Geographical Oddities of the United States

In my final year of college I needed something to do while I ate breakfast each morning. Fortunately one of my roommates had a United States road atlas. I would pick a state each day, and study it between bites of Kashi Go-Lean. Here are some things I found that made my hair stand on end and my bow-tie spin around.

Point Roberts, Washington State

The Tsawwassen Peninsula is just south of Vancouver, British Columbia, and mostly belongs to Canada. But the bottom tip, called Point Roberts, is oddly part of Washington State.

This situation dates back to the 1840s, when the border between the Oregon Territory and Canada was in dispute. There was even talk of going to war. But cooler heads prevailed, and a treaty settled the matter. Everything above the 49th parallel was part of Canada, and everything below (except for Vancouver Island) was part of the United States. However, at that time European knowledge of the area was still a bit iffy. It turned out that the bottom tip of the Tsawwassen peninsula dipped below the 49th parallel, and thus belonged to the U.S.

Seems like one of those cases where you say “whatever Canada, take it”, but a treaty is a treaty. Although only accessible from the U.S. by boat or plane, Point Roberts is still part of the United States, all 4.9 square miles of it. It has a full border crossing and everything. Canadians flock there in the summer to spend their hard-earned Canadian vacation dollars.

The Northwest Angle, Minnesota

Of the lower 48 states, which one is the northernmost? Many people will say Maine, but that is incorrect. Washington, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota and Minnesota would share a tie for first place, with northern borders at the 49th parallel… but Minnesota takes the prize due to an oddity called the Northwest Angle.

Looking at an outline of Minnesota, the Northwest Angle is a point that sticks up at the very top. At first glance your reaction might be WTF. It’s separated from the rest of the state by the Lake of the Woods. It’s not an island or anything like that, just a random blotch of land without notable natural resources or settlements.

Its history begins with the Treaty of Paris, which ended the American Revolution. The treaty awarded the newly independent United States with the Northwest Territory, a big hunk of land ready to be carved into new states. It called for the territory border to go to the northwestern-most part of the Lake of the Woods, then continue westward until it hit the Mississippi River.

However, the source of the Mississippi (Lake Itasca) turned out to be farther south than the Lake of the Woods, making this impossible. To fix this, it was later decided that the border should instead travel to the northwestern-most part of the Lake of the Woods, then due south until the 49th parallel, and then due west. This unexpectedly resulted in a small notch of land being included in U.S. territory, and the Northwest Angle was born.

Mississippi River, Several States

The map above shows a portion of the border between the states of Arkansas and Mississippi. It’s weird! Although the border mostly follows the Mississippi River, there are random bits of land that actually belong to the state on the opposite side. This situation exists for several other state borders defined by the Mississippi.

The Mississippi gradually changes course over time. Normally, the state boundaries change along with it. However, sometimes a flood or other event will suddenly change the course overnight. When this happens, the state boundaries don’t change. It’s confusing and has led to several U.S. Supreme Court cases over the years. But all those pockets of land you see are a history of the Mississippi’s sudden course changes.

Kentucky Bend, Kentucky

The Kentucky Bend is another oddity caused by the Mississippi River. The western-most part of Kentucky is an exclave separated from the rest of the state, surrounded by Missouri to the north and Tennessee to the south.

The boundary between Kentucky and Tennessee was intended to be a horizontal east-to-west line that ended at the Mississippi River. The land north of the line and east of the river was to belong to Kentucky, while the land south of the line and east of the river was to belong to Tennessee. Meanwhile, Missouri owned the land on the western side of the river.

When surveyors reached the area to officially mark out the border, they found out that bends in the river caused the line crossed the river more than once. Since the land inside the bend was north of the line and east of the Mississippi it belonged to Kentucky, but was cut off from the rest of the state because some land on the other side of the river belonging to Missouri dipped down below the line.

Kentucky and Tennessee disputed it for a number of years before Kentucky prevailed. Only 18 people live in the Bend according to the 2010 census, and the only way to drive there is by going through Tennessee.

The Southwick Jog, Connecticut/Massachusetts

The border between Connecticut and Massachusetts looks like a straight line, but if you look closely in the middle there’s a small notch cut out of Connecticut’s side. This notch is called the Southwick Jog. It dates back to the 1700s when colonial borders were still a bit fluid. The land inside the jog was given to Massachusetts as compensation to end a long series of surveying disputes.

Conclusion

Despite having more straight lines per capita than most of the world, the U.S. still has its fair share of geographical oddities. But it’s a big world out there, and we’re just getting started. For example, check out the border between the Netherlands and Belgium – we’re talking exclaves inside of exclaves! No joke! Happy hunting.