This is true? - Geographic oddities that defy conventional wisdom

[kphoger]

At Grense Jakobselv, you're actually farther east than Kyiv or Istanbul.

Victoria BC is further east than the entirety of the Yukon and further north than St. Johns NL.

Both of these genuinely surprised me to learn.

[Rothman]

Victoria BC is further east than the entirety of the Yukon and further north than St. Johns NL.

That's a good one.

[Poiponen13]

This is interesting:


The Bouvet Island, a Norwegian overseas territory in Southern Ocean, uses DST in winter. It is "fall forward" and "spring back" there to have same dates as mainland Norway (which is in northern hemisphere).

[CNGL-Leudimin]

But that is only symbolic, as Bouvet Island is not inhabited.

However, it even has its own ISO 3166-1 code (BV), which entitles it to a top level domain and an emoji flag. The latter of which is identical to the one generated by NO as it doesn't have a separate flag.

[ethanhopkin14]

A small section of the Texas/New Mexico state line is demarked by the Rio Grande, making it the only place you can cross the Rio Grande and change jurisdictions above a county level and still be in the United States. It is also the only portion of the boundaries of New Mexico that is a natural boundary. 

[CtrlAltDel]

A small section of the Texas/New Mexico state line is demarked by the Rio Grande, making it the only place you can cross the Rio Grande and change jurisdictions above a county level and still be in the United States. It is also the only portion of the boundaries of New Mexico that is a natural boundary.

Where the Rio Grande used to be, in any case. I'm no expert here, and I haven't looked anything up, but it does appear that the course of the river has been straightened.

[ethanhopkin14]

A small section of the Texas/New Mexico state line is demarked by the Rio Grande, making it the only place you can cross the Rio Grande and change jurisdictions above a county level and still be in the United States. It is also the only portion of the boundaries of New Mexico that is a natural boundary.

Where the Rio Grande used to be, in any case. I'm no expert here, and I haven't looked anything up, but it does appear that the course of the river has been straightened.

Yes, where the river used to be, but I was specifically talking about the portion going north from the Texas, New Mexico, Chihuahua tri point south of American Dam which follows the actual river for a small distance.  Side note, the official boundary of Texas specifically calls this portion bordering New Mexico the Rio Grande, even though human created avulsive activities for farming have changed the course of the river. 

[JKRhodes]

A small section of the Texas/New Mexico state line is demarked by the Rio Grande, making it the only place you can cross the Rio Grande and change jurisdictions above a county level and still be in the United States. It is also the only portion of the boundaries of New Mexico that is a natural boundary.

Where the Rio Grande used to be, in any case. I'm no expert here, and I haven't looked anything up, but it does appear that the course of the river has been straightened.

Yes, where the river used to be, but I was specifically talking about the portion going north from the Texas, New Mexico, Chihuahua tri point south of American Dam which follows the actual river for a small distance.  Side note, the official boundary of Texas specifically calls this portion bordering New Mexico the Rio Grande, even though human created avulsive activities for farming have changed the course of the river.

An interesting result of suburban development in the area is several homes which straddle the state line. So the kitchen might be in Texas, while the living room is in NM

[KCRoadFan]

Given the tendency to group together DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia, NYC, and Boston as being the major East Coast cities, to me it came as somewhat of a shock to find out that a line going straight north from DC would pass through New York State...somewhere between Syracuse and Rochester.

It makes sense when you think about it and look at the map, though - north of DC, and especially north of NYC, the coast definitely projects quite a ways eastward. I-95 between Boston and NYC is more east-west than north-south, especially in Connecticut.

[KCRoadFan]

A small section of the Texas/New Mexico state line is demarked by the Rio Grande, making it the only place you can cross the Rio Grande and change jurisdictions above a county level and still be in the United States. It is also the only portion of the boundaries of New Mexico that is a natural boundary.

Where the Rio Grande used to be, in any case. I'm no expert here, and I haven't looked anything up, but it does appear that the course of the river has been straightened.

Yes, where the river used to be, but I was specifically talking about the portion going north from the Texas, New Mexico, Chihuahua tri point south of American Dam which follows the actual river for a small distance.  Side note, the official boundary of Texas specifically calls this portion bordering New Mexico the Rio Grande, even though human created avulsive activities for farming have changed the course of the river.

An interesting result of suburban development in the area is several homes which straddle the state line. So the kitchen might be in Texas, while the living room is in NM

For those houses, where would the postal address - and thus the taxing jurisdiction - officially be? I suppose it would be wherever the street the house faces is located, even if much of the house itself is in another state.

[LilianaUwU]

I-95 between Boston and NYC is more east-west than north-south, especially in Connecticut.

Speaking of which, I-95, like US 1, was once cross-signed as an east-west route in Connecticut:

[The Nature Boy]

Given the tendency to group together DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia, NYC, and Boston as being the major East Coast cities, to me it came as somewhat of a shock to find out that a line going straight north from DC would pass through New York State...somewhere between Syracuse and Rochester.

It makes sense when you think about it and look at the map, though - north of DC, and especially north of NYC, the coast definitely projects quite a ways eastward. I-95 between Boston and NYC is more east-west than north-south, especially in Connecticut.

Along this same vein, Cleveland is only 1 degree longitude west of Miami. The entirety of Florida is west of Upstate New York.

[JKRhodes]

A small section of the Texas/New Mexico state line is demarked by the Rio Grande, making it the only place you can cross the Rio Grande and change jurisdictions above a county level and still be in the United States. It is also the only portion of the boundaries of New Mexico that is a natural boundary.

Where the Rio Grande used to be, in any case. I'm no expert here, and I haven't looked anything up, but it does appear that the course of the river has been straightened.

Yes, where the river used to be, but I was specifically talking about the portion going north from the Texas, New Mexico, Chihuahua tri point south of American Dam which follows the actual river for a small distance.  Side note, the official boundary of Texas specifically calls this portion bordering New Mexico the Rio Grande, even though human created avulsive activities for farming have changed the course of the river.

An interesting result of suburban development in the area is several homes which straddle the state line. So the kitchen might be in Texas, while the living room is in NM

For those houses, where would the postal address - and thus the taxing jurisdiction - officially be? I suppose it would be wherever the street the house faces is located, even if much of the house itself is in another state.

Don't quote me on this... I studied Zillow listings in the area and it seems to be a case of "majority rule," . i.e. whichever state comprises the larger portion of the lot, regardless of frontage.

That's just NM and Texas.

*edit to clarify: NC/SC happened in 2017*

apparently NC and SC  settled a border dispute and the new line cut thru some people's homes. In that one, address was based kn location of the master bedroom. Some residents had to change drivers licenses and went thru a whole other host of messy changes:

https://abc11.com/north-carolina-nc-south-sc/1896481/

[Rothman]

DC being closer to Rochester in longitude is a good one, although for us roadgeeks, if you think of US 15, it's not that surprising.

[hotdogPi]

DC being closer to Rochester in longitude is a good one, although for us roadgeeks, if you think of US 15, it's not that surprising.

I don't think it's that surprising from my area, as it's well known that New York City is west of here (after all, you have to get outside of New England to do so). DC-NYC-Boston is a straight line.

[CoreySamson]

This is a bit of a minor one, but I found it a little bit disorienting that Little Rock, AR, is closer to the latitudes of Huntsville, AL, and Lawton OK, than it is to other big control cities on I-40 in the area, such as OKC or Memphis. It just goes to show how much of a southward dip I-40 makes to get to Little Rock.

[Road Hog]

This is a bit of a minor one, but I found it a little bit disorienting that Little Rock, AR, is closer to the latitudes of Huntsville, AL, and Lawton OK, than it is to other big control cities on I-40 in the area, such as OKC or Memphis. It just goes to show how much of a southward dip I-40 makes to get to Little Rock.

Related to that, Arkansas lies wholly EAST of Texas. The Arkansas-Missouri border is at 36ºN and the Texas-Oklahoma panhandle border is at 36º30'N.

[hotdogPi]

This is a bit of a minor one, but I found it a little bit disorienting that Little Rock, AR, is closer to the latitudes of Huntsville, AL, and Lawton OK, than it is to other big control cities on I-40 in the area, such as OKC or Memphis. It just goes to show how much of a southward dip I-40 makes to get to Little Rock.

Related to that, Arkansas lies wholly EAST of Texas. The Arkansas-Missouri border is at 36ºN and the Texas-Oklahoma panhandle border is at 36º30'N.

False.

https://www.google.com/maps/@33.5672079,-94.2202117,13.33z?entry=ttu

[ethanhopkin14]

This is a bit of a minor one, but I found it a little bit disorienting that Little Rock, AR, is closer to the latitudes of Huntsville, AL, and Lawton OK, than it is to other big control cities on I-40 in the area, such as OKC or Memphis. It just goes to show how much of a southward dip I-40 makes to get to Little Rock.

Related to that, Arkansas lies wholly EAST of Texas. The Arkansas-Missouri border is at 36ºN and the Texas-Oklahoma panhandle border is at 36º30'N.

False.

https://www.google.com/maps/@33.5672079,-94.2202117,13.33z?entry=ttu

He means Arkansas does not reach as far north than the most northern portion of Texas. 

[hotdogPi]

He means Arkansas does not reach as far north than the most northern portion of Texas.

Google Maps says they're in line.

[Road Hog]

This is a bit of a minor one, but I found it a little bit disorienting that Little Rock, AR, is closer to the latitudes of Huntsville, AL, and Lawton OK, than it is to other big control cities on I-40 in the area, such as OKC or Memphis. It just goes to show how much of a southward dip I-40 makes to get to Little Rock.

Related to that, Arkansas lies wholly EAST of Texas. The Arkansas-Missouri border is at 36ºN and the Texas-Oklahoma panhandle border is at 36º30'N.

False.

https://www.google.com/maps/@33.5672079,-94.2202117,13.33z?entry=ttu

Minor technicality on the Red River oxbows, but point taken.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

This is a bit of a minor one, but I found it a little bit disorienting that Little Rock, AR, is closer to the latitudes of Huntsville, AL, and Lawton OK, than it is to other big control cities on I-40 in the area, such as OKC or Memphis. It just goes to show how much of a southward dip I-40 makes to get to Little Rock.

Related to that, Arkansas lies wholly EAST of Texas. The Arkansas-Missouri border is at 36ºN and the Texas-Oklahoma panhandle border is at 36º30'N.

False.

https://www.google.com/maps/@33.5672079,-94.2202117,13.33z?entry=ttu

Minor technicality on the Red River oxbows, but point taken.

It's tough to get these things past people here. People on this forum love minor technicalities. 

[ethanhopkin14]

This is a bit of a minor one, but I found it a little bit disorienting that Little Rock, AR, is closer to the latitudes of Huntsville, AL, and Lawton OK, than it is to other big control cities on I-40 in the area, such as OKC or Memphis. It just goes to show how much of a southward dip I-40 makes to get to Little Rock.

Related to that, Arkansas lies wholly EAST of Texas. The Arkansas-Missouri border is at 36ºN and the Texas-Oklahoma panhandle border is at 36º30'N.

False.

https://www.google.com/maps/@33.5672079,-94.2202117,13.33z?entry=ttu

Minor technicality on the Red River oxbows, but point taken.

I didn't read it as draw a line and you will hit Texas and not Arkansas again, making so very small slivers are west of Texas.  I just read it as the most northern part of Arkansas is still south of the most northern part of Texas.  Even with the Oxbow, there is still a panhandle west of that point that still put Arkansas east of that. 

[hotdogPi]

I just read it as the most northern part of Arkansas is still south of the most northern part of Texas.

As I said before, they're in line. Both are 36°30'.

[MATraveler128]

Pittsburgh is closer to Detroit than it is to Philadelphia.