Showing posts with label Geographic Oddities. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Geographic Oddities. Show all posts

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Adam's Bridge




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Also knows as Rama's Bridge or Rama Setu, consists of a series of limestone shoals running between Pamban Island, also known as Rameswaram Island, off the southeastern coast of Tamil Nadu, India, and Mannar Island, off the northwestern coast of Sri Lanka. Geological evidence indicates that this bridge is a former land connection between India and Sri Lanka.

Sunday, June 6, 2010

Antipodes and the Earth Sandwich

If you want to dig a hole straight through the Earth to China, start digging in Argentina. This is one of the few places on land in which the antipode is not located on an ocean. With most of the Earth's surface covered by water and most of the land area in the Norther Hemisphere, this is not really surprising.

Ze Frank has a project to create "Earth Sandwiches", which is created when two slices of bread are simultaneously placed on opposite sides of the Earth. To assist this project, his website has a Google Maps tool that can display the antipodal spot of any place mark.

There is an area in northern Montana that is opposite from the Kerguelen Islands in the South Indian Ocean. There is also a small island, Île Amsterdam, antipodal to spot southeast of Lamar, Colorado and Île Saint-Paul, which is opposite from Firstview, Colorado. These are the only land areas antipodal to the Lower 48 United States.


Saturday, March 20, 2010

Point Udall(s)


Point Udall refers to two places, named after two brothers, which are the easternmost and westernmost points (by travel not longitude) in the United States:

Point Udall (Guam) - named after Mo Udall
Point Udall (U.S. Virgin Islands) - named after Stewart Udall


Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Farthest Point In the Lower 48 from Any McDonald's

This time, credit blogger Stephen Von Worley for finding this week's Geographic oddity. And once again, South Dakota is the winner. Between Meadow and Glad Valley, South Dakota lies the spot in the lower 48 states farthest from any McDonald's Restaurant : 107 miles , as the crow flies, and 145 miles by car.


Thursday, September 10, 2009

Farthest Point in U.S. from any Ocean - Part 2

Previously, I speculated that the farthest point in the United States from any ocean (Including Hudson's Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, but excluding the Great Lakes), might be the Red Lobster in Sioux Falls, SD. Further research has provided a more accurate answer. It turns out that the Red Lobster in Rapid City, SD is farther away from any coastline:
I also found out that there is a geographic term for the place on a land mass that is farthest from the ocean: "The Continental Pole of Inaccessibility".

In North America, the continental pole of inaccessibility is in southwest South Dakota. Due to uncertainties in the definition of coastlines, there have been two spots documented (43°26′N 102°23′W - located 1024 miles from the nearest coastline) and (43.36°N 101.97°W.). Roughly between these two coordinates, is the town of Kyle, South Dakota:

Part - 3
I mentioned to my wife that someday we should go to Rapid City and eat at the Red Lobster just to say we did it... Her response:
"We have a coupon!"

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Farthest Point in U.S. from Any Ocean

I'm not sure exactly where it is (even Google let me down on this question), but I have a hunch that it is probably near the Red Lobster in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.



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(* I'm counting Hudson's Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, but excluding the Great Lakes)

Edit : See newer post with UPDATE!

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Missed it by That Much


Turns out that the Four Corners marker for Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah is off by a couple of miles.

Monday, February 2, 2009

The Last Phone Booth in Washington D.C. Area



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Disappointing if dialing a special number does not open a passage to one of Cheney's old "Undisclosed Locations".

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Two Ocean Creek, Wyoming


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This is a place I learned about many years ago, but will probably never have the opportunity to visit. The Google Map image above includes the approximate location where North Two Ocean Creek, splits into Pacific Creek, which flows to the Pacific Ocean via the Snake and Columbia rivers and Atlantic Creek, which flows to the Gulf of Mexico via the Yellowstone, Missouri, and Mississippi rivers. There are other continental divides throughout the world, but this is the only place that I am aware of where a significant drainage splits to different oceans.

According the the National Park Service, his is the point at which the Pacific Drainage cutthroat trout crossed the divide into the Mississippi Drainage.

This site includes maps and several photos of the point where North Two Ocean Creek splits.