Category: Distance
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Just How Wide is Hudson Bay, Really?
Everything about Canada is larger than life. It’s difficult to wrap one’s mind around its incredible breadth and scale. I came across a tantalizing fact that I thought might help conceptualize its vastness. Actually it’s a clever little illusion, some geography-slight-of-hand. In fact I think it’s more enjoyable as a mind-bender than as a trivia…
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…and Swains Island
I came across a document for a government program recently that restricted its eligibility to “All United States citizens and nationals (residents of American Samoa and Swains Island).” In the United States all citizens are nationals. However, not all nationals are citizens so the distinction needs to be clarified parenthetically. Truly it’s not an issue…
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Southernmost Northern Permafrost
Permafrost is defined as soil that maintains a temperature at or below freezing for two complete summers and an intervening winter. Actual “frost” doesn’t need to be present. Also the extent of permafrost in the Northern Hemisphere varies dramatically. It depends on many factors including topography, seasonal weather patterns, and permanent climate change. There are…
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The Great River Road
The Great River Road is a bit of a misnomer for it isn’t a single road. Rather many different roads commingle along a common theme, tracing a route along the Mississippi River. This scenic designation runs contiguously through ten of the United States. By extension it also enters two Canadian Provinces, a total length of…
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Smallest of Hawaii
I’ve been getting a fair amount of hits with search terms like “smallest island in Hawaii” and “smallest population in Hawaii.” This probably means a new geo-trivia contest recently started or a homework assignment for a standardized curriculum just came due. The answer is more interesting than I imagined, and once again it comes down…
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Centre of Australia
Do you notice anything remarkable about this little patch? It seems like this must be the middle of nowhere, just a sea of red soil and desert scrub removed from any hospitable place. However, according to some calculations, this is the centre of Australia. Am I the last one on the planet to know that…
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Walk Across the Mississippi River
Can any mortal human walk across the Mississippi River? Yes. It’s easy to cross the Mississippi at its source. The Mississippi River begins its long journey in northern Minnesota at Lake Itasca. Here the Mississippi starts as a small stream. Just about anyone can stroll right across it using conveniently placed stepping-stones. This humble beginning…
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Silly Little Highway
Mrs. Howder’s Mothers Day gift — at her request — was to have me and the kids leave the house for a few hours. I had to find the right enticement for short attention spans so I offered to take the kids on a tour of the “World’s Shortest Highway.” as a part of our…
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From Britain to Iceland by Automobile
Certainly one of the more pressing questions of our time is whether someone can use an automobile to travel between Britain and Iceland. By “pressing” I mean of importance to me naturally, because the questions that press upon my mind are rather simplistic. Maybe you are feeling a little curious too. Can someone drive from…
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Vale to Pensacola
We’re in that wonderful time of the year when people are still getting used to Daylight Saving Time (that’s Saving without an “s” and no I don’t know why that bothers me). On Twelve Mile Circle that also means I’m getting an odd little bump in traffic that only happens when the time changes either…