# Some Geography Trivia Fun: Degree Confluences **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 28, 2010, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-geography-trivia-fun-degree-confluences/530767 "2010-02-28T19:17:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2010, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-geography-trivia-fun-degree-confluences/530767/1 "2010-02-28T19:17:57Z")
Visit [The Degree Confluence Project](http://www.confluence.org/) for more details, but the quickie idea is: > [@](#): > > The goal of the project is to visit each of the latitude and longitude integer degree intersections in the world, and to take pictures at each location. The pictures, and stories about the visits, will then be posted here. Further, > [@](#): > > There is a confluence within 49 miles (79 km) of you if you’re on the surface of Earth. Using links at the site I locate this [Map of Tennessee](http://www.confluence.org/region.php?id=52) and from it I locate [this confluence nearest my home](http://www.confluence.org/confluence.php?id=526) Using similar techniques, there are several ways we could have some fun with this idea: 1. share the one closest to us 2. list the ones we have actually visited 3. determine which Doper lives closest to one 4. others you suggest. One interesting thing I have learned is by way of the little compass in the upper left corner of [my nearest spot](http://www.confluence.org/confluence.php?id=526) where I used the compass directions to visit the next spot E and followed that trail all around the world. It’s amazing the surprises along the way. The other compass directions also yield some fun trivia. Lemme know what you think of this, please. Maybe we can invent a game or something. ---
**Author:** ![dhkendall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9adbd/32.png) [@dhkendall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dhkendall)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-geography-trivia-fun-degree-confluences/530767/2 "2010-03-01T13:13:58Z")
Oh, thank you for sharing one of my favourite sites on the Internet (due to my extreme, and incurable, geography geekery)! Sadly, still have yet to (consciously) visit a degree confluence. ☹ (My goal is to visit one that isn’t on the site yet.) ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-geography-trivia-fun-degree-confluences/530767/3 "2010-03-01T14:31:01Z")
> [@dhkendall](#): > > Oh, thank you for sharing one of my favourite sites on the Internet (due to my extreme, and incurable, geography geekery)! > > Sadly, still have yet to (consciously) visit a degree confluence. ☹ (My goal is to visit one that isn’t on the site yet.) Frabjous! I knew there had to be at least one other Doper who might help stir up some interest in this site. What’s been your most fun thing with all those pictures and descriptions? For me, as I suggested, it’s having built a pretty good “circle the world at my Latitude” path and being amazed at where that path gets into the Old World. South of Europe! The Going South trip jumps into water (the Gulf) soon and only hits land in Mexico and Honduras and then the next land is Antarctica. Have you found a “confluence” (they should have chosen a word that didn’t sound like two or three rivers coming together) in the dead center of a city yet? ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-geography-trivia-fun-degree-confluences/530767/4 "2010-03-01T16:48:56Z")
Going alphabetically down the list of US states the first picture I came on that is evidence of buildings nearby is at [United States : Connecticut 3.8 miles (6.1 km) NNW of Woodstock, CT, USA Approx. altitude: 153 m (501 ft) 42°N 72°W](http://www.confluence.org/confluence.php?id=5) One would be tempted to conclude that builders tend to avoid confluences. Bad mojo, or just coincidence? ---
**Author:** ![GESancMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gesancman/32/2923_2.png) [@GESancMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GESancMan)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-geography-trivia-fun-degree-confluences/530767/5 "2010-03-01T17:47:22Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > One would be tempted to conclude that builders tend to avoid confluences. Bad mojo, or just coincidence? [This one](http://www.confluence.org/confluence.php?lat=45&lon=-123) is the second closest to me (Portland, OR), right on I-5. I’ve driven right through it countless times, but never knew it. That is, I’ve always seen the 45th Parallell sign, but I had no idea I was right on 123°W. You wouldn’t know it from looking at the pictures, but this confluence is located in the outskirts of Salem. ---
**Author:** ![KennerTheGreat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a8b319/32.png) [@KennerTheGreat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KennerTheGreat)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-geography-trivia-fun-degree-confluences/530767/6 "2010-03-01T18:15:08Z")
[46 North, 80 West](http://www.confluence.org/confluence.php?id=4979) is the closest one to me. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-geography-trivia-fun-degree-confluences/530767/7 "2010-03-01T18:20:39Z")
Now I feel like an idiot! I didn’t think to look at the other confluences in Tennessee before starting the alphabetical states search. If I had I would have seen that [1.5 miles (2.4 km) S of I-55 exit 2 (Memphis), Shelby, TN, USA Approx. altitude: 97 m (318 ft) Antipode: 35°S 90°E Accuracy: 8 m (26 ft)](http://www.confluence.org/confluence.php?id=521) was definitely a city photo. Oh, well. Now, something to challenge the viewer to the thread: 1. Locate the confluence with the highest altitude, the lowest, the nearest sea level for a land location – these may have already been listed at the parent site 2. find the antipodes that both occur on dry land 3. locate Opal’s nearest confluence ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-geography-trivia-fun-degree-confluences/530767/8 "2010-03-01T18:36:10Z")
[40 North and 83 West](http://www.confluence.org/confluence.php?lat=40&lon=-83) is the closest to where I live. It’s in a fairly densely populated part of the city of Columbus, about three blocks east of the Ohio State University campus. Apparently the exact point is in someone’s back yard. If you want get there from the centre of Columbus, catch a number 4 bus north to the corner of 15th Avenue and 4th Street, and walk about half a block west from there. ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-geography-trivia-fun-degree-confluences/530767/9 "2010-03-01T18:42:05Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > 1. locate Opal’s nearest confluence [Right here,](http://www.confluence.org/confluence.php?lat=42&lon=-71) although it could be the one just north of there as I don’t know her exact address. [This is](http://www.confluence.org/confluence.php?lat=39&lon=-77) the closest to me. And only a couple of miles up the road from work. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-geography-trivia-fun-degree-confluences/530767/10 "2010-03-01T18:58:21Z")
Great work, people! I guess I’m going to have to modify my bias away from rural settings for the confluences! Hi, Opal! Anybody have some other item we could all be hunting for? I think it’s going to be fun when two Dopers realize they share the same Latitude or Longitude but are not near the same confluence. Also, does anybody have a problem with that statement in the OP that > [@](#): > > There is a confluence within 49 miles (79 km) of you if you’re on the surface of Earth According to [this article](http://www.csulb.edu/~rodrigue/geog140/lectures/latitude.html) > [@](#): > > A degree of latitude is approximately 110 km of linear distance > (~69 mi. or so): If that’s as much precision as you need, you > would write your latitude as, for example, lat. 34°N (here in > Long Beach) I take the OP statement to mean that you’d have to be in the center of a square formed by four confluences so that you’d be at the maximum distance from any one of them. That make sense? ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-geography-trivia-fun-degree-confluences/530767/11 "2010-03-01T19:06:14Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > I take the OP statement to mean that you’d have to be in the center of a square formed by four confluences so that you’d be at the maximum distance from any one of them. That make sense? The 720 locations on the earth’s surface that are furthest from a confluence are (approximately) at 0.5 degrees north or south, and at an integer plus 0.5 degrees east or west, e.g., 3.5 degrees east or west. It’s approximate, because in each case the four nearest confluences don’t form an exact square, but it’s pretty close. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-geography-trivia-fun-degree-confluences/530767/12 "2010-03-01T19:27:48Z")
> [@Giles](#): > > The 720 locations on the earth’s surface that are furthest from a confluence are (approximately) at 0.5 degrees north or south, and at an integer plus 0.5 degrees east or west, e.g., 3.5 degrees east or west. It’s approximate, because in each case the four nearest confluences don’t form an exact square, but it’s pretty close. Thanks. Pretty much how I had guessed it must be. ---
**Author:** ![dhkendall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9adbd/32.png) [@dhkendall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dhkendall)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-geography-trivia-fun-degree-confluences/530767/13 "2010-03-01T19:34:22Z")
> [@Giles](#): > > [40 North and 83 West](http://www.confluence.org/confluence.php?lat=40&lon=-83) is the closest to where I live. It’s in a fairly densely populated part of the city of Columbus, about three blocks east of the Ohio State University campus. Apparently the exact point is in someone’s back yard. If you want get there from the centre of Columbus, catch a number 4 bus north to the corner of 15th Avenue and 4th Street, and walk about half a block west from there. [Other visits](http://www.confluence.org/confluence.php?visitid=7945) have it in the house proper. That makes this the coolest confluence on earth in my opinion. I’d love to live in “the confluence house” but, despite the house seemingly being used for student housing, I bet none of the residents, past, present, or future, know or care about the confluence and what makes their house special. ---
**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:** [March 1, 2010, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-geography-trivia-fun-degree-confluences/530767/14 "2010-03-01T19:42:01Z")
The 42-88 confluence, nearest my house, is pictured on the site. It’s located on an ordinary residential street in Elk Grove, a suburb of Chicago, and very easy to visit. I once visited the 41-88 confluence, just to see what was there. The answer was nothing but a fallow farm field. That cured me of the desire to visit any more confluences. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-geography-trivia-fun-degree-confluences/530767/15 "2010-03-01T19:47:49Z")
> [@dhkendall](#): > > [Other visits](http://www.confluence.org/confluence.php?visitid=7945) have it in the house proper. That makes this the coolest confluence on earth in my opinion. I’d love to live in “the confluence house” but, despite the house seemingly being used for student housing, I bet none of the residents, past, present, or future, know or care about the confluence and what makes their house special. Amazing! About the only thing I can think of that could come close to topping this one would be one in a house (or other building) on a state or country boundary! In case y’all haven’t looked at [Tennessee](http://www.confluence.org/region.php?id=52) notice the one missing confluence and how it shows up as an [Alabama](http://www.confluence.org/region.php?id=32) one. Finding those confluences on (or very near) borders could be another search challenge. ---
**Author:** ![Haunted\_Pasta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/94ad74/32.png) [@Haunted\_Pasta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Haunted_Pasta)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-geography-trivia-fun-degree-confluences/530767/16 "2010-03-01T19:57:06Z")
Dang, I was going to post the Columbus, one, too, having grown up there. What became Broad Street, the original primary east-west road through town, was once part of the National Road envisioned by George Washington and authorized by Thomas Jefferson, designed to closely follow the 40th parallel. With probably at least 15-20 miles’ worth of development extending north to south, I was guessing before I even clicked on the 40N 83W link that there were decent odds that 83W would pass through a heavily developed area. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-geography-trivia-fun-degree-confluences/530767/17 "2010-03-01T20:39:47Z")
If the antipodes issue is intriguing to you, check out [Antipodes - both visited](http://www.confluence.org/antipodes.php) I have a little list, based on the responses so far, where the coordinates were specified, that we can use to find Dopers who share a latitude or a longitude. Please help me validate what I have: Zeldar ---------------- 36N 87W GESancMan --------- 45N 123W KennerTheGreat — 46N 80W Giles ------------------ 40N 83 W Opal ------------------ 42N 71W Edward The Head - 39N 77W dhkendall ----------- ??? Freddy the Pig ----- 42N 88W Haunted Pasta ---- ??? ---
**Author:** ![dhkendall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9adbd/32.png) [@dhkendall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dhkendall)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-geography-trivia-fun-degree-confluences/530767/18 "2010-03-01T22:10:58Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > Amazing! About the only thing I can think of that could come close to topping this one would be one in a house (or other building) on a state or country boundary! I can do you one better, [a house/apartment/duplex straddling the Canada-US border](http://www.flickr.com/photos/cmerlo441/1976911951/). Apparently that town (well, technically town_s_, one on each side of the border) is full of buildings that straddle the line. To answer some of your previous questions: why I’m interested in the DCP project? It’s mainly my geography geekery, and that I really can’t explain why. It just fascinates me to no end. I have the same fascination with borders (I am on a yahoo group filled with other border enthusiasts too, which is where I learned of the above picture. I also have a few border related and similar pictures on my [Flickr stream](http://www.flickr.com/photos/23704996@N05/) And the nearest confluence to me? 50N 97W. Been very near it many times, but never at it. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-geography-trivia-fun-degree-confluences/530767/19 "2010-03-01T22:38:17Z")
> [@dhkendall](#): > > I can do you one better, [a house/apartment/duplex straddling the Canada-US border](http://www.flickr.com/photos/cmerlo441/1976911951/). Apparently that town (well, technically town_s_, one on each side of the border) is full of buildings that straddle the line. Is that also at a confluence? That’s what I meant about going one better: a confluence that is in a building that is straddling a border. > [@](#): > > And the nearest confluence to me? 50N 97W. Been very near it many times, but never at it. Thanks. Here’s an update: ```auto Zeldar ---------------- 36N 87W GESancMan ------------- 45N 123W KennerTheGreat -------- 46N 80W Giles ----------------- 40N 83W Opal ------------------ 42N 71W Edward The Head ------- 39N 77W dhkendall ------------- 50N 97W Freddy the Pig -------- 42N 88W Haunted Pasta --------- ??? ``` I believe I have located the highest confluence. The text at 33°N 80°E [11.6 km (7.2 miles) SSW of Küba, Xizang (Tibet), China Approx. altitude: 5826 m (19113 ft) Antipode: 33°S 100°W Accuracy: 5 m (16 ft)](http://www.confluence.org/confluence.php?lat=33&lon=80) says, > [@](#): > > Currently the best elevation data available, the Space Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) data, suggests that 33N 80E in the Nganglong Gangri in Western Tibet is the highest degree confluence point in the world. After visiting the maps and pictures for the Southeastern states I’m finding hardly any that are said to be “right on” the border even though they are very close to it in appearance on the map and you’d think the maps of borders that close would be right on the latitude or longitude line. Are old surveying methods obsoleted by GPS? ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-geography-trivia-fun-degree-confluences/530767/20 "2010-03-01T23:04:45Z")
I live within a couple of blocks of Baseline road, which is the 40th parallel, and was the dividing line between the Nebraska territory and the Kansas territory before Colorado became a state. The nearest confluence is east of me by about ten miles or so. It intersects 105 West about a mile or so east of Interstate 25, just east of the town of Erie, in an alfalfa field. It is just about one mile above sea level. [40N, 105W](http://www.confluence.org/photo.php?visitid=5996&pic=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-geography-trivia-fun-degree-confluences/530767.md?page=2)