# 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:** 51
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2026, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-geographical-misconceptions/929294/1004 "2026-07-29T19:48:12Z")
If you count mountain masses, then it depends on how deep you go. ---
**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:** [July 29, 2026, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-geographical-misconceptions/929294/1005 "2026-07-29T19:53:42Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > That must be a complicated calculation based on land area being equal in each primary direction. If you want to learn how the National Geodetic Service calculated it, here you go. > **[GeoCenter\_USA1.pdf](https://www.ngs.noaa.gov/PUBS_LIB/GeoCenter_USA1.pdf)** > > 371.66 KB ---
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2026, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-geographical-misconceptions/929294/1006 "2026-07-29T19:57:09Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > That must be a complicated calculation based on land area being equal in each primary direction. When I do a Q&D calculation based on NSEW extremes, being defined as the farthest one can go and stand on solid ground – a rock off the Washington coast, Pt Quoddy Maine, an Island near the Florida Keys, the top of the NW Angle – and find the raw mathematical intersection, I land on a point near Cotton Valley Oklahoma some 250 miles SE of Lebanon. > > I assume the centerpoint is where, if you put the country on a needle, that is where it would theoretically balance, but if you count in topographical mass, it seems likely the balance point would be a ways west. Believe it or not, in 1918 the National Geodetic Survey made a precisely cut cardboard cutout of the contiguous US (of uniform thickness), and found its balance point on a pin. That spot was 39°50′ N and longitude 98°35′ W, the closest town being Lebanon, KS. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2026, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-geographical-misconceptions/929294/1007 "2026-07-29T20:30:43Z")
One of my professors told us that the way he did numerical integrals was to graph the function on paper, cut it out, and weigh it on an analytical balance. ---
**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:** [July 29, 2026, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-geographical-misconceptions/929294/1008 "2026-07-29T21:25:58Z")
I used to use a bamboo Post for multplication, square roots and trig. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2026, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-geographical-misconceptions/929294/1009 "2026-07-29T22:13:42Z")
Huh? You graph it, okay, but you do not need to cut it out: > **[Planimeter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planimeter)** > > A planimeter, also known as a platometer, is a measuring instrument used to determine the area of an arbitrary two-dimensional shape. There are several kinds of planimeters, but all operate in a similar way. The precise way in which they are constructed varies, with the main types of mechanical planimeter being polar, linear, and Prytz or "hatchet" planimeters. The Swiss mathematician Jakob Amsler-Laffon built the first modern planimeter in 1854, the concept having been pioneered by Johann Martin... However, if you are starting from a table of numbers, why graph it? > **[Simpson's rule](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simpson%27s_rule)** > > In numerical integration, Simpson's rules are several approximations for definite integrals, named after Thomas Simpson (1710–1761). The most basic of these rules, called Simpson's 1/3 rule, or just Simpson's rule, reads > > > > > > ∫ > > a > > > b > > > f > ( > x > ) > > d > x > ≈ > > > > b > − > a > ... ---
**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 29, 2026, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-geographical-misconceptions/929294/1010 "2026-07-29T23:27:45Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > One of my professors told us that the way he did numerical integrals was to graph the function on paper, cut it out, and weigh it on an analytical balance. If you cut it out of a thick enough piece, you can then locate the centroid by hanging the cutout from several different points, with a plumbline. The centroid will be where all the plumblines intersect. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2026, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-geographical-misconceptions/929294/1011 "2026-07-29T23:35:24Z")
Which even works for surfaces with voids or concavities. A little imprecise, but better than trying to support your hollow cutout by a pin in a “lake”. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2026, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-geographical-misconceptions/929294/1012 "2026-07-29T23:40:44Z")
Avulsion is like that. Rivers move abruptly but borders don’t. Leaving bits of state A on the state B side of the newly moved river. There’s a famous bit of Iowa on the Nebraska side of the Missouri river just north of Omaha Nebraska’s Epply Airport. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2026, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-geographical-misconceptions/929294/1013 "2026-07-30T00:09:12Z")
I actually just learned, from a different thread here, that it’s not like that on the Rio Grande. By treaty, the US and Mexico actually exchange little pieces of land whenever the river changes course. Given that it goes one way about as often as the other, and given that most of the land near the river isn’t worth much, that’s probably a sensible way to do it. ---
**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:** [July 30, 2026, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-geographical-misconceptions/929294/1014 "2026-07-30T18:31:47Z")
It is not north of the airport, it is west of it, and you can see the remains of the original oxbow as the crescent-shaped Carter Lake. That is a big chunk of land. Saw a story today about a map of Africa used by the US State department that was breathtakingly incorrect, but it seemed improper to post it here. It is in a Pit thread. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-geographical-misconceptions/929294/1015 "2026-09-24T14:28:53Z")
I encountered the other day: If you go due south from Mexico, what South American country is the first one that you hit? Peru, in the form of the Galapagos Islands. All of the continent of South America is east of the eastern border of Mexico. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-geographical-misconceptions/929294/1016 "2026-09-24T14:33:42Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > I recall the story of an LA resident who thought he was flying to Oakland but ended up in Aukland instead. A year ago I attended a Stanford graduation. For some reason, I thought Stanford was near LA, so I booked a flight to LAX. Thank God she immediately texted me to correct me! I was able to change the flight to San Francisco without a penalty or problem. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-geographical-misconceptions/929294/1017 "2026-09-24T14:59:15Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > I encountered the other day: If you go due south from Mexico, what South American country is the first one that you hit? > > Peru, in the form of the Galapagos Islands. All of the continent of South America is east of the eastern border of Mexico. I think you mean Ecuador. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-geographical-misconceptions/929294/1018 "2026-09-24T15:00:15Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > I think you mean Ecuador. Yes, another one of my misconceptions. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-geographical-misconceptions/929294/1019 "2026-09-24T15:03:33Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > Yes, another one of my misconceptions. So you’re saying you deliberately made that error just to make your post appropriate to the thread topic? ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-geographical-misconceptions/929294/1020 "2026-09-24T16:05:44Z")
Sure, let’s go with that. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-geographical-misconceptions/929294/1021 "2026-09-24T16:45:52Z")
I always have trouble recalling that most of South America is east of most of North America. It could very properly be called East America. I didn’t expect to have jet lag flying from Atlanta to Brazil. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-geographical-misconceptions/929294/1022 "2026-09-24T18:10:02Z")
It helps to notice a couple things. As shown on this zoomed out map: https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m14!1m12!1m3!1d32618161.166769084!2d-65.83230725945738!3d24.46459769204528!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!5e0!3m2!1sen!2sus!4v1790273195518!5m2!1sen!2sus The top edge of Mexico itself obviously starts under San Diego California and continues eastward to almost the middle of the US at Brownsville Texas. So it’s “holding up” the western ~50% of the USA. But as you proceed downwards into & through Mexico, the whole thing leans strongly to the right as it tapers into Central America. Then Central America continues as a long tapering umbilical cord that slopes farther down and to the right from Mexico and finally plugs into the upper left corner of South America. Substantially all of South America is to the right of that plug-in. Meaning South America is off to the right from Central America. Which is off to the right from Mexico. Which does start under the left half of the US, but more importantly, ends to the right of the Mississippi’s mouth in Louisiana. That caricature of geography may be mnemonic for some of us. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-geographical-misconceptions/929294/1023 "2026-09-24T19:50:08Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > I recall the story of an LA resident who thought he was flying to Oakland but ended up in Aukland instead. A couple of my friends drove to Eureka, instead of Ukiah. oops. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-geographical-misconceptions/929294.md?page=50) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-geographical-misconceptions/929294.md?page=52)