Category: Roads
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Slug Lines
Geography can influence social behavior and that’s the case with slug lines. This article has nothing to do with gastropods. Rather it’s a commuting method originating organically without any type of government involvement or sanction in the Washington, DC area. Since then it has also spread to other cities. It’s an efficient arrangement that matches…
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Lazy Blue Ridge Afternoon
Over the weekend we traveled down the eastern side of the Blue Ridge Mountains. It forms part of an ancient backbone, the Appalachian chain abutting central Virginia. As the crow flies, it wasn’t too far from Shenandoah National Park’s Swift Run Gap and Skyline Drive. We were guest on private land so I won’t give…
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Australia’s Weird Little Time Zone
Continental Australia is divided into three standard time zones, Western, Central and Eastern. It’s pretty simple to understand even bearing in mind that Australian Central Standard Time aligns with the half-hour (UTC+9:30). Individual Australian states and territories determine whether to recognise Daylight Saving Time (DST) or not. Far-flung Australian island territories and its Antarctic stations…
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Lake Delton is Gone
NOTE: This entry was written in JUNE 2008, recording a historical event as it unfolded. It does not represent conditions at Lake Delton today. Lake Delton, the 267 acre lake shown on this map ceased to exist on June 9, 2008. This, the crown jewel of the Wisconsin Dells, roared down the Wisconsin River in…
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Wisconsin Floods
NOTE: This entry was written in JUNE 2008, recording a historical event as it unfolded. It does not represent conditions today. The weather has been unusual, and not in the way that Twelve Mile Circle normally appreciates. Awhile ago I posted a story about a water shortage in the southeastern part of the United States…
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Unusual Goes Very Local, Part II
Continuing on the theme from the previous post, I have another example of a very local anomaly in Arlington County, Virginia. Hopefully you will enjoy this one too. I encourage you to check around your neighborhood and see if you can find your own strange situations. I’d be glad to feature any that you might…
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Unusual Goes Very Local, Part I
Twelve Mile Circle is an appreciation of unusual places. However, they don’t have to be famous to be noteworthy. Every town has at least one unusual place, maybe more. Perhaps even your own hometown has a few. There is a spot in Arlington County, Virginia where a contiguous road called “North 26th Street” changes names.…
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Interstate Highway Numbers in the United States
Did you ever wonder whether there was a plan behind the numbering of interstate highways in the United States? It makes sense that someone has to handle it to avoid repetition or confusion. So how logical is the process and what are the rules? The interstate highway network, or more properly the “Dwight D. Eisenhower…
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Narrowest Point in Maryland
Maryland is about 250 miles long and about 100 miles wide at its greatest extremities. However, at one point it narrows to less than two miles where it forms its western panhandle. This is due to one natural geographic feature and one artificial line determined by humans. The Maryland-West Virginia border along this stretch hugs…
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Lowest Road in Canada
Recently I focused on the highest contiguous highway in the United States. Today I’d like to focus on the opposite situation in another place in North America. What is the lowest road in Canada? I love a good trick question. Canada’s lowest elevation is sea level, so the obvious answer would be any road that…