Twelve Mile Circle
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Nimrod
I noticed a lake clipped by the stair-step border in Arkansas. What kind of nimrod would name something Nimrod Lake (map)? Nimrod applies in a derogatory way in various usages of American English. It references someone rather dim-witted. However, I don’t know if that applies elsewhere in the English speaking world. Maybe our regular readers…
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Let’s Decide
The loyal readers of the Twelve Mile Circle certainly came through with a number of great suggestions for the most Iconic View. I have multiple favorites and I imagine you probably do too. There’s no objective way that I believe I can select a single winner. With that in mind, I’ve decided to let the…
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The Merrick Strip
Three cheers for longtime reader Pfly for pointing out the Merrick Strip in a recent comment. Did you miss the comment? Are you wondering what I’m talking about? Then check out the northwest corner of Merrick County, Nebraska. Notice what almost looks like an antenna protruding from the main body of the county. It’s an…
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Stair Step Border
A jagged border exists between Perry and Yell Counties in Arkansas. It comes with fifteen perfectly-aligned steps rising northeasterly like a superhuman staircase stenciled upon the landscape. The path traverses land and lakes alike, in a noticeably precise pattern. It seemed rather unusual to me. More commonly one would expect to see a border drawn…
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Iconic Views
Skip directly to the bottom if you want to be part of a little contest. Otherwise feel free to read through my blathering extended explanation of context for a few moments. I featured a nice Google Street View image of the historic Hume School in Arlington County, Virginia recently. It seemed familiar, and not because…
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A Tale of Three Ridges
I’m not sure if I’m totally captivated by Google’s ability to suggest plausible answers while I type a query. Sometimes it’s a shortcut, other times it’s amusing, but more often than not it’s annoying. I seem to enjoy the feature more in Google Maps. It seems to geo-locate based on IP address when making suggestions…
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Dr. Howder Road
It looks like I’ll need to write an article today seeing how the world didn’t end last night. Thankfully I hedged my bets and started my research well in advance. Otherwise I’d be struggling with a suitable topic this morning. Calling Dr. Howder I’ve start with a question: Who was Dr. Howder and why does…
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All Those Modes of Transportation
I brought my elementary-aged son to “bring your child to work day” back in April. I wasn’t sure he was going to enjoy the event but he had a fine time. And I learned from it too. It was wonderful to see my very familiar office space through the eyes of someone who had never…
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Google Maps County Lines on the Way?
Are county boundaries finally on the way to Google Maps? County Counters including myself have bemoaned the complete lack of county lines in Maps, having to rely on Mapquest and other sources instead. Last night, however, I went to Google and searched on Fayette County, Pennsylvania. The result shocked me. Check it out! That’s an…
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Bill Williams’ Fingerprints
Peering at a random spot on a map — one of my favorite hobbies — showed a river with a name so ordinary it seemed unusual. I realize that’s an oxymoron so bear with me a little while and hear me out. Rivers often carry the names of the topography that surrounds it. Sometimes it’s…
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