# Similarly-shaped geographical places **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 29, 2014, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/similarly-shaped-geographical-places/708471 "2014-12-29T20:35:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/similarly-shaped-geographical-places/708471/1 "2014-12-29T20:35:35Z")
Recently I was struck by how similarly [Nigeria](http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/destinations/traveler/none/nigeria) and the [Iberian Peninsula](http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Iberian_Peninsula_location_map.svg) (Spain & Portugal) are shaped. Other than rectangular places like Colorado & Wyoming, what other similarly-shaped places can you think of? ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/similarly-shaped-geographical-places/708471/2 "2014-12-29T22:10:59Z")
Another interesting contribution from Strange Maps: [Countries that look like Other Countries](http://bigthink.com/strange-maps/675-nil-countries-that-look-like-other-countries) ---
**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/similarly-shaped-geographical-places/708471/3 "2014-12-29T22:29:15Z")
Vermont and NH are mirror images of each other. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2014, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/similarly-shaped-geographical-places/708471/4 "2014-12-30T06:39:40Z")
[England](http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=Map+of+England&FORM=RESTAB#view=detail&id=A802F9C71323BACDCD636EAC2FD30D5337DC2D7B&selectedIndex=21) and [Liechtenstein](http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=liechtenstein&FORM=HDRSC2#view=detail&id=7A27D50463E09DA8C9E5B3164BF93BE10851BFC4&selectedIndex=5). And when I see a map of Australia, I keep thinking it looks like an upside-down U.S. . . . even though it really doesn’t. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2014, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/similarly-shaped-geographical-places/708471/5 "2014-12-30T07:05:27Z")
Try Africa and Australia. ---
**Author:** ![syncrolecyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f08c70/32.png) [@syncrolecyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/syncrolecyne)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2014, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/similarly-shaped-geographical-places/708471/6 "2014-12-30T09:47:16Z")
Tanzania looks a lot like Wisconsin. ---
**Author:** ![Timetrvlr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Timetrvlr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Timetrvlr)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2014, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/similarly-shaped-geographical-places/708471/7 "2014-12-31T06:01:12Z")
B.C. and California ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2014, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/similarly-shaped-geographical-places/708471/8 "2014-12-31T06:13:33Z")
[Missouri & Georgia](http://xkcd.com/1079/). ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2014, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/similarly-shaped-geographical-places/708471/9 "2014-12-31T16:06:32Z")
That’s amazing! New York looks like a transmission! ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2014, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/similarly-shaped-geographical-places/708471/10 "2014-12-31T16:16:30Z")
And California like a vacuum cleaner. Very clever. (And L.A. does suck, after all…) ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2014, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/similarly-shaped-geographical-places/708471/11 "2014-12-31T20:01:52Z")
My city, [Regina SK, Canada](http://www.mappery.com/Regina-Map), used to look a lot like [Africa](http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Blank_Map-Africa.svg) but it’s grown a lot since then (Regina, not Africa.) ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2014, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/similarly-shaped-geographical-places/708471/12 "2014-12-31T20:23:22Z")
Nevada has counties that are shaped, at various angles and configurations, like Utah, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, New York and New Hampshire. [![](https://www.waterproofpaper.com/printable-maps/county-map/nevada-county-map.gif) ](https://www.waterproofpaper.com/printable-maps/county-map/nevada-county-map.gif) ---
**Author:** ![kferr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/71e660/32.png) [@kferr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kferr)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/similarly-shaped-geographical-places/708471/13 "2015-01-01T14:14:27Z")
Draw a vertical line through the centre of Australia. On the left is a dog’s head, a terrier of some type, and on the right a cat’s head coughing up Tasmania as a hairball. [Sample here](https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=australia+cat+dog+map&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=Y1WlVNfzCs_waPGfgaAP&ved=0CCIQsAQ&biw=1121&bih=837#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=rdRwE6nT7pebgM%253A%3B6GggFw-x3bcbeM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Floldamn.com%252Fwp-content%252Fuploads%252F2013%252F11%252Ffunny-australia-map-dog-head-cat-head.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Floldamn.com%252Ffunny-australia-map-doghead-cathead.html%3B540%3B428) ---
**Author:** ![blue\_infinity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blue_infinity/32/2817_2.png) [@blue\_infinity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blue_infinity)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/similarly-shaped-geographical-places/708471/14 "2015-01-01T16:32:50Z")
[Kyrgyzstan](http://www.oslocenter.no/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/kyrgyzstan_osh.jpg) and [Hispaniola](http://www.earthzine.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Hispaniola-topography-e1314019372649.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/similarly-shaped-geographical-places/708471/15 "2015-01-01T19:15:46Z")
> [@boffking](#): > > Vermont and NH are mirror images of each other. In more ways than one! ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2015, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/similarly-shaped-geographical-places/708471/16 "2015-01-02T02:50:03Z")
[Mexico](http://i.infopls.com/images/mmexico.gif) minus the Yucatan Peninsula [Nicaragua](http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/images/map-nicaragua.png) ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2015, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/similarly-shaped-geographical-places/708471/17 "2015-01-03T19:41:04Z")
I’m kinda surprised that I’m the first to mention that [New Zealand](http://www.bbc.co.uk/staticarchive/5df5c98f856ce950146bed238dd8b5a9af5a4dd4.jpg) looks like a really easy jigsaw puzzle of [Italy.](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/05/Italy_geo_stub.png) ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2015, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/similarly-shaped-geographical-places/708471/18 "2015-01-03T20:14:53Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > I’m kinda surprised that I’m the first to mention that [New Zealand](http://www.bbc.co.uk/staticarchive/5df5c98f856ce950146bed238dd8b5a9af5a4dd4.jpg) looks like a really easy jigsaw puzzle of [Italy.](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/05/Italy_geo_stub.png) I wondered where I’d put the other boot. ---
**Author:** ![russian\_heel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f05b48/32.png) [@russian\_heel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/russian_heel)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2015, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/similarly-shaped-geographical-places/708471/19 "2015-01-03T20:19:28Z")
> [@boffking](#): > > Vermont and NH are mirror images of each other. Ditto Mississippi and Alabama, both with those tiny panhandles sitting side by side.