# Why isn't the Peace Arch (US/Canada border) aligned east-west? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 8, 2011, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-the-peace-arch-us-canada-border-aligned-east-west/566869 "2011-01-08T12:26:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2011, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-the-peace-arch-us-canada-border-aligned-east-west/566869/1 "2011-01-08T12:26:56Z")
The [Peace Arch](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace_Arch) sits exactly on the border between Washington, USA, and British Columbia, Canada. The border here is a straight east-west line, so why is the arch itself angled a few degrees NE - SW? You can see this clearly in the Google Maps aerial shots: [Google Maps](http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&q=white+rock+bc&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=White+Rock,+Greater+Vancouver+Regional+District,+British+Columbia,+Canada&gl=uk&ll=49.002022,-122.756488&spn=0.000746,0.001875&t=h&z=19) Ignore the border line marked on Google, which shows 100ft or so too far north. You can see the actual line of small white border monuments casting shadows northwards, one on either side of each lane of the highway and another close to the arch on the eastern side. [Street View](http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&q=white+rock+bc&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=White+Rock,+Greater+Vancouver+Regional+District,+British+Columbia,+Canada&gl=uk&ll=49.002124,-122.756015&spn=0,0.00375&t=h&z=18&layer=c&cbll=49.002124,-122.756015&panoid=92uBTBF8foRcp6K0GGOFug&cbp=12,252.28,,0,-4.4) also shows that the Arch is clearly angled. Why was it built like this? If I were building an arch on the border line, I’d want to line it up properly. I can’t believe that it was an accident, so does anyone have the straight dope? ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2011, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-the-peace-arch-us-canada-border-aligned-east-west/566869/2 "2011-01-08T13:03:28Z")
Google is my [friend](http://www.rvtrekker.com/northwestpages/washington/whatcom/peacearchpark.htm) (eventually). > [@](#): > > It is angled in such a way that the two halves of the internal gates of the Peace Arch are one in Canada and one in the U.S., so that they may only be closed by mutual consent of both countries. Neat. And yet somehow untidy at the same time. ---
**Author:** ![dhkendall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9adbd/32.png) [@dhkendall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dhkendall)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2011, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-the-peace-arch-us-canada-border-aligned-east-west/566869/3 "2011-01-08T15:27:18Z")
Actually, a common misconception is that the US-Canada border is an absolute straight line from the Georgia Strait to Lake of the Woods along the 49th parallel. Both are false. The border is actually defined as a straight line between the border monuments, none of which are on the parallel exactly due to imprecise surveying. See [this chart/graph/map](http://confluence.org/graphics/49thborder.png) of what the border _really_ looks like from [one of the most fascinating, little known sites on the web [caution: if you’re like me, humongous time-suck]](http://confluence.org/) ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2011, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-the-peace-arch-us-canada-border-aligned-east-west/566869/4 "2011-01-08T15:57:46Z")
> [@dhkendall](#): > > Actually, a common misconception is that the US-Canada border is an absolute straight line from the Georgia Strait to Lake of the Woods along the 49th parallel. Both are false. The border is actually defined as a straight line between the border monuments, none of which are on the parallel exactly due to imprecise surveying. > > See [this chart/graph/map](http://confluence.org/graphics/49thborder.png) of what the border _really_ looks like from [one of the most fascinating, little known sites on the web [caution: if you’re like me, humongous time-suck]](http://confluence.org/) I love [confluence.org](http://confluence.org) too! (I did know that the “straight line” is a simplification, but in this area the monuments are pretty close to a straight east-west line - the angle of the arch was different enough to pique my curiosity.)