line.

[jwolfer]

There are some rural addresses in far southwestern Wisconsin that are served by post offices in Illinois and have ZIP codes that start with '6' (Wisconsin-based post offices start with '5').  Yes, it has caused occasional problems with driving licensing and voting.

Mike

Kaskaskia IL gets its mail from Ste Genevieve MO.. It's on the west side of Mississippi river thanks to change in river course

[jwolfer]

^^ Puerto Rico also has zip codes beginning with "0".  The second digit there is also "0".

Yes, and the Virgin Islands. I was using the word "only" loosely. :-) (Perhaps I meant just the incorporated U.S.–oh crap, what's the ZIP code for Palmyra Atoll?)

Virgin and loosely. LOL

[rawmustard]

There are some rural addresses in far southwestern Wisconsin that are served by post offices in Illinois and have ZIP codes that start with '6' (Wisconsin-based post offices start with '5').  Yes, it has caused occasional problems with driving licensing and voting.

Mike

Kaskaskia IL gets its mail from Ste Genevieve MO.. It's on the west side of Mississippi river thanks to change in river course

As far as I can tell, there isn't a similar case for the "Lost Peninsula" of Michigan. At least according to the Postal Service's website, addresses on the Michigan side are served by a rural route from Erie, while the Toledo side is served by a city route. (Address numbering on the peninsula continues from Toledo's grid.)

[CNGL-Leudimin]

Also, I find it amusing that I commute across the 48th parallel on a near-daily basis. My community college and the regional hospital (where I was born) are both located just north of the parallel (the hospital is actually right on it and has a skybridge over it) and my bus transfer is just south of the line.

I used to commute across the 42nd parallel, but not now. Also, did I mention that I live, like most of you including those that believe the term only means the Americas, in the Western hemisphere?