This is true? - Geographic oddities that defy conventional wisdom

[JayhawkCO]

There are six state capitals farther west than Los Angeles.

Yes I understand what you mean like Carson City, Sacramento, Honolulu, Juneau, Salem and Olympia are all state capitals located west of Los Angeles.

I think it's not intuitive to most people that Carson City and Sacramento are both west of LA.

The fact this geographic oddity has been repeated to me over the decades since I was in elementary school makes it quite intuitive.

Yeah. But you're very old. For the rest of us...

[webny99]

San Diego is east of Spokane.

San Diego is south of Spokane. 

San Diego is further east than Spokane, for the pedants

[kphoger]

San Diego is east of Spokane.

San Diego is south of Spokane. 

San Diego is further east than Spokane, for the pedants

How pedantic do you intend to get, while using 'further' instead of 'farther' for physical distance? 

[webny99]

How pedantic do you intend to get, while using 'further' instead of 'farther' for physical distance? 

You know I debated that before posting! but decided 'further' was acceptable for relative distance.

[kphoger]

We'll let it slide, then.  This time.

[PColumbus73]

When I-80 reaches San Francisco, it's near the same latitude as I-64 in Virginia.

[kurumi]

This one got me: I-16 is longer than I-17. Combination of kinda knowing where Macon is, but not in detail, and assuming cities in AZ are further apart than those out east.

[Evan_Th]

This one got me: I-16 is longer than I-17. Combination of kinda knowing where Macon is, but not in detail, and assuming cities in AZ are further apart than those out east.

Wow, that got me too.  I reflexively think "Arizona is bigger than Georgia," and forget to ask myself where in Arizona Phoenix and Flagstaff actually are.

[bing101]

The first night I spent in LA I thought holy crap, the sun sets early here, and it was the middle of July on full PDT. The Pacific Coast curves way east in SoCal..

Yes in Northern California the Sun does not set until 8:30-9pm in June to July timeframe.

[PColumbus73]

Maybe not an oddity, but in Selmer, Tennessee, you could take US 45 to Metropolis, or US 64 to Bat Cave.

[vdeane]

US 64 to Bat Cave.

Now I want some billionaire to change his name to Bruce Wayne and move there.

[english si]

US 64 to Bat Cave.

Now I want some billionaire to change his name to Bruce Wayne and move there.

I would say "don't give Elon ideas!", but he'd much rather be an X-Man than the Caped Crusader.

[JayhawkCO]

US 64 to Bat Cave.

Now I want some billionaire to change his name to Bruce Wayne and move there.

I would say "don't give Elon ideas!", but he'd much rather be an X-Man than the Caped Crusader.

Maybe more like Magneto.

[formulanone]

This one got me: I-16 is longer than I-17. Combination of kinda knowing where Macon is, but not in detail, and assuming cities in AZ are further apart than those out east.

Wow, that got me too.  I reflexively think "Arizona is bigger than Georgia," and forget to ask myself where in Arizona Phoenix and Flagstaff actually are.

That, and Georgia is deceptively wide from Alabama's border to the Atlantic Ocean, from points south of Savannah. I think I tend to eyeball it using peninsular Florida and Alabama as a guide, and wind up being off by at least 100 miles.

[vdeane]

US 64 to Bat Cave.

Now I want some billionaire to change his name to Bruce Wayne and move there.

I would say "don't give Elon ideas!", but he'd much rather be an X-Man than the Caped Crusader.

Pun intended?

[english si]

Pun intended?

the pun was the whole point.

[Mav94]

I just finished 62 of the 81 pages of this thread and saw a lot of things I knew but I didn't see that, by road, Larchwood, Iowa is closer to Pierre, SD, St. Paul, MN, and Lincoln, NE than it is to Des Moines, IA.

Also while every state has its share of cities that aren't located in counties with very similar names, Iowa seems to have a plethora of them. Itstarts with Des Moines not being in Des Moines County.

[jlam]

Also while every state has its share of cities that aren't located in counties with very similar names, Iowa seems to have a plethora of them. Itstarts with Des Moines not being in Des Moines County.

Oh yeah, there are a ton of these. Colorado, for instance, has:

• Dolores (in Montezuma County, not neighboring Dolores County)
• Jefferson (in Park County, not neighboring Jefferson County)
• Kiowa (in Elbert County, not the faraway land of Kiowa County)
• Kit Carson (in Cheyenne County, not neighboring Kit Carson County)
• Las Animas (in Bent County, not neighboring Las Animas County)
• Moffat (in Saguache County, not the distant Moffat County)
• Montezuma (in Summit County, not over yonder in Montezuma County)
• Pitkin (in Gunnison County, not neighboring Pitkin County)

And likely more.

[freebrickproductions]

Cherokee, AL, is pretty far away from Cherokee County, AL.

[RZF]

The first night I spent in LA I thought holy crap, the sun sets early here, and it was the middle of July on full PDT. The Pacific Coast curves way east in SoCal..

On the flip side, we get a decent winter sunset time here in SoCal, usually between 4:45-5:15p in December. In other states further north, I can't imagine the sun setting at 4.

[Scott5114]

The first night I spent in LA I thought holy crap, the sun sets early here, and it was the middle of July on full PDT. The Pacific Coast curves way east in SoCal..

On the flip side, we get a decent winter sunset time here in SoCal, usually between 4:45-5:15p in December. In other states further north, I can't imagine the sun setting at 4.

I wouldn't exactly call that decent. It kind of drove me nuts the first winter I spent in Las Vegas (I was accustomed to winter sunsets being closer to 6:00 in Oklahoma).

[doorknob60]

The first night I spent in LA I thought holy crap, the sun sets early here, and it was the middle of July on full PDT. The Pacific Coast curves way east in SoCal..

On the flip side, we get a decent winter sunset time here in SoCal, usually between 4:45-5:15p in December. In other states further north, I can't imagine the sun setting at 4.

I wouldn't exactly call that decent. It kind of drove me nuts the first winter I spent in Las Vegas (I was accustomed to winter sunsets being closer to 6:00 in Oklahoma).

Agree, it's weird particularly traveling from Boise to SoCal in the winter. I'm escaping the cold dreary winter up north, and it's usually warm/mild and sunny in SoCal. Yet, the winter solstice sunset in Boise is 5:11 PM and in LA is 4:48 PM. Vegas is even worse at 4:30 PM. Feels early, because at home, when it's warm out, it stays light outside late.

Of course, the counter to all that is that the sunrise on the winter solstice is 8:15 AM in Boise, and is 6:55 AM in LA. So LA is getting roughly an hour more daylight than Boise in the dead of winter, but it feels wrong that it's shifted so far back. This is ultimately more of a time zone quirk than a geography quirk (Boise being near the far western extent of Mountain Time).

[kphoger]

We should start a thread about the pros and cons of Daylight Saving Time.

[Scott5114]

We should start a thread about the pros and cons of Daylight Saving Time.

Pros of daylight savings time: news anchors, doctors, politicians, etc that get paid to talk about daylight savings time

Cons of daylight savings time: anyone who is trying to produce a rational reason to justify the way they feel about it is probably conning you

[kphoger]

We should start a thread about the pros and cons of Daylight Saving Time.

Pros of daylight savings time: news anchors, doctors, politicians, etc that get paid to talk about daylight savings time

Cons of daylight savings time: anyone who is trying to produce a rational reason to justify the way they feel about it is probably conning you

Do you think the pros are conning us?