Nunavut and geeky tourism.

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Anyone who knows their American geography knows that in the southwestern United States, the four states of Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado all meet at one place. This is the result of state lines being drawn between 1876 and 1912.

The result fascinates many Americans. I have no idea why; it’s just two straight, imaginary, intersecting lines on a map. Near these lines runs route 666 (really!) and travelers can pull over and actually stand in four different states, simultaneously. I understand that someone built a metal stand on the spot, and that there’s some kind of monument to the brilliant men who drew these lines. I have no idea why so many people are intrigued by this. I’m intrigued by it, too, and I want to visit the Four Corners some day, and I have no idea why.

Anyway, in 1999 the Canadian government made a Four Corners of its own. For those who don’t know, the Northwest Territories was split into two parts: Nunavut Territory and a section that’s still called the Northwest Territories. The border between Northwest and Nunavut runs straight into the border between the provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

Does anyone else want to go to this new Four Corners? Or is there something wrong with me? My map shows me that there’s a Lake Kasba in the vicinity of the Four Corners, but I can’t tell if the Four Corners is underwater or not. At any rate, this intersection is in the middle of nowhere, with no significant settlements and no roads nearby. You could probably fly there, except that there’s probably nowhere to land a plane. Standing (or treading water) on this spot is out of the question, I guess. And it’s not like there’s much call for new roads in the area. From what I understand, Nunavut Territory has about eighteen miles of paved road in it (or is that eighteen miles of road, period?) Driving there is out of the question.

This would be cool, though. If I had the money for such travel, I’d try to get a group together to meet in Black Lake, Saskatchewan (the nearest settlement) to see about getting to North America’s newest Four Corners. (Of course, there are not one but two Four Cornerses in Mexico, and I’ve never heard of those having been exploited for their tourist potentials. Maybe bringing some dignity to those overlooked, unnatural wonders might be in order?

Anyone else fascinated by this? Or is it just me that’s out of his gourd, eh?

2

Having lived in the NWT for a good long time, I can say with absolute knowledge that there is sweet nothing at the four corners.

There are approximately 18 miles of paved roads on Baffin Island (where the capital of Nunavut, Iqaluit, is); however, the mainland of Nunavut has Rankin Inlet, Arviat, Baker Lake, and Cambridge Bay, and therein must lay considerably more paved road than that.

Ecotourism is a huge business up there. Huge. While I was up there, I was employed by the exclusive insurance broker for the Nunavut and NWT Tourism Associations. People taking out (mostly) American tourists to hunt mighty nanuq, the polar bear. Also hundreds more would come north to learn how to survive from an Inuit person, or to kayak the Arctic Ocean and Hudson’s Bay.

If you really want to go there, I can hook you up. Really. There are tourism lodges in all kinds of places. I believe you would have to go to a lodge in northern Saskatchewan or Manitoba; if you really want to go to the exact four corners, you would have to go in the winter and live in an iglu. Just remember to wear a wolverine hood, 'cause wolverine fur doesn’t frost up.

3

Well, congratulations, Chance, you have found probably the most obscure spot on Planet Earth to decide to visit. More unreachable than Nepal, more mysterious than Patagonia, more deserted than Antarctica.

I’ve been puttering around on Google for a while now, and imagine my astonishment to find that there isn’t some enterprising travel agency out there with a tour package all lined up and ready to sell to jaded American tourists. “Been to the Amazon, done the Yangtze Gorge? Try the Nunavut Four Corners!”

But nope. Except for some guys from Fairbanks, Alaska, who for reasons best known to themselves drove snowmobiles from Yellowknife to Iqaluit, you seem to be the only person on the face of the earth who wants to go anywhere near this particular imaginary spot.

http://www.newsminer.com/heartland/hland103199/nunavut.htm

Geeky with a capital G, babe. It’s you. :smiley:

4

Since you like imaginary intersections, this thread mentions the Degree Confluence Project, where visits to latitude/longitude crossings are documented.

5

Hmmmm…okay, it does look like Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, San Luis Potosi, and Zacatecas all meet. But what’s the other one? On my best maps of Mexico, it doesn’t look like Durango/Zacatecas/Jalisco/Nayarit quite qualify; there’s a really short stretch of Zacatecas/Nayarit border which keeps Durango from touching Jalisco. Zacatecas, Sun Luis Potosi, Guanajuato, and Jalisco also come close, but again, looks like there’s a teensy little border between Jalisco and San Luis Potosi alone which keeps Zacatecas from touching Guanajuato.

[sub]Geek? Moi?[/sub]

6

I live about 6 miles from the Four Shires Stone. The four counties in question are Gloucestershire, Warwickshire, Oxfordshire and Worcestershire.

The stone dates from a time when Worcestershire had an exclave bordering the other three counties. Regrettably the exclave was incorporated into one of the other counties at some stage, so the Four Shires Stone now denotes the point where only three counties meet.

One advantage this particular boundary has over the others thus far mentioned is its proximity to a couple of excellent pubs.