# What states/provinces would you get rid of divide, or consolidate? (US, Canada) **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 24, 2007, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-states-provinces-would-you-get-rid-of-divide-or-consolidate-us-canada/416795 "2007-08-24T18:12:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2007, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-states-provinces-would-you-get-rid-of-divide-or-consolidate-us-canada/416795/21 "2007-08-24T20:29:04Z")
[QUOTE=Smooth Jack] We should make all states equally square. Why let Utah have all the fun? [/QUOTE] Utah has [a little bite out of the NE corner](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utah). Wyoming and Colorado are pretty squarish though. ---
**Author:** ![Smooth\_Jack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8c91f0/32.png) [@Smooth\_Jack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smooth_Jack)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2007, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-states-provinces-would-you-get-rid-of-divide-or-consolidate-us-canada/416795/22 "2007-08-24T20:30:15Z")
[QUOTE=Fear Itself] Utah has [a little bite out of the NE corner](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utah). Wyoming and Colorado are pretty squarish though. [/QUOTE] Oh! We were talking geography? ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2007, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-states-provinces-would-you-get-rid-of-divide-or-consolidate-us-canada/416795/23 "2007-08-24T20:32:03Z")
If we merge MN, IA, MO, AR, and LA, the resulting state would look an awful lot like a leg. Hmmm. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2007, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-states-provinces-would-you-get-rid-of-divide-or-consolidate-us-canada/416795/24 "2007-08-24T20:32:08Z")
[QUOTE=Smooth Jack] Oh! We were talking geography? [/QUOTE] :smack: Whooshed again! ---
**Author:** ![Sunrazor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sunrazor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunrazor)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2007, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-states-provinces-would-you-get-rid-of-divide-or-consolidate-us-canada/416795/25 "2007-08-24T20:41:22Z")
[QUOTE=BlinkingDuck] Hey now…them’s fightin words! {I grew up in ND} Seriously, though…there should be 2 Dakotas…East and West. [/QUOTE] I don’t know if it’s true, but when we vacationed in South Dakota a few years ago we were told there was a movement afoot to rename South Dakota just Dakota. The reason was just pure orneryness – seems North Dakota’s tourism board had lobbied to have that state’s named changed to just Dakota to try to minimize the whole “north = cold and snowy” idea. So S.Dakotans wanted to beat 'em to the punch so the northerners would be stuck with the “North” name. It is often said that Colorado really should have been divided among the states around it. My part of the state would be absorbed into Nebraska. Just draw a straight line southward from the western edge of the Neb. panhandle all the way to New Mexico, intersect it with a westerly extension of the Kansas-Nebraska state line. Kansas would get everything south of the Nebraska portion. New Mexico should have the southern two tiers of Colorado counties, Utah could take the western two columns. the corridor down the middle would be the Colorado everybody sees in their minds when they see the name. In Colorado politics, that’s actually how it kind of shakes out. ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2007, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-states-provinces-would-you-get-rid-of-divide-or-consolidate-us-canada/416795/26 "2007-08-24T20:44:30Z")
Wyomonkota (Wyoming Montana Dakotas) Okanbraskasas (Oklahoma Kansas Nebraska Arkansas) Mexizona (NM AZ) Alasissippi (AL MS) Verhampshire (VT NH) Massarhodecticut (Mass RI Conn) Pennsylware (Penn DE) Virginia (WV VA - The war is over) ---
**Author:** ![Sunrazor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sunrazor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunrazor)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2007, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-states-provinces-would-you-get-rid-of-divide-or-consolidate-us-canada/416795/27 "2007-08-24T20:46:24Z")
[QUOTE=Bearflag70] Wyomonkota (Wyoming Montana Dakotas) Okanbraskasas (Oklahoma Kansas Nebraska Arkansas) Mexizona (NM AZ) Alasissippi (AL MS) Verhampshire (VT NH) Massarhodecticut (Mass RI Conn) Pennsylware (Penn DE) Virginia (WV VA - The war is over) [/QUOTE] Holy crap, this actually makes sense to me!? Oh, never mind. It’s Friday. That explains it. (whew!) ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2007, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-states-provinces-would-you-get-rid-of-divide-or-consolidate-us-canada/416795/28 "2007-08-24T20:57:30Z")
Northern Ontario should really be part of Manitoba. Call it Manitario. I’m not sure precisely where to draw the line, but the big norhtern chunk is simply too far removed from the bulk of Ontario’s population to be adequately represented in the Legislature. It’s preposterous that PEI is a province. It should be absorbed into New Brunswick. That gives us only 9 provinces and 10 is such a nice number, so we’ll then purchase Alaska and make it a province. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2007, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-states-provinces-would-you-get-rid-of-divide-or-consolidate-us-canada/416795/29 "2007-08-24T21:07:04Z")
This is running into more of a poll than a debate. Off to **IMHO**. [/Moderating] ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2007, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-states-provinces-would-you-get-rid-of-divide-or-consolidate-us-canada/416795/30 "2007-08-24T21:10:25Z")
[QUOTE=Smooth Jack] We should make all states equally square. Why let Utah have all the fun? [/QUOTE] Utah isn’t a square. Colorado and Wyoming are, though (at least they’re about as square as you can draw something on a globe). ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2007, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-states-provinces-would-you-get-rid-of-divide-or-consolidate-us-canada/416795/31 "2007-08-24T21:24:57Z")
OK, new rule. Everything on our side of the St. Lawrence belongs to us. Canada can keep whatever crap they want on their side, but it’s bullshit that Canada thinks it owns stuff on our side. The St. Lawrence and the Great Lakes and the 49th parallel is the boundary between the US and Canada, period. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2007, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-states-provinces-would-you-get-rid-of-divide-or-consolidate-us-canada/416795/32 "2007-08-24T21:25:58Z")
[QUOTE=Lemur866] OK, new rule. Everything on our side of the St. Lawrence belongs to us. Canada can keep whatever crap they want on their side, but it’s bullshit that Canada thinks it owns stuff on our side. The St. Lawrence and the Great Lakes and the 49th parallel is the boundary between the US and Canada, period. [/QUOTE] Does that mean they get Alaska? ---
**Author:** ![Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ce7236/32.png) [@Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mona_Lisa_Simpson)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2007, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-states-provinces-would-you-get-rid-of-divide-or-consolidate-us-canada/416795/33 "2007-08-24T21:31:44Z")
Everything say west of Sault St Marie., ON belongs to its own (economically crippled, but resource-rich) province. Call it Cambria or something. Just get me out of Ontario! ---
**Author:** ![Governor\_Quinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@Governor\_Quinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Governor_Quinn)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2007, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-states-provinces-would-you-get-rid-of-divide-or-consolidate-us-canada/416795/34 "2007-08-24T21:43:39Z")
Several proposals (all of the “create” category): [Superior, out of the UP](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superior_%28proposed_U.S._state%29) [Jefferson, out of northern California and southern Oregon](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jefferson_%28proposed_U.S._state%29) [My personal favorite, Plymouth, made out of the territory of historic Plymouth Colony](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plymouth_Colony) ---
**Author:** ![jimmmy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/73ab20/32.png) [@jimmmy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimmmy)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2007, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-states-provinces-would-you-get-rid-of-divide-or-consolidate-us-canada/416795/35 "2007-08-24T22:06:11Z")
Along the lines of Sampiro and Brain Glutton – An idea on how to deal with DC voting rights is to create a State of (pieces differ on the edges): DC piece of MD (usually Montgomery and PG Counties) peice of No. Virginia (usually Alexandria, Fairfax, Arlington) This would be a wealthy state with (depending on the boundry) with about 4.5 million people - about the 22nd largest sate. Annapolis and Richmond would never allow it of course. Further complicating the idea is that I seriously doubt anything close to a double digit percent of the the people (except maybe in DC where there some support for retro-cession) actually living here in the affected places would even consider it under any circumstances- but in common interest it makes some amount of sense. ---
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2007, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-states-provinces-would-you-get-rid-of-divide-or-consolidate-us-canada/416795/36 "2007-08-24T22:33:22Z")
[QUOTE=Captain Socks] I would do something with Delaware, but I’m not sure what. [/QUOTE] Merge Delaware, Maryland with the part of Virginia that is east of the Chesapeake Bay. Call the new state Delmarva. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2007, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-states-provinces-would-you-get-rid-of-divide-or-consolidate-us-canada/416795/37 "2007-08-24T23:03:05Z")
Saskatchewan, Manitoba and North Dakota. Call it… **Manitscolduphere**. British Columbia, Alberta, Washington and Idaho. Call it… **Washilumbia**. Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin and Ontario. Call it… **Gitchegoomi**. Newfoundland, P.E.I., New Brunswick and Nova Scotia all join Maine. Call it… **Greater Maine**. Yukon Territory becomes part of Alaska. The rest of Canada is totally without purpose, so who cares what happens to it. Texas gets divided. Everything north and west of Fort Worth gets named **Baja Oklahoma**. The rest of the state goes to Louisiana to make up for what we failed to do after Katrina. Northern California and Oregon become **Granolaland.** Southern and Central California annex Nevada and become **Sin City**. South Dakota, Kansas and Nebraska get joined and renamed **Damnitsflataroundhere.** DC we sell to the Cubans for a 57 Chevy and a box of cigars. But they have to keep the population. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Socks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a8b319/32.png) [@Captain\_Socks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Socks)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2007, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-states-provinces-would-you-get-rid-of-divide-or-consolidate-us-canada/416795/38 "2007-08-25T00:37:07Z")
Something tells me South Florida could stand on its own. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2007, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-states-provinces-would-you-get-rid-of-divide-or-consolidate-us-canada/416795/39 "2007-08-25T01:10:01Z")
[QUOTE=Juliefoolie] Everything say west of Sault St Marie., ON belongs to its own (economically crippled, but resource-rich) province. Call it Cambria or something. Just get me out of Ontario! [/QUOTE] Hey! I resemble that remark! I have long thought that the Greater Toronto Area should be its own province. Greater Vancouver and maybe Greater Montreal too. On a larger scale, let’s erase Canada, the USA, and Mexico, and reconstitute things along the lines of the [Nine Nations of North America](http://www.garreau.com/main.cfm?action=book&id=3). Let bioregions and cultural regions form the divisions rather than the linear whims of long-dead politicians. Many of the divisions others have mentioned already follow these cultural boundaries. **Juliefoolie** , you feel distant from Southern Ontario because you are, culturally as well as physically. Southern Ontario is akin to the other old industrial areas of the Northeast; Northwestern Ontario is more akin to Manitoba. **Elendil’s Heir** , Northern California and Southern California are different for a reason: water. Northern Cal belongs with the rest of the wet West Coast, all the way up to Juneau. Southern Cal belongs with the rest of the dry Southwest. **Captain Socks** , South Florida is part of the Caribbean, not Dixie. And so on. ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2007, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-states-provinces-would-you-get-rid-of-divide-or-consolidate-us-canada/416795/40 "2007-08-25T01:58:29Z")
Relocate the entire population of Texas and then give Texas back to Mexico. Let Mexico deal with the illegal aliens (previous population of Texas) moving south. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-states-provinces-would-you-get-rid-of-divide-or-consolidate-us-canada/416795.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-states-provinces-would-you-get-rid-of-divide-or-consolidate-us-canada/416795.md?page=3)