This is true? - Geographic oddities that defy conventional wisdom

[AlexandriaVA]

if this hasn't been mentioned yet, Detroit is closer to Washington DC than Copper Harbor, MI

Detroit is closer to Philadelphia and Washington DC than it is to Ironwood MI in the western UP.

[kalvado]

Something less related to travel:
Although Mount Everest is  a highest mountain on Earth being 8,848 metres (29,029 ft) above sea level, Chimborazo  in Ecuador is the point furthest away from earth center - despite being "just"  6,263 m (20,548 ft) above sea level. This is because earth is not a sphere - and being closer to equator means sea level is further away from earth center.

[AlexandriaVA]

Technically speaking the Earth is a "sphereoid". For cartographic purposes, the surface of the earth is "smoothed" into an "ellipsoid". I believe that gravitational effects of other heavenly bodies may also affect the "true" surface of the Earth.

[kalvado]

Technically speaking the Earth is a "sphereoid". For cartographic purposes, the surface of the earth is "smoothed" into an "ellipsoid". I believe that gravitational effects of other heavenly bodies may also affect the "true" surface of the Earth.

Remote effects will be small, except for Moon (tides), and some for Sun.
What matters most is the distribution of mass inside the planet.

And, by the way, tides themselves are a big geographic oddity... I really love the concept of tidal wave going around New Zealand..

[bing101]

Quezon City, Philippines is really larger than Manila by population in the country. But Manila gets greater attention in the Philippine media and to a certain extent Makati city.

Some United States examples:

1. Bridgeport is the largest city in Connecticut, even though people normally think of Hartford and New Haven first.
2. Virginia Beach is larger than Norfolk, but Norfolk is more important.
3. When people think of large cities, or even medium-large cities, cities in North Carolina are usually forgotten. (This may not be true on this forum.)
4. San Jose is larger than San Francisco. (This has probably been mentioned earlier in this thread.)



In the United States, east of the Hudson River, the population inside New England and the population outside New England are almost equal (close enough that I don't know which is greater).

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metro_Manila

See stats for Quezon city and Manila. It's amazing that Quezon City is really the Philippines largest city.
But officially Quezon city is labeled a Manila Suburb. Also the Metro Manila area total land area is the same size as the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles but Metro Manila has 12 million people while the San Fernando Valley has 1.8 million people. 

Interestingly the second largest metro area in the Philippines (Cebu City) its entire population can fit in Quezon city.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cebu_City


https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davao_City

And the Metro Davao areas population can fit in Quezon city too.


https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mega_Manila

Metro Manila's population is equivalent to everybody in Orange county and Los Angeles counties crammed in the San Fernando Valley. 12 million people in one spot.

[bing101]

San Fernando, Pampanga and Baguio city, Philippines are west of Manila.

Cebu City, Philippines and Davao City Philippines are east of Manila.

[wxfree]

Something less related to travel:
Although Mount Everest is  a highest mountain on Earth being 8,848 metres (29,029 ft) above sea level, Chimborazo  in Ecuador is the point furthest away from earth center - despite being "just"  6,263 m (20,548 ft) above sea level. This is because earth is not a sphere - and being closer to equator means sea level is further away from earth center.

There's also the geoid to contend with.  What constitutes a level has to be defined by gravity, not by geometry, because it's gravity that matters when building something, or when water finds its level.  An elevation at a given latitude may be closer to or farther from the center of the earth because of variances in the strength of gravity.  Also, what constitutes "down" can be in different directions based on the geoid's curvature.  If canals were cut across continents and allowed to fill with sea water, the water, showing sea level at each point, would be higher at some places than at others, just like the oceans do (and would even if there were no wind or tides). (Of course, if you were to cut away pieces of land to make the canals that would change the shape of the earth's gravity, so this works only in theory.)

A map on Wikipedia shows a range of deviation between 107 meters below and 85.4 meters above the ellipsoid.  Over the scale of a planet it isn't much, but it's interesting.

[jmd41280]

Cities closer to Pittsburgh than Philadelphia is (257 miles):

(all distances as the crow flies)
Detroit, MI (205 miles)
Washington, DC (190 miles)
Toronto, ON (224 miles)
London, ON (187 miles)
Buffalo, NY (179 miles)
Rochester, NY (225 miles)
Richmond, VA (243 miles)
Roanoke, VA (219 miles)
Ashland, KY (196 miles)
Dover, DE (254 miles)

Cities closer to Philadelphia than Pittsburgh is:

Providence, RI (235 miles)
Worcester, MA (237 miles)
Norfolk, VA (223 miles)
Syracuse, NY (220 miles)
Washington, DC (123 miles)
Richmond, VA (207 miles)
Ocean City, MD (112 miles)
Rochester, NY (255 miles)
Bennington, VT (227 miles)
Glens Falls, NY (245 miles)
Corolla, NC (250 miles)

[bing101]

Beijing is North of San Francisco but South of New York


Bejjing is also west of Shanghai



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beijing


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghai

[The Nature Boy]

Cities closer to Pittsburgh than Philadelphia is (257 miles):

(all distances as the crow flies)
Detroit, MI (205 miles)
Washington, DC (190 miles)
Toronto, ON (224 miles)
London, ON (187 miles)
Buffalo, NY (179 miles)
Rochester, NY (225 miles)
Richmond, VA (243 miles)
Roanoke, VA (219 miles)
Ashland, KY (196 miles)
Dover, DE (254 miles)

Cities closer to Philadelphia than Pittsburgh is:

Providence, RI (235 miles)
Worcester, MA (237 miles)
Norfolk, VA (223 miles)
Syracuse, NY (220 miles)
Washington, DC (123 miles)
Richmond, VA (207 miles)
Ocean City, MD (112 miles)
Rochester, NY (255 miles)
Bennington, VT (227 miles)
Glens Falls, NY (245 miles)
Corolla, NC (250 miles)

Anyone who has taken I-80 across Pennsylvania can testify to how that state seems to never end.

[jeffandnicole]

Cities closer to Pittsburgh than Philadelphia is (257 miles):

(all distances as the crow flies)
Dover, DE (254 miles)

I didn't really believe this one.  Using Google's Measure Distance Feature, I took the closest border point of Philly & Dover on their west sides to the closest Pittsburgh border point on the east side. 

Amazingly, you are correct, although the measurements are a bit different. And by my measure, Dover is closer by less than a mile! (243.35 to 244.19 miles away)

[jmd41280]

Anyone who has taken I-80 across Pennsylvania can testify to how that state seems to never end.

Definitely true.  On a trip to the Hudson Valley in NY one time, I took the I-70/PA Turnpike 66/US 22/I-99/I-80/I-81/I-84 route across the state and it seemed like it would never end.  I'm sure our friends in Texas (or anyone that has driven I-10 across that state) are laughing at us as we say this, though.

[The Nature Boy]

I'll do this same thing but with New York, NY (I'm using Google Measure so assume some bit of error). The distance from New York to Buffalo is 296.17.

NYC is closer to the following cities (as the crow flies):

- Springfield, MA (118.6 miles)
- Boston, MA (190.68 miles)
- Manchester, NH (205.24 miles)
- Laconia, NH (232.1 miles)
- Burlington, VT (264.22 miles)
- Conway, NH (270.84 miles)
- Portland, ME (282.43 miles)

[jmd41280]

Even though West Virginia has a relatively small area compared to many other states, its dimensions seem to make it larger than it is.  I'm going to use 3 cities on different ends of the state as reference points:  Chester (tip of northern panhandle), Bluefield (extreme south WV), and Harpers Ferry (tip of eastern panhandle).

Cities closer to Chester than Bluefield is (234 miles)...
Detroit, MI (175 miles)
Flint, MI (231 miles)
Buffalo, NY (180 miles)
Toronto, ON (219 miles)
Rochester, NY (233 miles)

Cities closer to Bluefield than Chester is:
Charlotte, NC (143 miles)
Columbia, SC (226 miles)
Raleigh, NC (177 miles)
Knoxville, TN (175 miles)
Rocky Mount, NC (212 miles)

Cities closer to Harpers Ferry than Bluefield is (237 miles):
Washington, DC (47 miles)
Ocean City, MD (159 miles)
Philadelphia, PA (144 miles)
New York, NY (220 miles)
Binghamton, NY (214 miles)
Norfolk, VA (189 miles)
Elizabeth City, NC (225 miles)

[CNGL-Leudimin]

Beijing is North of San Francisco but South of New York


Bejjing is also west of Shanghai



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beijing


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghai

Beijing actually straddles the 40th parallel North. There's a subway line, line 15, that runs along it before turning Northeast to Shunyi.

It doesn't surprise me that Beijing is West of Shanghai, though, due to the coastline. What it is striking, is that Dong Wuzhumuqin (East Ujimqin, in Inner Mongolia) is West of Xi Wuzhumuqin (West Ujimqin)!

[texaskdog]

Cities closer to Pittsburgh than Philadelphia is (257 miles):

(all distances as the crow flies)
Detroit, MI (205 miles)
Washington, DC (190 miles)
Toronto, ON (224 miles)
London, ON (187 miles)
Buffalo, NY (179 miles)
Rochester, NY (225 miles)
Richmond, VA (243 miles)
Roanoke, VA (219 miles)
Ashland, KY (196 miles)
Dover, DE (254 miles)

Cities closer to Philadelphia than Pittsburgh is:

Providence, RI (235 miles)
Worcester, MA (237 miles)
Norfolk, VA (223 miles)
Syracuse, NY (220 miles)
Washington, DC (123 miles)
Richmond, VA (207 miles)
Ocean City, MD (112 miles)
Rochester, NY (255 miles)
Bennington, VT (227 miles)
Glens Falls, NY (245 miles)
Corolla, NC (250 miles)

Anyone who has taken I-80 across Pennsylvania can testify to how that state seems to never end.

Welcome to Texas

[hotdogPi]

(1's edit: Font size changed to 6)
Cities closer to Pittsburgh than Philadelphia is (257 miles):

(all distances as the crow flies)
Detroit, MI (205 miles)
Washington, DC (190 miles)
Toronto, ON (224 miles)
London, ON (187 miles)
Buffalo, NY (179 miles)
Rochester, NY (225 miles)
Richmond, VA (243 miles)
Roanoke, VA (219 miles)
Ashland, KY (196 miles)
Dover, DE (254 miles)

Cities closer to Philadelphia than Pittsburgh is:

Providence, RI (235 miles)
Worcester, MA (237 miles)
Norfolk, VA (223 miles)
Syracuse, NY (220 miles)
Washington, DC (123 miles)
Richmond, VA (207 miles)
Ocean City, MD (112 miles)
Rochester, NY (255 miles)
Bennington, VT (227 miles)
Glens Falls, NY (245 miles)
Corolla, NC (250 miles)

Anyone who has taken I-80 across Pennsylvania can testify to how that state seems to never end.

Welcome to Texas

Texas is expected to be large. Most other states are not.

[kalvado]

(1's edit: Font size changed to 6)
Cities closer to Pittsburgh than Philadelphia is (257 miles):

(all distances as the crow flies)
Detroit, MI (205 miles)
Washington, DC (190 miles)
Toronto, ON (224 miles)
London, ON (187 miles)
Buffalo, NY (179 miles)
Rochester, NY (225 miles)
Richmond, VA (243 miles)
Roanoke, VA (219 miles)
Ashland, KY (196 miles)
Dover, DE (254 miles)

Cities closer to Philadelphia than Pittsburgh is:

Providence, RI (235 miles)
Worcester, MA (237 miles)
Norfolk, VA (223 miles)
Syracuse, NY (220 miles)
Washington, DC (123 miles)
Richmond, VA (207 miles)
Ocean City, MD (112 miles)
Rochester, NY (255 miles)
Bennington, VT (227 miles)
Glens Falls, NY (245 miles)
Corolla, NC (250 miles)

Anyone who has taken I-80 across Pennsylvania can testify to how that state seems to never end.

Welcome to Texas

Texas is expected to be large. Most other states are not.

Well... I-80 stretch in Nebraska (455 miles), Nevada (410 miles) and Wyoming (403 miles) are longer than I-80 stretch in PA (311 miles)

I guess that qualifies as a separate trivia post?..

[jeffandnicole]

(1's edit: Font size changed to 6)
Cities closer to Pittsburgh than Philadelphia is (257 miles):

(all distances as the crow flies)
Detroit, MI (205 miles)
Washington, DC (190 miles)
Toronto, ON (224 miles)
London, ON (187 miles)
Buffalo, NY (179 miles)
Rochester, NY (225 miles)
Richmond, VA (243 miles)
Roanoke, VA (219 miles)
Ashland, KY (196 miles)
Dover, DE (254 miles)

Cities closer to Philadelphia than Pittsburgh is:

Providence, RI (235 miles)
Worcester, MA (237 miles)
Norfolk, VA (223 miles)
Syracuse, NY (220 miles)
Washington, DC (123 miles)
Richmond, VA (207 miles)
Ocean City, MD (112 miles)
Rochester, NY (255 miles)
Bennington, VT (227 miles)
Glens Falls, NY (245 miles)
Corolla, NC (250 miles)

Anyone who has taken I-80 across Pennsylvania can testify to how that state seems to never end.

Welcome to Texas

Texas is expected to be large. Most other states are not.

Well... I-80 stretch in Nebraska (455 miles), Nevada (410 miles) and Wyoming (403 miles) are longer than I-80 stretch in PA (311 miles)

I guess that qualifies as a separate trivia post?..

I guess PA is tucked in the Northeast where every other state (except for NY) is small...so it may just be psychological that it seems like the state goes on forever.

And unlike most other interstates within a state, the PA Turnpike & I-80 don't go thru any major cities either.  You can travel both the PA Turnpike and I-80 end-to-end and you'll mostly see trees and farms the entire way.  You'll never go thru an actual city, which most 2di interstates fairly often, especially out east.

[kalvado]

I guess PA is tucked in the Northeast where every other state (except for NY) is small...so it may just be psychological that it seems like the state goes on forever.

And unlike most other interstates within a state, the PA Turnpike & I-80 don't go thru any major cities either.  You can travel both the PA Turnpike and I-80 end-to-end and you'll mostly see trees and farms the entire way.  You'll never go thru an actual city, which most 2di interstates fairly often, especially out east.

BTW, mileage-wise NY does a dirty trick having contionious mileposts on Thruway as it goes from I-87 to I-90. It does reach infamous 420 miles league somewhere in Buffalo (I saw 419.9 myself) - something that would not happen if honest I-90 and I-87 mileages were used..

[Rothman]

(1's edit: Font size changed to 6)
Cities closer to Pittsburgh than Philadelphia is (257 miles):

(all distances as the crow flies)
Detroit, MI (205 miles)
Washington, DC (190 miles)
Toronto, ON (224 miles)
London, ON (187 miles)
Buffalo, NY (179 miles)
Rochester, NY (225 miles)
Richmond, VA (243 miles)
Roanoke, VA (219 miles)
Ashland, KY (196 miles)
Dover, DE (254 miles)

Cities closer to Philadelphia than Pittsburgh is:

Providence, RI (235 miles)
Worcester, MA (237 miles)
Norfolk, VA (223 miles)
Syracuse, NY (220 miles)
Washington, DC (123 miles)
Richmond, VA (207 miles)
Ocean City, MD (112 miles)
Rochester, NY (255 miles)
Bennington, VT (227 miles)
Glens Falls, NY (245 miles)
Corolla, NC (250 miles)

Anyone who has taken I-80 across Pennsylvania can testify to how that state seems to never end.

Welcome to Texas

Texas is expected to be large. Most other states are not.

Well... I-80 stretch in Nebraska (455 miles), Nevada (410 miles) and Wyoming (403 miles) are longer than I-80 stretch in PA (311 miles)

I guess that qualifies as a separate trivia post?..

If you steamrolled that stretch of I-80 down to a common elevation, it'd stretch across the country.

[vdeane]

I guess PA is tucked in the Northeast where every other state (except for NY) is small...so it may just be psychological that it seems like the state goes on forever.

And unlike most other interstates within a state, the PA Turnpike & I-80 don't go thru any major cities either.  You can travel both the PA Turnpike and I-80 end-to-end and you'll mostly see trees and farms the entire way.  You'll never go thru an actual city, which most 2di interstates fairly often, especially out east.

BTW, mileage-wise NY does a dirty trick having contionious mileposts on Thruway as it goes from I-87 to I-90. It does reach infamous 420 miles league somewhere in Buffalo (I saw 419.9 myself) - something that would not happen if honest I-90 and I-87 mileages were used..

Even with its own mileage, I-90 in NY is longer than I-80 in PA (385 miles vs. 310).  Of course, I-90 actually passes through the Buffalo, Syracuse, and Albany metro areas, so there's stuff to break up the rural scenery.

The same is true for I-87 (333 miles).

[Max Rockatansky]

Minaret Summit is actually in Madera County California.  You wouldn't know it because you have to access the area via the eastern flank of the Sierras through Mono County.

[cl94]

I guess PA is tucked in the Northeast where every other state (except for NY) is small...so it may just be psychological that it seems like the state goes on forever.

And unlike most other interstates within a state, the PA Turnpike & I-80 don't go thru any major cities either.  You can travel both the PA Turnpike and I-80 end-to-end and you'll mostly see trees and farms the entire way.  You'll never go thru an actual city, which most 2di interstates fairly often, especially out east.

BTW, mileage-wise NY does a dirty trick having contionious mileposts on Thruway as it goes from I-87 to I-90. It does reach infamous 420 miles league somewhere in Buffalo (I saw 419.9 myself) - something that would not happen if honest I-90 and I-87 mileages were used..

Even with its own mileage, I-90 in NY is longer than I-80 in PA (385 miles vs. 310).  Of course, I-90 actually passes through the Buffalo, Syracuse, and Albany metro areas, so there's stuff to break up the rural scenery.

The same is true for I-87 (333 miles).

I-87 is deceptive, because it goes from nearly the southernmost point of the state to the northernmost point.

If I-90 had its own mileage and distance-based exits, it would have the highest exit number in the state (385). MA border is just shy of 386. If NY 17/I-86 were mile-based, it would only get to 381. With Thruway miles, 496.00 is at the PA border.

For another oddity: Montauk Point is approximately even longitudinally with Worcester, Massachusetts and a couple miles west of the eastern border of Connecticut.

[kalvado]

I guess PA is tucked in the Northeast where every other state (except for NY) is small...so it may just be psychological that it seems like the state goes on forever.

And unlike most other interstates within a state, the PA Turnpike & I-80 don't go thru any major cities either.  You can travel both the PA Turnpike and I-80 end-to-end and you'll mostly see trees and farms the entire way.  You'll never go thru an actual city, which most 2di interstates fairly often, especially out east.

BTW, mileage-wise NY does a dirty trick having contionious mileposts on Thruway as it goes from I-87 to I-90. It does reach infamous 420 miles league somewhere in Buffalo (I saw 419.9 myself) - something that would not happen if honest I-90 and I-87 mileages were used..

Even with its own mileage, I-90 in NY is longer than I-80 in PA (385 miles vs. 310).  Of course, I-90 actually passes through the Buffalo, Syracuse, and Albany metro areas, so there's stuff to break up the rural scenery.

The same is true for I-87 (333 miles).

I-87 is deceptive, because it goes from nearly the southernmost point of the state to the northernmost point.

If I-90 had its own mileage and distance-based exits, it would have the highest exit number in the state (385). MA border is just shy of 386. If NY 17/I-86 were mile-based, it would only get to 381. With Thruway miles, 496.00 is at the PA border.

For another oddity: Montauk Point is approximately even longitudinally with Worcester, Massachusetts and a couple miles west of the eastern border of Connecticut.

I am referring to 420 milepost signs being popular withing some population groups.. and NY doesn't reach that without Thruway trick.