# Geographical Oddities **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 17, 2007, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geographical-oddities/408391 "2007-06-17T22:22:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![Antonius\_Block](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/51bf81/32.png) [@Antonius\_Block](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antonius_Block)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2007, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geographical-oddities/408391/221 "2007-06-26T20:05:05Z")
[QUOTE=Great Dave] Imagine a phone call placed from a West Coast state to an East Coast state- WC: What time is it? EC: 2:50. WC: Oh, I better go- I only have 10 minutes to get to my 2 o’clock appointment. [/QUOTE] [Malheur County, Oregon](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malheur_County%2C_Oregon) is located in a “West Coast U.S. state”, but (mostly) in the Mountain Time Zone. The western part of the Florida Panhandle (e.g. [Pensacola](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pensacola)), is located in an “East Coast U.S. state”, but in the Central Time Zone. So, most of the time when it’s 2:50 (am or pm) in the latter, it’s 1:50 in the former – hence the validity of the above conversation. To _add_ to the oddity: on the fall night that Daylight Saving Time reverts to Standard Time, there’s a period of one hour (starting the minute after 1:59am CDT) when the Central Time Zone has “jumped back” to 1:00am CST, but the Mountain Time Zone is still on its last hour of Daylight Saving Time. During this hour, the clocks of our Oregonian and Floridian phone-buddies should _display the same time_. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2007, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geographical-oddities/408391/222 "2007-06-26T22:10:03Z")
Since there doesn’t appear to be a question here, let’s try MPSIMS. Moved. **samclem** GQ moderator ---
**Author:** ![HubZilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ccd318/32.png) [@HubZilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HubZilla)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2007, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geographical-oddities/408391/223 "2007-06-26T23:50:39Z")
[QUOTE=CC] Also, if anyone remembers MAD magazine when it was funny (even long before Saturday Night Live was funny) there was a feature called “Strangely Believe It.” In it, it was pointed out that there’s a woman in Rhode Island who has a potato farm larger than the entire state of Texas. For years, I was puzzled by that. [/QUOTE] Well, Hawaii’s Parker Ranch (on the Big Island) is the largest ranch in the US. This was something to amaze the tourists from Texas, etc. Upon checking my cite, it appears it has been qualified to [**one of** the largest](http://www.parkerranch.com/Parker-Ranch/160/about-the-ranch) ---
**Author:** ![badgirlpinto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85e7bf/32.png) [@badgirlpinto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badgirlpinto)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geographical-oddities/408391/224 "2012-09-11T00:29:35Z")
Traveling east through Kallispell Mt. just a few miles before you enter the Rockies, there use to be a tourist trap on the north side of the road, that boasted of a crooked house and had a huge rocking chair by the road to draw attention. We stopped there once and as we started down the trail from the parking lot to the crooked house, the first thing we noticed was that all the trees were leaning in towards the middle. I soon began to feel pressure within my body, the first thing that came to mind was a magnetic feeling. The farther down the trail we went the stronger the feeling became. We didnt continue on down the trail but stopped at the crooked house. I sure wish I’d gone on down the trail to see exactly was happening in the center… darn. Anyone ever been there? Or experienced the same magnetic feeling? And see trees growing in one direction? ---
**Author:** ![rsat3acr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@rsat3acr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsat3acr)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geographical-oddities/408391/225 "2012-09-11T02:08:08Z")
the magnetic feel is what draws in the zombies ---
**Author:** ![GreasyJack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df705f/32.png) [@GreasyJack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreasyJack)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geographical-oddities/408391/226 "2012-09-11T02:15:47Z")
> [@badgirlpinto](#): > > Traveling east through Kallispell Mt. just a few miles before you enter the Rockies, there use to be a tourist trap on the north side of the road, that boasted of a crooked house and had a huge rocking chair by the road to draw attention. We stopped there once and as we started down the trail from the parking lot to the crooked house, the first thing we noticed was that all the trees were leaning in towards the middle. I soon began to feel pressure within my body, the first thing that came to mind was a magnetic feeling. The farther down the trail we went the stronger the feeling became. We didnt continue on down the trail but stopped at the crooked house. I sure wish I’d gone on down the trail to see exactly was happening in the center… darn. Anyone ever been there? Or experienced the same magnetic feeling? And see trees growing in one direction? Still there, as are many of the nation’s other “mystery spots”: [Mystery Spots](http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/29062) ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geographical-oddities/408391/227 "2012-09-11T11:23:17Z")
I clicked to mention the Panama Canal alignment and found someone beat me to it … by five years! :smack: > [@Polycarp](#): > > The French Riviera is north of Boston! The weird salt-water pump makes Europe warmer than latitude would suggest. If my understanding is correct, the melting of Greenland’s fresh water in response to global _warming_ would paradoxically lead to Europe _cooling_. 😕 > [@Frank](#): > > Greenland looks on maps to be much larger than it is due to the [Mercator Projection](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercator_projection). My 3rd-grade teacher told us it was absurd that Australia was called “continent” instead of Greenland, which was much bigger. This made a big impression on one of the 3rd-graders who knew she was wrong. > [@borschevsky](#): > > The largest island in a lake on an island in a lake on an island is [Vulcan Point in Crater Lake on Vulcano Island in Lake Taal on Luzon](http://maps.google.com/maps?t=k&q=14.009696,120.99638&ie=UTF8&ll=14.009529,121.00462&spn=0.062875,0.135269&z=14&om=1). I nominate this factoid for _Best of Thread_ ! > [@samclem](#): > > Since there doesn’t appear to be a question here, let’s try MPSIMS. Moved. > > **samclem** GQ moderator :mad: The thread got very interesting responses. It wasn’t moved until #222 and then immediately shut down for 5 years. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geographical-oddities/408391/228 "2012-09-13T04:07:59Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > There’s a rock formation on Maui that’s billed as being shaped like JFK, but I honestly could not see the resemblance myself. I think [said rock](http://www.flickr.com/photos/23097960@N04/4440225168/) looks a little more like RFK… ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geographical-oddities/408391/229 "2012-09-13T05:05:47Z")
> [@Baffle](#): > > The three countries nearest to Canada, however, are the United States, France, and Denmark. On the other hand, France’s longest land border is with [Brazil](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_and_territories_by_land_borders). 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Rich\_Mann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ce73a5/32.png) [@Rich\_Mann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rich_Mann)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 8:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geographical-oddities/408391/230 "2012-09-13T08:52:27Z")
I don’t know if this counts, but…when I go down the street to the freeway, I can either go left/South on West I-80/East I-580 or right/North on East I-80/West I-580. Either way will get me to The Left Coast or the I-5 corridor depending on which part of each I want. Apropos of nothing; I’ve always wondered if the line in the song Substitute by The Who that goes, “The North side of my town faces to the East, which faces South,” was a reference to an actual locale with such an oddity of geographical nomenclature. ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geographical-oddities/408391/231 "2012-09-13T09:44:09Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > On the other hand, France’s longest land border is with [Brazil](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_and_territories_by_land_borders). 🙂 Technically speaking Finland and Sweden do not have a land border. The two countries are separated by water. ---
**Author:** ![movingfinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@movingfinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/movingfinger)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2012, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geographical-oddities/408391/232 "2012-09-14T07:28:10Z")
> [@Floater](#): > > Technically speaking Finland and Sweden do not have a land border. The two countries are separated by water. They have about a 125 mile land boundary starting at the mouth of the Tornio River and extending northwestward to the point where both countries meet Norway. The Gulf of Bothnia separates Sweden and Finland for the most part. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2012, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geographical-oddities/408391/233 "2012-09-14T07:44:41Z")
There is a natural lake of asphalt in Trinidad, people and even companies have just scooped it up and it replenishes. There have been some discoveries of unusual microbes and fungi in it. > **[Pitch Lake](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pitch_Lake)** > > The Pitch Lake is the largest natural deposit of bitumen in the world, estimated to contain 10 million tons. It is located in Trinidad and Tobago, more specifically in La Brea in southwest Trinidad, within the Siparia Regional Corporation. The lake covers about 0.405 square kilometres (100 acres) and is reported to be 76.2 metres (250 feet) deep. > Pitch Lake is a popular tourist attraction, including a small museum, from where official tour guides can escort people across the lake. The lake is mi... > [@](#): > > Pitch Lake has fascinated explorers and scientists, as well as attracting tourists, since its discovery by Sir Walter Raleigh in 1595. Raleigh himself found immediate use for the asphalt to caulk his ship. Exported asphalt from Pitch Lake was also used to pave the streets of some regions of New York City. Since its re-discovery, there have been numerous research investigations into the use and chemical composition of this material. Above all, there have been countless theories, postulations, and conclusions as to the size, source, and origin of the asphalt. DOH! I read the topic as geological! ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2012, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geographical-oddities/408391/234 "2012-09-14T07:58:26Z")
> [@movingfinger](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > Technically speaking … The two countries are separated by water. > > They have about a 125 mile land boundary starting at the mouth of the Tornio River and extending northwestward to the point where both countries meet Norway. I’m afraid you’ve been tricked, as suggested by the underlining I’ve added. 🆒 My personal “geographical oddity” is that three homes I’ve lived in were “hard to get to.” [ul][li] For one, the shortest legal round-the-block car trip required seven separate streets.[/li][li] The “Avenue” in the street address of another was a cliff-side stub usable only to park a car. (That was 30 years ago. I was told that the cliff was eroding 1 foot per year on average and Google Maps confirms that the “Avenue” is completely gone now. I wonder if they’ve changed the house’s street address? 🆒 )[/li][li] To drive from my present home to one of the nearest large towns is a nearly straight route, paved, clear and through, but missing from most maps. When an acquaintance visited the first time he went ten miles out of his way to use the mapped route. I told him about the alternate route, he drove 3 miles, feared the desolate-looking night-time road, and U-turned, now wasting 16 miles altogether.[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2012, 9:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geographical-oddities/408391/235 "2012-09-14T09:31:37Z")
There is actually a couple of metres where the border is on land between Haparanda and Tornio. ---
**Author:** ![drbhoneydew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d78d45/32.png) [@drbhoneydew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drbhoneydew)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2012, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geographical-oddities/408391/236 "2012-09-14T09:44:26Z")
> [@movingfinger](#): > > They have about a 125 mile land boundary starting at the mouth of the Tornio River and extending northwestward to the point where both countries meet Norway. > > The Gulf of Bothnia separates Sweden and Finland for the most part. > [@septimus](#): > > I’m afraid you’ve been tricked, as suggested by the underlining I’ve added. 🆒 Sweden and Finland do have a land border, at least on Market Reef. That border is in itself a geographical oddity due to a border correction in 1981 to bring the Finnish built lighthouse back into Finland after it was built on the wrong side of the border: [6 - Market Reef - Big Think](http://bigthink.com/strange-maps/6-market-reef) ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2012, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geographical-oddities/408391/237 "2012-09-14T09:54:16Z")
> [@drbhoneydew](#): > > Sweden and Finland do have a land border, at least on Market Reef. That border is in itself a geographical oddity due to a border correction in 1981 to bring the Finnish built lighthouse back into Finland after it was built on the wrong side of the border: [6 - Market Reef - Big Think](http://bigthink.com/strange-maps/6-market-reef) Yes, I completely forgot about that one. The light house was built on the Swedish side of the border because that was the only suitable place on the island to do it. ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2012, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geographical-oddities/408391/238 "2012-09-14T12:17:29Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > I’ve heard that the American state closest to Africa is Maine, which I don’t have an easy way of checking - anyone got a globe?! I just checked on Google Earth. It _is_ true! Africa’s a lot further north than people think, and Maine is a _lot_ further east (it could easily be in the next time zone). ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2012, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geographical-oddities/408391/239 "2012-09-14T13:05:53Z")
The state of Texas, if flipped-over on it’s eastern edge, would reach the Atlantic Ocean. If flipped-over on it’s western edge would reach the Pacific ocean. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2021, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geographical-oddities/408391/240 "2021-12-09T17:11:54Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > From Monroe, MI, it is farther to drive to Ironwood, MI than to Chattanooga, TN. I went to school with a guy who lived just south of Detroit. He loved to tell us how he had cousins who lived in Michigan, and cousins who lived in a suburb of Atlanta. It took less time to drive to the Atlanta cousins’ house. Eire, MI to Copper Falls, MI (in the Upper Peninsula), just over 10 hrs; to Kennesaw, GA, 9 3/4 hrs. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geographical-oddities/408391.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geographical-oddities/408391.md?page=13)