Stragest Common State Borders

[JayhawkCO]

Brazil and France having a land border.

https://twitter.com/amazingmap/status/1269715205006729219

Crazy.

Chris

[CNGL-Leudimin]

I was baffled to see French Guiana in a map of France. Until then, I thought it was an independent country.

[1995hoo]

What's wild about it is that under French law, French Guiana is not a separate territory in the manner of, say, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, or American Samoa–it's considered an integral part of France like Alaska and Hawaii are in the USA.

[JayhawkCO]

What's wild about it is that under French law, French Guiana is not a separate territory in the manner of, say, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, or American Samoa–it's considered an integral part of France like Alaska and Hawaii are in the USA.

The longest domestic flight in the world is from Paris to Réunion.

Chris

[NWI_Irish96]

What's wild about it is that under French law, French Guiana is not a separate territory in the manner of, say, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, or American Samoa–it's considered an integral part of France like Alaska and Hawaii are in the USA.

The longest domestic flight in the world is from Paris to Réunion.

Chris

Longer than Boston to Honolulu?

[Scott5114]

Is there actually a non-stop flight from Boston to Honolulu, though? I'd imagine most Honolulu-bound itineraries would require changing planes in California. But I don't fly, so I may be wrong on that.

[JayhawkCO]

What's wild about it is that under French law, French Guiana is not a separate territory in the manner of, say, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, or American Samoa–it's considered an integral part of France like Alaska and Hawaii are in the USA.

The longest domestic flight in the world is from Paris to Réunion.

Chris

Longer than Boston to Honolulu?

Considerably.

http://www.gcmap.com/mapui?P=hnl-bos%0D%0AOry-run&MS=wls&DU=mi

Chris

[US 89]

Iowa and Minnesota.

When many people think of Iowa, they think of farms and cornfields - the "Heartland."
When they think of Minnesota, they usually picture "the North"  - woods and the "Land of 10,000 Lakes."

I've made the drive up I-35 to Minneapolis many a time - from that experience, I can tell that most of the state south of the Twin Cities basically looks like Iowa (especially south of Faribault). However, once you reach the metro itself and then get further to the north - that's when the lakes and trees become more common and Minnesota begins to look more like the popular perception of that state.

Eh, I'm not sure about this one. People know they're both cold northern states.

From what I have observed in the west and south, people generally do not think of Iowa as a cold northern state. To most people it is just another plains state with a lot of cornfields.

[kphoger]

From what I have observed in the west and south, people generally do not think of Iowa as a cold northern state. To most people it is just another plains state with a lot of cornfields.

It's ironic, then, that filling up with gas in northern Iowa is my least favorite part of winter trips to Minnesota.  Iowa gets just as cold as [southern] Minnesota, but it gets more wind.  For example, filling up at this truck stop is brutal in the winter.  Below-zero temps are common, and there's nothing but cornfield stubble for miles to block the north wind.  I've had to endure that multiple times.

(Edit:  I see that the Flying J put the old nasty Boondocks truck stop out of business.  Hopefully the new owners can turn it into something less gross-feeling.)

[dkblake]

The strangest one to me that hasn't been mentioned yet is Minnesota/Ontario.

Two more strange almost borders: KS is less than 60 miles from NM, and ON is less than 100 miles from ND.

[1995hoo]

Is there actually a non-stop flight from Boston to Honolulu, though? I'd imagine most Honolulu-bound itineraries would require changing planes in California. But I don't fly, so I may be wrong on that.

I've flown nonstop between Newark and Honolulu (and Atlanta and Anchorage). Don't know about Boston.

[maplou]

The NY/Mass border is weird to me, having driven over it a few times. Crossing over the line, there's almost a change in landscape, to an extent. It probably has something to do with farming in NY but it's always a surprisingly noticeable divide to me, especially on I-90, where it goes from a road tucked into a forest, to a more open landscape, quickly followed by a large truck stop at an exit less than a mile into New York.

[JayhawkCO]

Is there actually a non-stop flight from Boston to Honolulu, though? I'd imagine most Honolulu-bound itineraries would require changing planes in California. But I don't fly, so I may be wrong on that.

I've flown nonstop between Newark and Honolulu (and Atlanta and Anchorage). Don't know about Boston.

There is (or was pre-Covid).  Hawaiian Airlines flew BOS-HNL.  It still loses out to Paris-Reunion though.

Chris

[dkblake]

The NY/Mass border is weird to me, having driven over it a few times. Crossing over the line, there's almost a change in landscape, to an extent. It probably has something to do with farming in NY but it's always a surprisingly noticeable divide to me, especially on I-90, where it goes from a road tucked into a forest, to a more open landscape, quickly followed by a large truck stop at an exit less than a mile into New York.

Yes. A little sappy to say, but this very state line was incredibly formative to my roadgeekness as a teenager when I'd go with my family to Syracuse, where my older sister went to college. When the landscape opened before exit B3, I felt as if I was leaving the seeming constraints of Massachusetts (and Cape Cod, where I grew up) behind and driving westward into the thousands of miles of roads beyond.

[frankenroad]

What's wild about it is that under French law, French Guiana is not a separate territory in the manner of, say, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, or American Samoa–it's considered an integral part of France like Alaska and Hawaii are in the USA.

This, I assume, means that France is the only country with territory on three continents, as St. Pierre & Miquelon, even though it is composed of islands, is clearly in North America.

[CNGL-Leudimin]

France has integral parts of it in four different continents (Reunion and Mayotte are considered part of Africa, Martinique and Guadeloupe are in the Lesser Antilles which are generally considered part of North America; St. Pierre and Miquelon isn't a department but used to be one), with territories in a fifth one (New Caledonia and French Polynesia in Oceania). Not bad. And I know there's a member of this forum who lives just 60 miles from the border of the main territory of that country .

[JayhawkCO]

France has integral parts of it in four different continents (Reunion and Mayotte are considered part of Africa, Martinique and Guadeloupe are in the Lesser Antilles which are generally considered part of North America; St. Pierre and Miquelon isn't a department but used to be one), with territories in a fifth one (New Caledonia and French Polynesia in Oceania). Not bad. And I know there's a member of this forum who lives just 60 miles from the border of the main territory of that country .

And very technically, they have also claimed Adélie Land in Antarctica as well.  All continents except Asia.

Chris

[webny99]

Eh, I'm not sure about this one. People know they're both cold northern states.

From what I have observed in the west and south, people generally do not think of Iowa as a cold northern state. To most people it is just another plains state with a lot of cornfields.

Both valid points because I think there's plenty of both people: Those who think it's a cold northern state, and those who think it's just another plains state. The two aren't necessarily mutually exclusive. I've only been to Iowa once (in the summer), and I basically think of it as a slightly milder version of southern Minnesota.

It's very different from northern Minnesota, though, so if you're unfamiliar with southern Minnesota and think of the state as being the Twin Cities, Duluth, and 10,000 lakes, then yes, Iowa is very starkly different from that.

[DandyDan]

From what I have observed in the west and south, people generally do not think of Iowa as a cold northern state. To most people it is just another plains state with a lot of cornfields.

It's ironic, then, that filling up with gas in northern Iowa is my least favorite part of winter trips to Minnesota.  Iowa gets just as cold as [southern] Minnesota, but it gets more wind.  For example, filling up at this truck stop is brutal in the winter.  Below-zero temps are common, and there's nothing but cornfield stubble for miles to block the north wind.  I've had to endure that multiple times.

(Edit:  I see that the Flying J put the old nasty Boondocks truck stop out of business.  Hopefully the new owners can turn it into something less gross-feeling.)

I've gotten gas at that truck stop, too (and ate at the Subway there as well). It's brutally windy there even in summer. I also write this when it's -8 in Mason City.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

Eh, I'm not sure about this one. People know they're both cold northern states.

From what I have observed in the west and south, people generally do not think of Iowa as a cold northern state. To most people it is just another plains state with a lot of cornfields.

Both valid points because I think there's plenty of both people: Those who think it's a cold northern state, and those who think it's just another plains state. The two aren't necessarily mutually exclusive. I've only been to Iowa once (in the summer), and I basically think of it as a slightly milder version of southern Minnesota.

It's very different from northern Minnesota, though, so if you're unfamiliar with southern Minnesota and think of the state as being the Twin Cities, Duluth, and 10,000 lakes, then yes, Iowa is very starkly different from that.

The thing is though, then you can extend the strange border to IA/SD - the corn-filled Plains state shares a border with Mount Rushmore, the Black Hills, and the Badlands. You just have to go through the part of SD that looks, feels, and smells like Iowa first.

[kphoger]

I've only been to Iowa once (in the summer), and I basically think of it as a slightly milder version of southern Minnesota.

It's very different from northern Minnesota, though, so if you're unfamiliar with southern Minnesota and think of the state as being the Twin Cities, Duluth, and 10,000 lakes, then yes, Iowa is very starkly different from that.

Meanwhile, I've never been farther north than Hinkley.  So, in my mind, southern Minnesota is Minnesota.  And it's very similar to Iowa.