Category: Roads
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Island Isolation doesn’t Require an Island
Juneau is located in Alaska’s southeastern panhandle and serves as the state capital. No roads connect Juneau to the outside world even though it’s clearly part of mainland North America. Access is by sea or by air only. Rather than describe the situation it’s easier to show it. Notice how Juneau hugs a narrow seaside…
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Split in Two: St. Martin Parish
St. Martin Parish, Louisiana poses an odd situation (map). Neighboring Iberia Parish jabs straight through the middle of St. Martin and cleaves it into two completely different portions separated by several miles. The St. Martin Parish Clerk of the Court explains that, “In 1868, Iberia Parish was formed from parts of St. Martin and St.…
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Four Corners
Four Corners is a unique spot in the United States. It’s the only U.S. location where four states join together with a common boundary – a quadripoint. Thus, a visitor can touch Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona simultaneously. Maps of the area show this situation clearly and anyone can get there by automobile with…
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Anomalies In and Around Washington, DC
Geo-oddities exist everywhere. I thought I would focus some love and attention on a few of them near where I live. Likely you can find unusual features where you live too. Let’s take a closer look at some of them. Obsolete Boundary Stones The District of Columbia once covered an exact ten miles square. In…
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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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Geography as Pitcher Plant
A pitcher plant feeds carnivorously on unsuspecting insects. Bugs crawl, fly or fall into the plant. They cannot escape. Soon victims drown and slowly dissolve into a soup absorbed by the plant for nutrition. The Situation I read a great article in the Washington Post over the weekend that is still available online: “Drunk Drivers…
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Canadian Border Anomalies
I’ve discussed border anomalies between the United States and Canada before. Previously I focused on little areas of the U.S. separated from the rest of the country such as Point Roberts, the Northwest Angle and Alburg, Vermont. Here I give equal time to the Canadians. I’ll outline a couple of instances where citizens of that…
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Delaware Trifecta
The Howder Clan found itself in northern Delaware this weekend. Indeed we traveled within the actual Twelve Mile Circle itself which inspired the name of this site. Of course I carved out some time for a few geo-oddities in this very rich concentration of such spots. Some of them I’ve discussed before and others I’ll…
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Wallace Redux
I’ve never been to Wallace, Idaho but I simply couldn’t get that place out of my head in spite of the controversy[1] surrounding its Center of the Universe claim. Seemingly, there is an odd story for each of its 960 residents. This one involves a stoplight. It all comes down to geography and in this…