Month: March 2008
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Wisconsin’s Original Capitol
Sometimes fate determines whether a location will someday transform into a vibrant, active city or remain a sleepy rural hamlet. Many people are familiar with Madison, Wisconsin and its impressive State Capitol complex. They know its flagship University of Wisconsin campus, and the nearly half a million residents in its greater metropolitan area. Few, however,…
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Blessed Relief
Please allow me to go off topic for a moment. Twelve Mile Circle was having quite a spam problem until yesterday. You, the readers, avoided this awful torment because I moderate comment on this blog. They do not become visible on the site until I review and approve each of them individually. When I first…
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When Categories Collide!
Here I explore a mashup of two wonderful topics covered in previous posts. I’ll combine the County Highpointers Association and the epilogue to my Smallest County Series. I decided to see whether I could reach the highpoints of both the smallest self-governing county in the United States and the smallest “county equivalent” location recognized by…
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Northernmost Ferry in Canada
The northernmost Ferry in Canada, and indeed for all of North America, is the Arctic Red River Ferry. It serves the Gwich’in settlement of Tsiigehtchic in the Northwest Territories. This is so far north that it’s actually above the Arctic Circle. Arctic Red River Ferry The ferry provides a vital link in the continuity of…
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Lowest Elevation in England
When one considers elevations below sea level, England doesn’t normally come to mind. Maybe someone thinks of the Dead Sea or Death Valley or parts of the Netherlands as natural choices. But England? Indeed, England’s lowest elevation actually sits below sea level by almost three metres. This spot exists at Holme Fen (map) in Cambridgeshire.…
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Wollaston Lake’s Unusual Drainage
Water flows downhill naturally towards the sea. At a continental divide, water on each side of the divide will flow towards a different sea. Sometimes the final destinations will be hundreds or even thousands of kilometres apart. Occasionally a divide will pass through a standing body of water such as a pond or a lake.…
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Amateur Radio County Hunters
I never know what I might encounter while researching geographic oddities on the Internet. As a case in point, I came across an entire subculture of people as fascinated by counties as myself while I was putting together my recent series on the Smallest County in the United States. They call themselves the County Hunters.…
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Georgia Border Dispute
Several news outlets have highlighted a resolution proposed by Rep. Harry Geisinger of the Georgia General Assembly’s House of Representatives. It would seek to move the Georgia border 1.1 miles further north. News media on both sides of the border took immediate attention. For example, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution covered it with”Border war with Tennessee gets…
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Arizona Does Not Recognize Daylight Saving Time
If my timing were better I would have discussed this a few days ago. However, this doesn’t become very visible until the last moment. Then I forget about it and go on with my life. Invariably, twice a year, right before the change to/from Daylight Saving Time, my web traffic logs start to hum with…