 Hey, did you know there will be an election in the United States πΊπΈ next week? Nowhere does big better than the States, so we thought in honour of the event we'd make this week's #geoweirdness thread our biggest ever; a 50 toot extravaganza covering something geo weird and wonderful from each and every state. 1/ 11 comments
3/ Alabama, AL There is a fascinating connection between a 100 million-year-old coastline and modern AL voting patterns. Build up of plankton and chalk formations created rich soil known as the βBlack Beltβ, perfect for cotton. This lead to large slave populations, which in turn affects local demographics and voting patterns to this day. 4/ Arkansas, AR You can reach every neighbouring state by travelling south from Arkansas. Also, a shout-out to Texarkana, one of several bi-state cities, the name a portmanteau of Texas, Arkansas, and nearby Louisiana. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texarkana,_Arkansas #geoweirdness at its best! 5/ Arizona, AZ In this sunny state, daylight saving time isnβt observed β but things get interesting within the Navajo Nation, where DST is followed, creating a time difference from the rest of the state for half the year. To make it even more complex, the Hopi Reservation, an enclave within the Navajo Nation, sticks to standard time year-round. So, travelling Route 264 means crossing time zones six times! 6/ California, CA Did you know that the Golden State used to be a republic? The California Republic or the Bear Flag Republic was a breakaway state from Mexico that lasted around 25 days in 1846. It surrounds what is now Sonoma County, CA, and it came to be after 33 immigrants rebelled and sought to break away. The modern state flag still celebrates the rebellion. 7/ Colorado / CO The seemingly rectangular shape of Colorado, the Centennial State, is actually composed of 697 sides, making it a hexahectaenneacontakaiheptagon. Donβt bother pronouncing it! There are no true straight lines on any state borders due to the pesky roundness of the earth and mistakes made by 19th-century surveyors. https://bigthink.com/strange-maps/colorado-is-not-a-rectangle/ 8/ Connecticut, CT Connecticut is divided into counties, but there are no county-level governments. Instead, councils of governments (COGs) are regional planning orgs that unite elected officials from local municipalities. Recognised as county equivalents, COGs help coordinate things, filling roles similar to county governments, which were disbanded in 1960. Currently, there are 9 COGs following recent mergers. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Councils_of_governments_in_Connecticut 9/ Delaware, DE Delawareβs northern border is a perfect arc, making it the only U.S. state with a circular border. Referred to as the Twelve-Mile Circle, it naturally doesnβt tessellate perfectly with neighbouring straight-line borders and created a disputed patch of land called the Delaware Wedge: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve-Mile_Circle 10/ Florida, FL About 15 miles south of Miami are the Florida Keys. The southernmost part of the continental United States, this small archipelago found in the Florida Straights is connected to the mainland via the Overseas Highway, a 106-mile long bridge. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida_Keys 12/ Hawaii, HI Hawaii changed political form several times before becoming the 50thβand newestβU.S. state on August 21, 1959! πΊ It was an independent kingdom from 1795 until 1893, then became a republic (1894-1898), followed by U.S. territory status (1898-1959), and finally, statehood. |
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2/ Alaska, AK
Vast, wild and cold, Alaska is also, to put it crudely, absolutely huge.
The great Aleutian Arc archipelago that spans outwards of the Gulf of Alaska to the Bering Sea crosses the 180Β° meridian, and means that Alaska is the northernmost, westernmost, and easternmost state all at once!
The state capital, Juneau, isn't reachable by road, due to surrounding mountains. As the locals say "only three ways to arrive in Juneau: plane, boat, or birth canal"
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