Category: Water
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Lake Okeechobee’s Five Counties
Lake Okeechobee (map) dominates South Florida’s landscape. It’s a massive liquid patch along a narrow peninsula. It’s as if some giant creature found the lower portion of the state a convenient coaster for the world’s largest mug. Additionally it is the second largest freshwater lake contained wholly within the United States. Only one of the…
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Grotian Traditions, Thalwegs and Winner Take All
Rivers are a natural boundaries and a pretty obvious way to determine who controls land on either bank. Well, not withstanding occasional riverbed shifts. However rivers are also natural resources in their own right. They provide drinking water, irrigation, food and transportation. Those who control territory abutting a river naturally want to own and control…
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Carter Lake, Iowa
Strange Maps recently featured “Shifting Like A Snake: Ancient Mississippi Courses” [link no longer works] with a beautiful rendition of its meandering riverbanks over time. The relatively flat middle portion of the United States seems particularly susceptible to these types of changes along its grand watersheds, whether the Mississippi, Missouri, Platte or others. I believe…
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Canada’s 4 Corners
A spot exists in the United States where four states come together at a common point. Naturally they call it the Four Corners. A paved road goes right up to it and for a modest admission fee, visitors can touch four states simultaneously. Then they can take pictures and shop for Navajo crafts set up…
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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.…
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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…
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United States Ferries
Twelve Mile Circle admits an unusual fascination with ferries. Perhaps it comes from crossing a body of water at a personal level. Maybe it comes from taking the slow route and enjoying the ride as much as the destination. Regardless, few things please me as much as standing on the deck of a ferryboat as…