Geographical Peculiarities

[Amateur_Barbarian]

Some recent threads have stirred up odd facts I know about geography, so let’s hear yours. They can be a statement or a quiz with a spoilered answer, like these:

“Rhode Island” is not the name of the state, and there is no Rhode Island within it.

What is unusual about North Brother Island, West Brother Island, South Brother Island and East Brother Island?

3,000 miles. East and West are small islands in San Francisco Bay, and North and South are slightly larger islands in the East River.

[Chimera]

The Native Americans called the Cannon River in SE Minnesota “Standing Rock River”.

“Standing Rock” is Castle Rock, about 5 miles from any part of the river.
Notice the great big circle here?

[fachverwirrt]

@Amateur_Barbarian

“Rhode Island” is not the name of the state, and there is no Rhode Island within it.

Sort of. Aquidneck Island is officially Rhode Island, but nobody calls it that.

[Colophon]

@Chimera

Notice the great big circle here?

Ancient meteor crater or random geological formation?

[Sailboat]

@Colophon

Ancient meteor crater or random geological formation?

Not a crater, according to this. Scroll down to just above the bottom of the page.

Everyone who looks at satellite images of Wisconsin is drawn to this feature. The Mississippi River slants across lower left, while the Chippewa and Black Rivers outline the western and eastern sides of the ring, respectively. The color boundary comes from joining two photos taken at different seasons. La Crosse is at the extreme bottom of the picture and Eau Claire just west of the top of the ring. The large lake at top is Lake Wissota, the lake Leonardo di Caprio fell into in Titanic even though it wasn’t created until some years after the Titanic sank.

I have criss-crossed this feature looking for any geologic explanation for the ring. The rocks within and around the ring are flat-lying undisturbed Cambrian sandstones with no evidence of any unusual fracturing or other distinctive features.

[Nava]

Not odd facts, just an odd place. Karst can produce some amazing formations: Cuenca has a place called la ciudad encantada, the enchanted city, including such formations as the ship and the ice cream cup (and man, for a spoon of appropriate size!). The whole province is one of Spain’s hidden treasures.

[Amateur_Barbarian]

@fachverwirrt

Sort of. Aquidneck Island is officially Rhode Island, but nobody calls it that.

Officially where? It’s Aquidneck on all maps including the USGS. My understanding is that it hasn’t been called Rhode since early colonial days.

Ask for directions to Richmond, though, and most New Yawkers can still direct you.

[fachverwirrt]

@Amateur_Barbarian

Officially where? It’s Aquidneck on all maps including the USGS. My understanding is that it hasn’t been called Rhode since early colonial days.

The US Board of Geographical Names: Rhode Island.

[Amateur_Barbarian]

@fachverwirrt

The US Board of Geographical Names: Rhode Island.

I’ll be damned - I missed this confirmation.

However, if you go through the citations and history, Aquidneck has a far longer and more stable history. It was called Rhode and variants only very early, and by rather latecoming contrarians. Aquidneck was confirmed in 1930, Rhode in 1967 and later.

And every map I can find lists it as Aquidneck, so I’ll stand behind my statement.

[RealityChuck]

Fisher’s Island, NY is closer to both Connecticut and Rhode Island than to any inhabited point in New York.

[fachverwirrt]

@Amateur_Barbarian

I’ll be damned - I missed this confirmation.

However, if you go through the citations and history, Aquidneck has a far longer and more stable history. It was called Rhode and variants only very early, and by rather latecoming contrarians. Aquidneck was confirmed in 1930, Rhode in 1967 and later.

And every map I can find lists it as Aquidneck, so I’ll stand behind my statement.

Oh, absolutely there’s no reason to ever call it anything other than Aquidneck. I just can’t let an opportunity to be irritatingly pedantic pass by.

[Amateur_Barbarian]

@RealityChuck

Fisher’s Island, NY is closer to both Connecticut and Rhode Island than to any inhabited point in New York.

I see you and raise you one Ellis Island.