Twelve Mile Circle – An Appreciation of Unusual Places

Category: Terrain

  • 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.…

  • 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…

  • Fraser Island – World’s Largest Sand Island

    Fraser Island is a remarkable natural setting. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) even recognized it as a World Heritage Site. In granting this designation, UNESCO said, “Fraser Island lies just off the east coast of Australia. At 122 km long, it is the largest sand island in the world. Majestic remnants of…

  • Australia’s Highest Elevation

    The highest point of elevation on the Australian continent is Mount Kosciuszko of the Great Dividing Range at 2,228 metres (7,310 feet). What is lesser know, however, is that’s it’s not actually the highest point in the country of Australia. The nation does encompass territory beyond the continent. That honour goes to Mawson Peak, the…

  • First Votes in New Hampshire Presidential Primary and Election

    Crawford Notch (map), and its primary community Hart’s Location, form an 11 mile by 1.5 mile protrusion outward from the northwest corner of New Hampshire’s Carroll County (see my previous entry on the irregular borders of Carroll County). However, it’s not a worthless appendix. It provides an important passageway through the White Mountains as it…

  • Reelfoot Lake

    There is only one large natural lake in Tennessee. It straddles the Lake Co. / Obion Co. border just a few miles from the Mississippi River. Some scientists speculate that Reelfoot Lake formed as a result of the massive New Madrid earthquakes of 1811 – 1812. Their theory does fall within the realm of possibility.…

  • Highest Elevation in Portugal

    So the highest elevation in Portugal is not on mainland Europe. It exhibits an unexpected twist of Strange Geography. Actually, it sits on an island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, some 1,500 kilometers (950 miles) from the Portuguese capital city of Lisbon. The island of Pico (literally “peak”) with its dominant stratovolcano of…

  • Google Maps Terrain Button

    I noticed that within the last few days, Google Maps added a “Terrain” button that shows general elevations by using different shades and shadows. Obviously it has its greatest impact where there are rapids changes in elevation such as mountain or canyons. I’ve had a lot of fun playing around with the feature as in…