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This is true? - Geographic oddities that defy conventional wisdom

Started by The Nature Boy, November 28, 2015, 10:07:02 AM

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The Nature Boy

Maybe this has been done but I was playing around with Google Maps and found this:

By car, New York City is closer to Portland, Maine than it is to Buffalo. (314 miles vs. 352 miles)


jeffandnicole

Yep - there's a whole lot of things that don't seem right until you look at a map.

Cape May, NJ is south of Baltimore & the northern-most points of Virginia.

mgk920

I always find it interesting in that Memphis, TN is farther west than Madison, WI.

Mike

SignGeek101

By linear distance, it's farther to travel from Kenora Ontario to Toronto Ontario (same province), then Jacksonville Florida to Toronto (it's about the same distance by car).

Canada's most southern point is farther south than the border with California and Oregon.

EDIT: fixed a bit of a typo

Big John

Reno, NV is further west than Los Angeles, CA.

Pensacola, FL is further west of Washington Island, WI.

txstateends

Still blows me down that the distance of I-10 within TX is greater than the distances on I-10 to either coast from TX.
\/ \/ click for a bigger image \/ \/

Tom958

Dalhart, TX is closer to parts of twenty three states than it is to its own state's capital.

corco

Quote from: Tom958 on November 28, 2015, 01:34:53 PM
Dalhart, TX is closer to parts of twenty three states than it is to its own state's capital.

23? Shenanigans. More like eight or nine

CNGL-Leudimin

12 plus two Mexican states, actually :sombrero:. There is even a part in extreme southwestern Iowa that is closer to Dalhart TX than Texas capitol is.

Despite being in Southwestern Europe, I actually live just North of the latitude of Cape Cod.

Edit to add that Virginia actually reaches farther West than West Virginia.
Supporter of the construction of several running gags, including I-366 with a speed limit of 85 mph (137 km/h) and the Hypotenuse.

Please note that I may mention "invalid" FM channels, i.e. ending in an even number or down to 87.5. These are valid in Europe.

roadman65

Staten Island, NY is closer to NJ than it is to the rest of its own state.

Pennsville , NJ is New Jersey's westernmost point and yet is west of Allentown, PA.  Also west of Carbondale, PA further north being several miles west of Milford on US 6.
Every day is a winding road, you just got to get used to it.

Sheryl Crowe

triplemultiplex

Travel in a straight line in all four cardinal directions from Superior, Wisconsin and the next state you hit will always be Minnesota.

Try finding another place like that; it's really hard.
"That's just like... your opinion, man."

hotdogPi

Quote from: noelbotevera on November 28, 2015, 03:12:11 PM
Quote from: triplemultiplex on November 28, 2015, 02:50:10 PM
Travel in a straight line in all four cardinal directions from Superior, Wisconsin and the next state you hit will always be Minnesota.

Try finding another place like that; it's really hard.
Except for south.

Which state do you hit before Minnesota?
Clinched, minus I-93 (I'm missing a few miles and my file is incorrect)

Traveled, plus US 13, 44, and 50, and several state routes

I will be in Burlington VT for the eclipse.

noelbotevera

Quote from: 1 on November 28, 2015, 03:16:58 PM
Quote from: noelbotevera on November 28, 2015, 03:12:11 PM
Quote from: triplemultiplex on November 28, 2015, 02:50:10 PM
Travel in a straight line in all four cardinal directions from Superior, Wisconsin and the next state you hit will always be Minnesota.

Try finding another place like that; it's really hard.
Except for south.

Which state do you hit before Minnesota?
Never mind; my previous post is an error.

CNGL-Leudimin

Quote from: triplemultiplex on November 28, 2015, 02:50:10 PM
Travel in a straight line in all four cardinal directions from Superior, Wisconsin and the next state you hit will always be Minnesota.

Try finding another place like that; it's really hard.

Jungholz in Austria. Head in all four directions, the first country you will cross into is Germany. Actually Jungholz would be an enclave if it wasn't for that point that connects it to the rest of Austria.
Quote from: noelbotevera on November 28, 2015, 03:12:11 PM
Except for south.

You haven't gone too far South. Zoom out.
Supporter of the construction of several running gags, including I-366 with a speed limit of 85 mph (137 km/h) and the Hypotenuse.

Please note that I may mention "invalid" FM channels, i.e. ending in an even number or down to 87.5. These are valid in Europe.

GaryV

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

vdeane

Quebec City is closer to Washington DC than it is to Blanc Sablon (just barely in the same provence).
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position of NYSDOT or its affiliates.

TheHighwayMan3561

Quote from: triplemultiplex on November 28, 2015, 02:50:10 PM
Travel in a straight line in all four cardinal directions from Superior, Wisconsin and the next state you hit will always be Minnesota.

Try finding another place like that; it's really hard.

Lesotho, San Marino, and Vatican City. :bigass: :bigass:
self-certified as the dumbest person on this board for 5 years running

1995hoo

Quote from: triplemultiplex on November 28, 2015, 02:50:10 PM
Travel in a straight line in all four cardinal directions from Superior, Wisconsin and the next state you hit will always be Minnesota.

Try finding another place like that; it's really hard.

Baarle-Hertog, maybe? Or at least there are several Dutch areas completely surrounded by Baarle-Hertog.
"You know, you never have a guaranteed spot until you have a spot guaranteed."
—Olaf Kolzig, as quoted in the Washington Times on March 28, 2003,
commenting on the Capitals clinching a playoff spot.

"That sounded stupid, didn't it?"
—Kolzig, to the same reporter a few seconds later.

CtrlAltDel

Quote from: CNGL-Leudimin on November 28, 2015, 03:57:51 PM
Quote from: triplemultiplex on November 28, 2015, 02:50:10 PM
Travel in a straight line in all four cardinal directions from Superior, Wisconsin and the next state you hit will always be Minnesota.

Try finding another place like that; it's really hard.

Jungholz in Austria. Head in all four directions, the first country you will cross into is Germany. Actually Jungholz would be an enclave if it wasn't for that point that connects it to the rest of Austria.
Quote from: noelbotevera on November 28, 2015, 03:12:11 PM
Except for south.

You haven't gone too far South. Zoom out.

The southernmost part of Superior will hit Michigan first when heading east.
Interstates clinched: 4, 57, 275 (IN-KY-OH), 465 (IN), 640 (TN), 985
State Interstates clinched: I-26 (TN), I-75 (GA), I-75 (KY), I-75 (TN), I-81 (WV), I-95 (NH)

roadman65

Cincinnati, OH is closer to Galveston, TX than El Paso is.

Of course anyplace in Texas can be closer to other cities in far away states than its own.  Even I-10 is shorter from the TX- NM State line to Los Angeles than it is to the other border where I-10 crosses from Texas into Louisiana.
Every day is a winding road, you just got to get used to it.

Sheryl Crowe

pianocello

To a non-Michigander, it would seem odd that the first country you hit when you're going south from Detroit is Canada.

It still blows my mind that all of Great Britain is north of the northernmost point of the continental US.
Davenport, IA -> Valparaiso, IN -> Ames, IA -> Orlando, FL -> Gainesville, FL -> Evansville, IN

mhh

At the border crossings between Detroit, Michigan and Windsor, Ontario, the U.S. is to the north and Canada is to the south. If you travel from Detroit in any cardinal direction except west, the first foreign country that you reach will be Canada.

GaryV

Quote from: CtrlAltDel on November 28, 2015, 06:17:31 PM
The southernmost part of Superior will hit Michigan first when heading east.

Correct, just like the western portions of Detroit would miss Canada when going due south.

empirestate


Quote from: triplemultiplex on November 28, 2015, 02:50:10 PM
Travel in a straight line in all four cardinal directions from Superior, Wisconsin and the next state you hit will always be Minnesota.

Try finding another place like that; it's really hard.

Greenwich, CT, apparently. It was a Car Talk puzzler.


iPhone

The Nature Boy

Quote from: empirestate on November 28, 2015, 09:44:32 PM

Quote from: triplemultiplex on November 28, 2015, 02:50:10 PM
Travel in a straight line in all four cardinal directions from Superior, Wisconsin and the next state you hit will always be Minnesota.

Try finding another place like that; it's really hard.

Greenwich, CT, apparently. It was a Car Talk puzzler.


iPhone

I almost challenged this but then I saw that the eastern tip of Long Island, NY IS due east of Greenwich, CT.



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