# Theoretically, how far could somebody from the continental US drive? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 12, 2008, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theoretically-how-far-could-somebody-from-the-continental-us-drive/456202 "2008-07-12T01:59:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theoretically-how-far-could-somebody-from-the-continental-us-drive/456202/41 "2008-07-14T02:42:14Z")
> [@](#): > > Can you drive a regular car from the Continental U.S. to Tierra del Fuego, for instance? If not, where is the stopping point (Panama Canal maybe, or is there a bridge?). Several years ago, a guy working for the same advisor I was decided that, after getting his Master’s, he’d drive all the way to Tierra del Fuego. He did it, but only by taking his car on a boat around the infamous gap noted in above posts. Nevertheless, he was able to get all the way down – he just had to take a really big “ferry ride” in the middle. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theoretically-how-far-could-somebody-from-the-continental-us-drive/456202/42 "2008-07-14T11:25:59Z")
[QUOTE=Chefguy] Seems a very fine hair to split, but hokay. [/QUOTE] I agree. There are islands to the west of Key West, FL that are still a part of Florida that can’t be reached by car. It would be like saying that it is impossible to drive across the state of Florida. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theoretically-how-far-could-somebody-from-the-continental-us-drive/456202/43 "2008-07-14T12:05:52Z")
Nope. Have a look at a map. The portion of Quebec to which I refer is the primary land mass of that province, and is a significant part of mainland Canada. Labrador, to which I refer, is also a significant part of mainland Canada. I have not been refering to either islands or to minor protrusions. ---
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theoretically-how-far-could-somebody-from-the-continental-us-drive/456202/44 "2008-07-14T12:31:53Z")
What a coincidence - I watched the old Tony Curtis/Nathalie Wood/Jack Lemmon/Peter Falk comedy **The Great Race** just this weekend (my daughter had never seen it). Best pie fight in movies. “Max - the cannon!” ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theoretically-how-far-could-somebody-from-the-continental-us-drive/456202/45 "2008-07-14T15:56:22Z")
[QUOTE=Muffin] Nope. Have a look at a map. The portion of Quebec to which I refer is the primary land mass of that province, and is a significant part of mainland Canada. Labrador, to which I refer, is also a significant part of mainland Canada. I have not been refering to either islands or to minor protrusions. [/QUOTE] But you can drive to Labrador and Quebec, just not to the _coast_ of Labrador. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theoretically-how-far-could-somebody-from-the-continental-us-drive/456202/46 "2008-07-14T21:20:32Z")
The coast of Labrador is where most of Labrador’s communities are, and where most of Labrador’s road network is. There are only a handful of communities in the interior, Yes, one can drive to the eastern end of Quebec, but only from these self-same coastal Labrador communities which themselves are part of a road network that does not connect to the rest of Canada. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theoretically-how-far-could-somebody-from-the-continental-us-drive/456202/47 "2008-07-14T22:22:08Z")
You could a put a treadmill on a boat and run it at the speed that the boat is going. That way you could “drive” through the gap. Maybe you could even power the boat from generators hooked up to the car. Would that count? ---
**Author:** ![Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hypnagogic_jerk/32/4252_2.png) [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypnagogic_Jerk)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theoretically-how-far-could-somebody-from-the-continental-us-drive/456202/48 "2008-07-15T00:47:25Z")
[QUOTE=Muffin] When the last link of the TLH is completed, it will mean that for the first time ever, a young buck from Natashquan can directly drive to Old Fort Bay for a date with his honey (assuming the road isn’t lost under snow). [/QUOTE] Better yet, apparently there are plans to complete the road across the Lower North Shore in a few years. So he won’t even have to make a detour through Labrador. Right now, the gaps in this road seem to be filled with ferries. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theoretically-how-far-could-somebody-from-the-continental-us-drive/456202.md?page=2)