Twelve Mile Circle – An Appreciation of Unusual Places

Twelve Mile Circle

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • The Last Grand Duchy

    Luxembourg remains the sole Grand Duchy on the planet. So what exactly is a Grand Duchy? It is a political division led by a Grand Duke or Duchess. This royal position ranks higher than a Duke but lower than a King. A Duke generally controls a province directly below the King. Nonetheless, once in awhile…

  • Tombolo!

    I love this word. Almost as much a thalweg. A Tombolo is a narrow neck of land that forms between the mainland and an island, or between two islands, as sand and sediment deposit between them. Waves hit a landform at a specific angle determined by surrounding currents. Over time this can build up to…

  • 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…

  • Savor: An American Craft Beer and Food Experience

    Those reading Twelve Mile Circle for the weird geography stuff may want to take a pass today. Here I focus much more broadly within the scope of our stated purpose, “an appreciation of unusual places.” On Friday night, May 16, 2008, I had the pleasure of attending the opening session of Savor: An American Craft…

  • Most County Borders

    Quite awhile ago when the Twelve Mile Circle was still young I featured a series of posts focusing on the counties with the fewest neighboring counties. Now I’ve finally gotten around to the flip side of that observation. So what county has the most county borders? I’ve done quite a lot of checking and quite…

  • Trail Ridge Road

    As covered in the prior post, Trail Ridge Road reaches stratospheric elevations. It climbs to become the highest continuous highway in the United States. There it cuts straight through the splendor of Rocky Mountain National Park. Visitors scaling the summit from Estes Park, Colorado encounter another noteworthy feature along this remarkable road. This happens after…

  • Highest Contiguous Road in USA

    Mountainous roads climb to great heights in the western United States. But which one climbs the highest? As with many topics on Twelve Mile Circle, the answer depends. Does the road have to cross a mountain on the way between two points or can it stop at a dead end at the top? Does the…

  • GeoBee Challenge

    Cape Trafalgar is to Spain as Cape Comorin is to WHAT? (India) I think most people are probably familiar with the concept of a Spelling Bee. Of course it’s possible to extend the same format to geography. Appropriately enough, the National Geographic Society has done just that and not surprisingly they’ve called it the National…

Latest Comments

  1. I’ve enjoyed your Hawaii reports. I’ve visited 4 times, between 1976 and 2007, but no plans to return. In 1976…

  2. The British flag continues to fly at Roche Harbor, a couple miles north of English Camp.

  4. Been there Once for a few years. In 76 &77. Ran cooperative store. Even though it was very isolated It…

  5. As an Alaskan I always wondered why Interstates were a big deal. From my point of view a road went…