# Your geographical misconceptions **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 30, 2020, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-geographical-misconceptions/929294 "2020-12-30T20:58:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 21
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2021, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-geographical-misconceptions/929294/402 "2021-01-26T01:35:03Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Only if you don’t use a boat or plane though. If you _must_ drive, then yes you must go through Canada. > > Sadly, the US lacks true exclaves in the lower 48. If you’re using a plane, is any place an exclave? I’d consider the Northwest Angle or Point Roberts to be exclaves. Also Province Point but it’s a miniscule uninhabited piece of land; more like a border typo than an exclave. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2021, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-geographical-misconceptions/929294/403 "2021-01-26T01:39:08Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > I visited the Kentucky Bend in 2017, after watching the solar eclipse from Hopkinsville. The eclipse was much more impressive. Yeah, after following the Google street view around KB, I am not really surprised. Still, I’ve been to a few geographic oddities and being a map nerd, the call is strong to visit it. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2021, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-geographical-misconceptions/929294/404 "2021-01-26T01:42:00Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > If you’re using a plane, is any place an exclave? If you leave US territorial land/waters to get to it, I think it is. Not as cool an exclave Baarle-Nassau/Hertog, but still. Just my opinion. I guess one does technically leave Washington State if one boats or flies to Point Roberts, and goes over US Federal waters, but that’s a special case to me. I got to Point Roberts the regular way, by driving thru Canada. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2021, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-geographical-misconceptions/929294/405 "2021-01-26T02:06:33Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > I visited the Kentucky Bend in 2017, after watching the solar eclipse from Hopkinsville. The eclipse was much more impressive. Thanks for saying that. I keep wanting to visit some of these oddities, and I’m kind of obsessed with Point Roberts. But you made me realize that once I was there on the ground, I’d look around and say “Ok, I got here, so what?” ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2021, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-geographical-misconceptions/929294/406 "2021-01-26T02:09:09Z")
@digs there’s a nice park and monument to visit at Point Roberts, my daughter and I had a lovely hike there, a great few hours. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2021, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-geographical-misconceptions/929294/407 "2021-01-26T02:21:08Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > What causes the problem is that the map is subtly rotated so that the direction straight up in the center of the map is not true north. True north is actually off to the left by several degrees. That allows a somewhat larger map to fit into the same rectangle. But people are used to north being straight up, so they unconsiously assume that that’s what’s shown on the map. Fascinating! Thanks for sharing that. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2021, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-geographical-misconceptions/929294/408 "2021-01-26T02:27:26Z")
> [@digs](#): > > In fact, the northeast corner of Indiana is always on Central Time to match Chicago. As is the southeast “pointy part”. Tru dat, but what attachment does the rest of the state have to points east that have resulted in its being on Eastern time? Chicago’s closer to most of the state than Detroit is; it’s closer to all of the state than Cleveland and to most of the state than Columbus or Cincinnati. You’d think they’d carve an enclave of Eastern time down near Cincinnati and Louisville, and the rest of it would be on Central, rather than two little enclaves of Central time, and the rest on Eastern. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2021, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-geographical-misconceptions/929294/409 "2021-01-26T02:46:04Z")
Yeah, but almost all of it is directly south of Michigan which is all Eastern Time. Indiana’s mostly Eastern and south of that, Kentucky and Tennessee get split in half. Solar-time-wise, another option would be to make all of Indiana Eastern Time, and split Michigan. But that’s only an issue if everyone really wants dawn, noon, or sunset at a specific time. In modern life, I’m not sure it really matters. (Come to think of it, more than a few Chinese people deal with having one time zone…) ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2021, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-geographical-misconceptions/929294/410 "2021-01-26T02:58:55Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > @digs there’s a nice park and monument to visit at Point Roberts, my daughter and I had a lovely hike there, a great few hours. Point Roberts isn’t doing very well in covid-time: > **[Birth of a ghost town: U.S. border community has lost 80% of its business,...](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/point-roberts-covid-1.5740806)** > > In a normal year, Point Roberts, Wash., is a bustling place during the summer season, packed with B.C. tourists ready to spend their money on local businesses, B.C. bargain hunters filling up on gas and picking up packages at the local parcel shops. > **[Point Roberts pins COVID-19 border exemption hopes on President Biden |...](https://globalnews.ca/news/7595924/point-roberts-biden-border/)** > > The small community's residents say they're facing economic catastrophe and problems with simple day-to-day activities such as food shopping and medical appointments. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2021, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-geographical-misconceptions/929294/411 "2021-01-26T04:27:52Z")
> [@digs](#): > > Yeah, but almost all of it is directly south of Michigan which is all Eastern Time. A small part of Michigan (including Menominee, Iron Mountain and Ironwood) is not on Eastern Time. Only one tiny speck of Wisconsin borders on the Eastern Time Zone. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2021, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-geographical-misconceptions/929294/412 "2021-01-26T15:46:54Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Only one tiny speck of Wisconsin borders on the Eastern Time Zone. Where is that one tiny speck? I don’t see anywhere that WI land abuts the Eastern zone. Only on the water boundaries do they seem to meet. And on water, it’s a huge border. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2021, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-geographical-misconceptions/929294/413 "2021-01-26T16:08:52Z")
According to this [link](https://www.timetemperature.com/tzus/michigan_time_zone.shtml), there are four counties in Michigan that are on Central Time: Dickinson, Gogebic, Iron and Menominee. These are the four counties that border Wisconsin. And that border appears to be somewhere between 150 and 200 miles in length. I can’t tell if any part of Wisconsin actually borders the Eastern Time Zone, but on Google Maps, it certainly doesn’t appear to do so. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2021, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-geographical-misconceptions/929294/414 "2021-01-26T18:19:55Z")
[This map](https://www.nationsonline.org/maps/US-timezones-map.jpg) shows Eastern Time following the northwest shoreline of Yooperland right up to the WI border before it cuts north through the big lake. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2021, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-geographical-misconceptions/929294/415 "2021-01-26T19:15:30Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Arizona stays on MST all year around, which can be kind of weird in the summer – except, the Navajo Nation that occupies a big chunk of the north goes to MDT. Except for a chunk inside the Navajo nation that doesn’t observe DST (as noted in your map below). > [@eschereal](#): > > [This map](https://www.nationsonline.org/maps/US-timezones-map.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2021, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-geographical-misconceptions/929294/416 "2021-01-26T20:24:09Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > [This map](https://www.nationsonline.org/maps/US-timezones-map.jpg) shows Eastern Time following the northwest shoreline of Yooperland right up to the WI border before it cuts north through the big lake. Multiple sources state that all of Gogebic County, MI is in the Central Time Zone, so that boundary seems to be separating land from water. So again Wisconsin only borders the Eastern Time Zone on water. But it may be where WI land comes closest to the ETZ. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2021, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-geographical-misconceptions/929294/417 "2021-01-26T20:24:46Z")
> [@Folacin](#): > > Except for a chunk inside the Navajo nation that doesn’t observe DST And that’s Hopi land. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2021, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-geographical-misconceptions/929294/418 "2021-01-26T20:48:27Z")
The Audacity of Hopis! ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2021, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-geographical-misconceptions/929294/419 "2021-01-26T21:07:48Z")
koyaanisqatsi (life out of balance) with their neighbors. lol ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2021, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-geographical-misconceptions/929294/420 "2021-01-26T23:31:35Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I’d consider the Northwest Angle or Point Roberts to be exclaves. Also Province Point but it’s a miniscule uninhabited piece of land; more like a border typo than an exclave. Northwest Angle could be considered a driving exclave except in the dead of winter when one can drive across the hardened water to reach land. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2021, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-geographical-misconceptions/929294/421 "2021-01-27T18:30:38Z")
The biggest time difference I know of is when you take the short hovercraft ride from Portsmouth to The Isle of Wight. In less than half an hour, you go back 50 years. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-geographical-misconceptions/929294.md?page=20) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-geographical-misconceptions/929294.md?page=22)