{"id":1785,"date":"2009-07-27T17:25:31","date_gmt":"2009-07-27T22:25:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.howderfamily.com\/blog\/?p=1785"},"modified":"2022-07-01T06:01:12","modified_gmt":"2022-07-01T11:01:12","slug":"hudson-bay-width","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.howderfamily.com\/blog\/hudson-bay-width\/","title":{"rendered":"Just How Wide is Hudson Bay, Really?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Everything about Canada is larger than life. It\u2019s difficult to wrap one\u2019s mind around its incredible breadth and scale. I came across a tantalizing fact that I thought might help conceptualize its vastness. Actually it’s a clever little illusion, some geography-slight-of-hand. In fact I think it\u2019s more enjoyable as a mind-bender than as a trivia question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

People sometimes ask how I come up with ideas for Twelve Mile Circle. There are many ways actually. Often I simply jot down odd tidbits and detritus as I stumble across them on the web, in print or verbally. Then I simply pull them from the list as needed. That happens either because I want to focus on a specific theme or geographic area, or as a cure for the occasional writer\u2019s block. I probably have a couple of hundred topics waiting in reserve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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One Little Topic From the List<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Somewhere I read or heard or otherwise noted on my list that Hudson Bay is so large that its eastern edge is due north of Washington, DC and its western edge is due north of Kansas City. That\u2019s amazing<\/em>, I thought when I first read it. So I placed it on the list for a time when I could explore it further.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Hudson<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For those unfamiliar with the locations involved, Kansas City is about half way across the North American continent. It\u2019s actually a little skewed to the east but generally “in the middle” more-or-less. Thus the Hudson Bay statement would lead many to conclude, subconsciously perhaps, that Hudson Bay must also be half a continent wide. It’s not, but what a great perceptional illusion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I thought I would plot this all on a map. Ponder this for a moment:<\/p>\n\n\n\n