Weird Geography Facts

[ClubCy]

When I moved to California my general thought was go to the beach and look west and watch the sunset.

It still trips me out going to the beach and looking south.

If you are in Santa Monica you are looking west. If you are in Long Beach you are looking towards Mexico.

 

[KidSilverhair]

Ever been to Cedar Rapids? It's 45degrees rotated from sanity. That and the smell. They do have a Map Room tavern.

The street grid in central CR is based on the Cedar River, which runs northwest/southeast through the downtown area. So the first dozen blocks or so on each side of the river are skewed. What’s weird is at that point the street grid resets to east/west and north/south, so there’s a bunch of triangular parks in odd places scattered around the city.

 

[CyDude16]

There's a thread on another board I frequent dedicated to weird, or maybe more accurately "unexpected" geography facts, and I find it fascinating as hell. Figured folks here might have some interesting contributions. Some examples of what I'm talking about:

-Youngstown, Ohio is east of Neptune Beach, Florida which is on the Atlantic.

-Keokuk is closer to Paducah, Kentucky than it is to Larchwood.

-Hamburg, IA is closer to Tulsa than it is to Decorah.

-Detroit is closer to Boone, NC than it is to Ironwood, MI.

-Dalhart, TX is closer to Cheyenne, WY than it is to Austin.

-Rome is north of Des Moines.

Could have fooled me with that heat in Rome two summers ago.

 

[ZJohnson]

For those who are super Geography nerds like myself and want to waste time and a tiny bit of money you need to play GeoGuessr. Great way to keep the brain sharp and a learning tool for kids.

https://www.geoguessr.com/

 

[Cycsk]

Also hot dish vs. casserole.

I also like pointing out that the quad cities are where the Mississippi flows east/west. That’s surprising to people before they think about it.

Does the Interstate go north/south to cross the Mississippi River?

 

[Cycsk]

Because of the shape of the earth, it is shorter for planes to fly over the Arctic Circle than to cross the Pacific Ocean when going from many places in the US to many places in Asia, such as Narita, Japan.

At least that is what flight attendants have told me.

 

[WooBadger18]

Does the Interstate go north/south to cross the Mississippi River?

Looking at a map, yes they do

 

[mkadl]

For FWD cars, it is best to do them in reverse

https://racketmn.com/in-defense-of-whippin-shitties-minnesota

View attachment 141219

I am sorry it is "cutting cookies". Everyone else is wrong.

 

[MeanDean]

Does the Interstate go north/south to cross the Mississippi River?

All 3 of them (I-80, I-280 and I-74)

 

[Cycsk]

India is all one time zone, but it is adjusted 30 minutes. India time is 11-and-one-half hours ahead of Iowa time. When it is 8:00am in Iowa, it is 7:30pm in India.

Bangladesh is even weirder (or it used to be). When I visited Dhaka, their time was adjusted to the quarter hour, so they were 11-and three-quarter hours ahead of Iowa time. When it is 8:00am in Iowa, it was 7:45pm in Bangladesh. That was disorienting. I didn't know until I got in a cab and thought his clock was broken. Maybe it is a daylight savings thing or something has changed because I see that right now it seems that they are 12 hours ahead of us.

 

[NickTheGreat]

For those who are super Geography nerds like myself and want to waste time and a tiny bit of money you need to play GeoGuessr. Great way to keep the brain sharp and a learning tool for kids.

https://www.geoguessr.com/

I used to do that site when it was free. I get that it costs money to operate things, but that's when I stopped.

 

[12191987]

All 3 of them (I-80, I-280 and I-74)

Down the road a bit there is a portion of I-80 that confused me at first:

 

[madguy30]

Much of the U.P., which is just directly north of parts of WI, is in the eastern time zone.

A couple of straight N/S highways make the switch while driving on them.

 

[clonedude]

Sorry if this one was already mentioned, I didn't read through the entire thread....

Havana Cuba is west of Cleveland, Ohio.

 

[clonedude]

Took this shot at a farm auction last year. Felt kinda like being in a cathedral...
View attachment 141185

Reminds me of the Codfish Hollow music venue barn in eastern Iowa...

 

[Sousaclone]

The Atlantic entrance to the Panama Canal is west of the pacific entrance.

 

[cowboycurtis]

Because of the shape of the earth, it is shorter for planes to fly over the Arctic Circle than to cross the Pacific Ocean when going from many places in the US to many places in Asia, such as Narita, Japan.

At least that is what flight attendants have told me.

I’ve always been interested in flying and airplanes. I ended up getting my pilots license but rarely use it. I jump on the FlightAware app from time to time to check things out. One day I’m outside and see a massive jet flying straight south (rarely see that) so I check it out. It was an Airbus 380 that was flying from Dubai to Dallas and it flew over the top of world. I had no idea that was faster way. When the plane went over NC Iowa it was 14 hours into a 16 hour flight.

 

[SeventhSon]

Without ever touching land, you can sail in a straight line from India to the US:

 

[Prone2Clone]

The distance to your grocery store is greater than Fran McCaffery's recruiting radius.

 

[drmwevr08]

I'm always surprised when I see videos of people hiking in the Arizona mountains and it's below freezing, or at least close to it and there is snow. I've never been to Arizona, but I picture the entire state as being a furnace year round.

You can get out of the desert and it looks more like Colorado. Taking my boys boarding tomorrow (although there hasn't been much actual snow, unfortunately the Nino something)