Category: Cities/Towns
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Even More Unusual Signs
It’s been about fourteen months since I posted an installment of odd signs that I’d encountered during my travels. I like unusual things whether they’re geo-oddities or mundane objects that seem out of whack. Occasionally I feel compelled to share them even if nobody else can summon the same level of enthusiasm. If they cause…
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Prime Meridian Capital Cities
School must be back in session. I can sense that must have happened because I’m capturing an exact phrase from multiple Internet Protocol addresses in my search engine query logs: “The Primer Meridian runs through what two capital cities?“ Could it be a Coincidence? I think not. I remember those bygone days of excessive homework…
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European Latitude Paradoxes
There aren’t any great research efforts or revelations today, just some interesting observations about various lines of latitude in western Europe. I spend a lot of time simply looking at maps, at the patterns, and the logical contradictions that aren’t always apparent in our conventional thoughts. These are a few that have made me smile…
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Nuevo León’s Quirky International Border
The border between the United States and Mexico has been a frequent topic of news and conversation this summer. But let’s be clear; Twelve Mile Circle doesn’t generally focus on political issues. Even so, it does have an interest in situations created by geography such as the recent border pirate phenomenon. In fact it was…
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All Vowel Place Names
I come across various language trivia lists on the Intertubes all the time. They cover a thousand different topics but some of them focus on words of unnatural length composed solely of vowels. It doesn’t take much to entertain me but you already knew that. They’re somewhat amusing but they do tend to stretch towards…
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Ultralineamentum
I follow the usual geography blogs each day like many of you probably do too. They all seem to have distinct personalities even if they cover the same subjects already blossoming in the popular media. I wouldn’t trade those blogs for anything. They’re informative and insightful, and I enjoy them. However, I wouldn’t try to…
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Australia’s Longest Straight Line?
Lines continue to fascinate me, both imaginary and real. I found myself pondering the website of Australian Rail Maps, looking at their Western Australia page. I’d heard about a specific segment crossing the hauntingly desolate Nullarbor Plain and I intended to investigate it further. It’s here, between kilometre 797 west of Ooldea (South Australia) and…
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Colorado’s Paradox
It’s a paradox. How does a search engine decide that my website is a good source of information on the naming of the tiny town of Paradox, Colorado? I’d mentioned it only one time in a most innocuous way. I’d been examining a kink in the boundary between Colorado and neighboring Utah. Back then I…
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Birch Syrup Geography
I wandered into a shop in Talkeetna, a town of a few hundred souls in the interior of south central Alaskan (map). There I discovered an assortment of small plastic jugs with a strange and rare substance offered for sale: birch syrup. I’d never heard of this particular agricultural product before. Sure, I’ve consumed more…
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My Travel Box – American Meridian Edition
My Travel Box article led to more interest than I expected both from longstanding and recent readers. It proves once again that I have no idea what resonates with a larger audience. So I’ll continue to write about what I find personally interesting and hope that a few of you join me for the ride.…