This is true? - Geographic oddities that defy conventional wisdom

[PColumbus73]

Out of the 50 states, Kansas has the 2nd most mainline US highway mileage, behind Texas. That kinda blew my mind the first time that I heard it.

Speaking of highway mileage...

I-70 in Kansas and I-40 in North Carolina have nearly the same mileage, I-70 at 423 miles, and I-40 at 420

[bing101]

Here is more on the New Orleans and Amsterdam  comparisons. 

[roadman65]

Oklahoma has mountains in the southeast part of the state, yet you won't find its highest point of elevation anywhere there despite that there are no hills or mountains anywhere else in the Sooner State.

The highest point is located in the state's panhandle near the CO/ KS Tripoint where the topography is flat.

[CoreySamson]

US 64 comes within 10 miles of entering 8 different states (UT, CO, TX, KS, MS, AL, GA, and SC) and does not enter them; however, it only enters 6 states.

[bing101]

[bluecountry]

Cumberland Gap VA is further west than Detroit, MI.

[Rothman]

Cumberland Gap VA is further west than Detroit, MI.

This fact was already mentioned.

[thenetwork]

You can fly in a straight line between Hawaii and Antarctica and cross the International Date Line 7 Times.

https://www.reddit.com/r/MapPorn/comments/aokh4d/traveling_southsouthwest_from_hawaii_toward/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR0t88It1MaWKwXQ3DciLUNBdDwNg7SxKzFFnql3yNSdddrFyGJHlyWJg-I_aem_gsnMosjiaTtnqVwSLeEN-w

[kurumi]

Alaska is the US state with the longest border with Canada (this does not defy conventional wisdom).

But Montana, that long state bordering 3 provinces, is #5.

#2 is Michigan; OK, Great Lakes, UP

#3 is Maine (where US 1 is 526 miles long)

#4 is Minnesota. 547 miles of border to defend.

Then comes Montana.

(source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada%E2%80%93United_States_border)

[Rothman]

MN has the crook.

[CtrlAltDel]

You can fly in a straight line between Hawaii and Antarctica and cross the International Date Line 7 Times.

https://www.reddit.com/r/MapPorn/comments/aokh4d/traveling_southsouthwest_from_hawaii_toward/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR0t88It1MaWKwXQ3DciLUNBdDwNg7SxKzFFnql3yNSdddrFyGJHlyWJg-I_aem_gsnMosjiaTtnqVwSLeEN-w

Is the International Date Line defined that rigorously? My understanding is that it's something of an ad-hoc practical creation that goes between places with time zones before Greenwich and those after and that any line which would do so is just as good.

Kind of like how many maps divide up the countries of the region like this:


But the actual legal situation is this:

[Road Hog]

The lowest elevation in Arkansas is not along the Mississippi River but along the Ouachita — 55 feet.

[Rothman]

The lowest elevation in Arkansas is not along the Mississippi River but along the Ouachita — 55 feet.

Best post in this thread in a very long while.

[CNGL-Leudimin]

A while ago perusing some topographical maps I discovered Castile and Leon (the largest region of Spain), covering the Northern part of the central plateau of the Iberian Peninsula, gets as low as 410 ft (125 m) above sea level where the Duero/Douro definitely leaves Spain, and was even lower before the Pocinho dam was built.

[JayhawkCO]

The length of Chile is longer than the diameter of the Moon.

[thspfc]

Alaska is the US state with the longest border with Canada (this does not defy conventional wisdom).

But Montana, that long state bordering 3 provinces, is #5.

#2 is Michigan; OK, Great Lakes, UP

#3 is Maine (where US 1 is 526 miles long)

#4 is Minnesota. 547 miles of border to defend.

Then comes Montana.

(source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada%E2%80%93United_States_border)

Minnesota is the one that surprises me. But it makes sense when you look at it. Related, Minnesota's easternmost point is further east than Memphis.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

Alaska is the US state with the longest border with Canada (this does not defy conventional wisdom).

But Montana, that long state bordering 3 provinces, is #5.

#2 is Michigan; OK, Great Lakes, UP

#3 is Maine (where US 1 is 526 miles long)

#4 is Minnesota. 547 miles of border to defend.

Then comes Montana.

(source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada%E2%80%93United_States_border)

Minnesota is the one that surprises me. But it makes sense when you look at it.

I figured the border having to snake through the BWCA would add some miles, but I was surprised it was that much. The Northwest Angle jut isn't insignificant either.

[Rothman]

Alaska is the US state with the longest border with Canada (this does not defy conventional wisdom).

But Montana, that long state bordering 3 provinces, is #5.

#2 is Michigan; OK, Great Lakes, UP

#3 is Maine (where US 1 is 526 miles long)

#4 is Minnesota. 547 miles of border to defend.

Then comes Montana.

(source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada%E2%80%93United_States_border)

Minnesota is the one that surprises me. But it makes sense when you look at it.

I figured the border having to snake through the BWCA would add some miles, but I was surprised it was that much. The Northwest Angle jut isn't insignificant either.

I think the North Shore is what's responsible for it being longer than expected.

[Road Hog]

Alaska is the US state with the longest border with Canada (this does not defy conventional wisdom).

But Montana, that long state bordering 3 provinces, is #5.

#2 is Michigan; OK, Great Lakes, UP

#3 is Maine (where US 1 is 526 miles long)

#4 is Minnesota. 547 miles of border to defend.

Then comes Montana.

(source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada%E2%80%93United_States_border)

Minnesota is the one that surprises me. But it makes sense when you look at it. Related, Minnesota's easternmost point is further east than Memphis.

As it should be as it's east of the Mississippi River! Duh! 

[TheHighwayMan3561]

Alaska is the US state with the longest border with Canada (this does not defy conventional wisdom).

But Montana, that long state bordering 3 provinces, is #5.

#2 is Michigan; OK, Great Lakes, UP

#3 is Maine (where US 1 is 526 miles long)

#4 is Minnesota. 547 miles of border to defend.

Then comes Montana.

(source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada%E2%80%93United_States_border)

Minnesota is the one that surprises me. But it makes sense when you look at it.

I figured the border having to snake through the BWCA would add some miles, but I was surprised it was that much. The Northwest Angle jut isn't insignificant either.

I think the North Shore is what's responsible for it being longer than expected.

I don't believe that's the case - the MN/MI/ON "tripoint" is right off Grand Portage and MN/ON share virtually no Lake Superior maritime border.

[webny99]

^ Another possible interpretation is that it's not the North Shore itself affecting perception of the border's length, but the entire triangle of land on which it exists.

If you draw a straight line north of Duluth to the ON border, there is well over 150 miles of border between that point and the MI/MN/ON tripoint that passes almost exclusively through remote and uninhabited territory. It's pretty easy to subconsciously assume "north of Superior = Canada" and mentally and visually jump from International Falls to Duluth, skipping by that triangle of land that's larger than some small states combined.

[bm7]

You can drive from Nebraska to Virginia while visiting only two other states on the way.

[LilianaUwU]

It seems that Boston is ever so slightly closer to my hometown (les Îles de la Madeleine) than Montréal by road, with 1250 km for Boston vs 1383 km for Montréal.

[freebrickproductions]

Forget if I ever mentioned it, but Huntsville, AL, is closer to Dayton, OH, than it is to Orlando, FL, at least by road.

[JayhawkCO]

Forget if I ever mentioned it, but Huntsville, AL, is closer to Dayton, OH, than it is to Orlando, FL, at least by road.

This is what I would have assumed. Tennessee and Kentucky are "skinny" whereas Alabama and Florida are not.