It should be “Central Oregon”–British Columbia having been formed from the northern part of the Oregon Territory.
Yeah, the US is very much further south than most of Europe- Houston, for example is a few degrees south of Cairo, and Dallas is a couple of degrees north of Tripoli. New York and Rome are roughly the same latitude, and London is within a couple of degrees of Edmonton.
The precipitation in Portugal pelts primarily on the plateau
Something I didn’t realize till I visited there, but the Highlands of Scotland are actually in the Arctic Circle. The bombastic tour guide explained that the constant cross-winds from the North Sea and the Atlantic kept the weather windy and chilly, so it’s best to fortify yourself with food and drink that make you fat and better insulated.
The Scots seemed to have a sense of irony about avoiding death one way by embracing another.
Bravo good Sir!!
I think they were having you on, the arctic circle is approximately 66°30′ N latitude, the northernmost bit of Scotland is below 61° N
Agreed - and that “northernmost bit” is the Shetland Islands, which are some 300 miles north of the northernmost Scottish highlands.
I have always tended to think that all of mainland Europe (except Scandanavia) was south and east of the United Kingdom; so I surprised to learn that Berlin is actually north of London.
Also I tend to think of the west coast of the U.S. as a straight north south line, but around southern California it’s actually north-west to south-east and in places runs east to west.
I almost had that misconception too, if asked I would have thought Berlin slightly south rather than slightly north of London. I blame wargames that tilt mainland Europe in order to fit the continent neatly onto as little board area as possible.
They frequently see the Northern Lights though.
Golf clap
I don’t know if this is a misconception or not. The only political division in the world that are partly on a continental mainland but most residents live on islands are Denmark, Newfoundland and Monroe County Florida. Can somebody disabuse me of that?
New York City. (The Bronx is on the mainland, the rest of the city on islands.)
The courts have ruled that Long Island is not an island. And since there is fresh water between them, all the boroughs are part of the continental land-mass. But your point is valid and it is a reasonable argument.
20 minutes after posting this, I’m now in “read only” mode . Whats up?
I do’t know that the fresh water was part of the Supreme Court’s argument, see wikipedia below. In any case, the water between Long Island and the Bronx isn’t fresh, it’s saltwater. I’ve been swimming in it.
“In 1985, the United States Supreme Court ruled in United States v. Maine that Long Island is legally not an island, because New York State’s boundaries contained its offshore soil and seabeds.[40][41][42] Despite the legal decision the United States Board on Geographic Names still considers Long Island an island, because it is surrounded by water.[43]”
Here’s a quote from that Supreme Court case :
Here, Long Island presents the exceptional case of an island that should be treated as an extension of the mainland.
An “island that should be treated as an extension of the mainland” is still an island.
The geographical definition of an island is a body of land completely surrounded by water (and smaller than a continent). It doesn’t matter at all whether the water is salt or fresh. There are plenty of islands in freshwater lakes. In any case, as mentioned the Harlem and East “Rivers” are salt water tidal straits, not true freshwater rivers. The technical legal argument doesn’t make Long Island actually part of the mainland.
“I don’t know if this is a misconception or not. The only political division in the world that are partly on a continental mainland but most residents live on islands are Denmark, Newfoundland and Monroe County Florida. Can somebody disabuse me of that?”
Hong Kong?