The everyday blog of Richard Bartle.
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9:26am on Wednesday, 20th September, 2006:
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Lake of the Woods.
Take a look at a map of North America. The border between the main body of the United States and Canada is all bendy in the east, but straight in the west except for a bit around Vancouver. This straightness is unsurprising, as it follows the famous 49th parallel
Just a moment, though, what's that little bit where the 49th parallel part of the border stops at its eastern end? It seems to incorporate a piece of land that looks for all the world as if it should be in Canada, but it's in Minnesota. Can that be right?
Well yes, it can. That small area on the Lake of the Woods, formally known as the Northwest Angle, is American as a result of 19th-century politicians' drawing borders in areas that hadn't been thoroughly surveyed goegraphically. If you want to get to the rest of the USA from it, you either go by boat or pass through Canada (it's easy, as the border crossings aren't manned).
None of this is probably news to American and Canadian readers of QBlog, but it's not something that's widely known outside of North America. I first spotted the border anomaly when I was looking at maps as a child (I like maps!), and in those pre-Internet days it was tricky to find out more information. Over the years I did manage to read up about the area, though, and as a consequence determined that one day I'd visit it. The Lake of the Woods as a whole is some kind of huntin', shootin' and fishin' paradise, which doesn't appeal to me much; I just want to set foot on that Northwest Angle.
I don't suppose I ever will, but it's not entirely an impossible dream — merely a pointless one.
Referenced by Places I'd Like to Visit #2.
Referenced by Places I'd Like to Visit #3.
Referenced by Places I'd Like to Visit #4.
Referenced by Places I'd Like to Visit #5.
Referenced by Places I'm not all that Fussed about Visiting #1.
Referenced by Places I'm not all that Fussed about Visiting #2.
Referenced by Places I'd Like to Visit #7.
Referenced by Places I'd Like to Visit #8.
Referenced by Places I'd Like to Visit #9.
Referenced by Ripon.
Referenced by Places I'd Like to Visit #10.
Referenced by On Geneva.
Referenced by Places I'd Like to Visit #11.
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Copyright © 2006 Richard Bartle (richard@mud.co.uk).