# North of Canada. No, really! Really? How? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 4, 2004, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-of-canada-no-really-really-how/258319 "2004-08-04T17:31:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2004, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-of-canada-no-really-really-how/258319/1 "2004-08-04T17:31:21Z")
One of our members location is “North of Canada”. How is that possible? Are the territories not considered part of the country proper? ---
**Author:** ![Ponder\_Stibbons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponder_stibbons/32/343_2.png) [@Ponder\_Stibbons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponder_Stibbons)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2004, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-of-canada-no-really-really-how/258319/2 "2004-08-04T17:40:11Z")
Surely its a fictional location, like my own. Or someone is actually posting from a nuclear submarine below the north pole! ---
**Author:** ![CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crankyasanoldman/32/11670_2.png) [@CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrankyAsAnOldMan)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2004, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-of-canada-no-really-really-how/258319/3 "2004-08-04T17:41:44Z")
I suspect he or she might mean north of a PART of Canada, as opposed to all of Canada. So she or he could be in Alaska. Or, he or she could be in Detroit, Michigan. Windsor, Ontario, is tehcnically south of Detroit. Haul out a map and see for thyself. Or, maybe he or she DOES mean north of all of it, and it is Mr. or Mrs. Claus we’re dealing with. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2004, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-of-canada-no-really-really-how/258319/4 "2004-08-04T17:42:44Z")
[North of Canada](http://barelybad.com/north_of_canada_map.htm). > [@](#): > > As you can see from examining the map above and the table below, exactly 27 U.S. states are at least partly north of Canada’s 41 41 17 latitude. So, for that matter, is Rome, Italy. And that’s just the US (and Rome). There’s plenty of Europe and Asia that’s also at least partially to the north of Canada’s southernmost pont as well. There’s probably part of Russia that’s even farther north than Canada’s _northernmost_ point, but I’m not sure. ---
**Author:** ![nonpolar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3da27b/32.png) [@nonpolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nonpolar)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2004, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-of-canada-no-really-really-how/258319/5 "2004-08-04T17:44:22Z")
Alaska?Greenland? ---
**Author:** ![CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crankyasanoldman/32/11670_2.png) [@CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrankyAsAnOldMan)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2004, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-of-canada-no-really-really-how/258319/6 "2004-08-04T17:50:43Z")
> [@Q.E.D.](#): > > [North of Canada](http://barelybad.com/north_of_canada_map.htm). And that’s just the US (and Rome). There’s plenty of Europe and Asia that’s also at least partially to the north of Canada’s southernmost pont as well. There’s probably part of Russia that’s even farther north than Canada’s _northernmost_ point, but I’m not sure. All technically correct. However, I always took the location to mean that the person could go South and land in Canada. That’s not true for all of the places on that map. Then again, I confess my interpretation is biased by the fact that I live so close to the place where it’s a joke that locals are, in fact, North of their Canadian neighbors. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2004, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-of-canada-no-really-really-how/258319/7 "2004-08-04T17:53:41Z")
Which Canada? If the poster’s location refers to the [small town in Kentucky](http://maps.yahoo.com/maps_result?ed=M7tNO.p_0TqT&csz=41519&country=us), they might live in Williamson or even Charleston. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2004, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-of-canada-no-really-really-how/258319/8 "2004-08-04T17:54:34Z")
Maybe it’s just some Canadian dude named North, kinda like Anne of Green Gables. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2004, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-of-canada-no-really-really-how/258319/9 "2004-08-04T17:55:11Z")
Assuming that this particular Doper is as literal-minded as we are, the most straightforward interpretation of that location is that if you travel due south from said Doper’s abode, you will at some point enter Canada. This is possible from various points in the states of Maine, New Hampshire, New York, Michigan, Minnesota, Washington (I think), and Alaska. Of these mostly small north-of-Canada corridors, the only ones to include significant population centers are the ones in Michigan and New York, so our friend probably lives in one of these states, in or near Detroit or Buffalo. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2004, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-of-canada-no-really-really-how/258319/10 "2004-08-04T18:37:24Z")
Couldn’t it just mean **in** the north of Canada, rather than **to** the north of Canada? ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2004, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-of-canada-no-really-really-how/258319/11 "2004-08-04T18:56:34Z")
I’ve certainly always assumed that said Doper is in Detroit, MI, and the Location was an allusion to the bar bet… “If you head south from Detroit, which country do you come to first?” ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2004, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-of-canada-no-really-really-how/258319/12 "2004-08-04T19:16:28Z")
Too bad the SDMB doesn’t have a search engine or anything. 😉 For those curious, I used the search and found that said poster is named **Duke** (unless there’s more than one), and he explains on the first page of [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=180123): > [@Duke](#): > > I’m “north of Canada” because the town I live in, Lewiston, New York, is due north of a decent chunk of Ontario, as this map demonstrates. If I could walk due south from my apartment (and, I suppose, swim due south over the Niagara River), the first country I’d reach would be Canada. So, there you have it. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2004, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-of-canada-no-really-really-how/258319/13 "2004-08-04T19:21:42Z")
Thanks for the enlightening answers. I was thinking that s/he meant north of all of Canada, not just a part. So I imagined that the location was a ship north of Ellesmere Island. ---
**Author:** ![CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crankyasanoldman/32/11670_2.png) [@CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrankyAsAnOldMan)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2004, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-of-canada-no-really-really-how/258319/14 "2004-08-05T05:54:21Z")
> [@Q.E.D.](#): > > Too bad the SDMB doesn’t have a search engine or anything. 😉 Well, wink all you want, hoss. We don’t have access to any search on location. Would that be one of them-there super-secret SDSAB privileges we keep speculatin’ about and envying you for? I suppose one of us dullards might have cottoned on to the possibility that the member in question might have offered an explanation in a post sometime. But if he did, that would be luck rather than the happy result of realizing “Hey! The SDMB actually HAS a search engine!” ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2004, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-of-canada-no-really-really-how/258319/15 "2004-08-05T06:11:30Z")
> [@CrankyAsAnOldMan](#): > > Would that be one of them-there super-secret SDSAB privileges we keep speculatin’ about and envying you for? Nah. I just typed in “north of canada”, and that’s what fell out. Actually, I first typed in “north of candada”, and was initially surprised by the lack of results, until I realized most people don’t spell Canada that way. ---
**Author:** ![alaricthegoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4bbf92/32.png) [@alaricthegoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alaricthegoth)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2004, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-of-canada-no-really-really-how/258319/16 "2004-08-05T10:04:00Z")
the lines are almost touching the gound now, ladies and gentlemen, and wait, oh no, the bandwith is exploding, it’s burning up, o my god, the waste, the humanity…the humanity! ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2004, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-of-canada-no-really-really-how/258319/17 "2004-08-05T12:46:19Z")
The individual in question lives in a portion of New York State where a portion of Canada is directly south of his home and workplace. There are a number of other spots where this can be true, including the City of Detroit, which is due north of Windsor, Ontario. There are a number of other spots in the world where odd stuff like this exist-- if you don’t mind getting wet, it’s possible to go south from (a couple of spots in) Florida into (a couple of spots in) both the other states which border it, supposedly to the north. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2004, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-of-canada-no-really-really-how/258319/18 "2004-09-22T19:49:00Z")
How, how, how did I miss this thread? 😃 Anyway, **QED** and **Polycarp** have it… ---
**Author:** ![Crandolph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7cd45c/32.png) [@Crandolph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crandolph)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2004, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-of-canada-no-really-really-how/258319/19 "2004-09-27T04:45:08Z")
Although we have the definitive answer in this case, consider [Nunavut](http://www.gov.nu.ca/Nunavut/), which although certainly part of Canada officially is partially self-governing. I was expecting this to be covered in the thread… thought we may have had a seperatist (either truly or partially jocularly, in the manner of Texans in the States.) ---
**Author:** ![wolfstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d6d6ee/32.png) [@wolfstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfstu)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2004, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-of-canada-no-really-really-how/258319/20 "2004-09-27T09:11:58Z")
> [@Q.E.D.](#): > > There’s probably part of Russia that’s even farther north than Canada’s _northernmost_ point, but I’m not sure. No, there isn’t: > [@](#): > > Franz Josef Land is an archipelago located in far north Russia. It is found in the Arctic Ocean northeast of Spitzbergen, and is administered by Arkhangelsk oblast. At latitude 80 to 82° north, it forms the most northerly group of islands in Asia. The archipelago is only 550 miles from the North Pole, closer than all land masses except for Canada’s Ellesmere Island and Greenland. > > [http://www.campusprogram.com/reference/en/wikipedia/f/fr/franz\_josef\_land.html](http://www.campusprogram.com/reference/en/wikipedia/f/fr/franz_josef_land.html) The [most northerly](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northernmost_settlements) permanent settlement is Alert, in Canada’s Nunavut territory. Only about 50 people live there all year round. However, if you only count points on the mainlands of the two countries, Russia wins: > [@](#): > > Russia (contiguous mainland area) > Northernmost Point — Cape Chelyuskin, Taymyria (77°43’N) > > Canada (mainland) > Northernmost Point — Murchison Promontory on Boothia Peninsula, Nunavut (71°58’N) > **[List of extreme points of Russia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extreme_points_of_Russia)** > > This is a list of the extreme points and extreme elevations in Russia. > The northernmost and easternmost points of Russia coincide with those of Eurasia (both for the mainland and including the islands). > The extreme points of the Soviet Union were identical, except that the southernmost point of the Soviet Union was Kushka in Turkmenistan, and the extreme elevation was the Communism Peak in Tajikistan, at 7,495 metres (24,590 ft). The other extreme points of Russia are the same as those of the S... > **[List of extreme points of Canada](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extreme_points_of_Canada)** > > The following lists include extreme and significant points of the geography of Canada. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-of-canada-no-really-really-how/258319.md?page=2)