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Extreme & Interesting Geographical Points of the USA

Take the ultimate road trip and see interesting and less known areas like the far corners and extreme points of the United States such as the southernmost, northernmost, eastern and northwestern most areas as well as the center of the United States and North America. I got the smallest town in America and the four corners and more in. It took me 5 years and a lot of money to get these locations in. Some say I’m crazy, I call it passion. Everyone posts a photo of them at the Southernmost point in Keywest but that is more out of convenience than intentional travel to that spot.

Something about being the only person on land at some corner at that time seems amazing to me. Like in Barrow, I went to Point Barrow and for at least 30 minutes I was the most Northern person in America. The emotions of having those moments can’t be described in a photo.

Northernmost Point in the USA

Utqiaġvik or Barrow, Alaska is the northernmost city in the United States, with nearby Point Barrow being the nation’s northernmost point and is the 11th northernmost public community in the world.

Point Barrow or Nuvuk is a headland on the Arctic coast in the U.S. state of Alaska, 9 miles (14 km) northeast of Barrow. It is the northernmost point of all the territory of the United States, at 71.386818, -156.470967

The distance to the North Pole is 1,122 nautical miles (1,291 mi; 2,078 km).

Whale Bone Arch to the Arctic Ocean, the sun did set after about 1.5 hours but it never got dark that night, it was sunset light until sunrise. The land of the midnight sun during the summer and during the winter a couple months of darkness.  Location of the Whale Bone Arch is at 71.298618, -156.773536

Walking into the Arctic ocean at Point Barrow was fun, the water was very cold as expected. Even had a chunk of ice on the shore. I lost feeling in my feet after just a few waves.

Northernmost Point of the 48 States 

Northwest Angle is the only point in the continental United States that lies north of the 49th Parallel. Northernmost Point Buoy of the Contiguous United States outside of  Jerry’s Restaurant & Lounge, 7609 Young’s Bay Dr NW, Angle Inlet, MN 56711. You have to go through Canada to get to this part of America.

Jerry’s is the furthest north bar in the lower 48 and the only one on the mainland at the Northwest Angle.

49°20’42.0″N 94°58’12.0″W

49.345000, -94.970000

Northernmost Part of New England / Eastern Coast 

Parc de la frontière / Estcourt Station, Maine & Pohénégamook, Quebec 

Rue de la Frontière, Pohénégamook, QC G0L 1J0, Canada | 47.459472, -69.224922 

Canada-U.S. Border Monument
This monument symbolizes the abdication of a vast territory to the Americans by the British Empire in exchange for the Niagara Peninsula in the loyalist Upper Canada. It is the United States’ most Northern monument on its Atlantic front and was the most northern area of America until 1858.

Small International Bridge 

This small bridge holds the secrets of many different people: lovers, cigarette and alcohol smugglers, fishermen and even tourists. Built at the turn of the century (around 1906), the bridge was originally wider and linked the counties of Pohénégamook and Estcourt. Unbeknownst the original bridge workers, they were building a border bridge between Canada and the U.S. but official borders had not yet been established at the time.

Estcourt, Maine is technically in Canada in that you have to go into Canada to get there. It is the most isolated border town in the contiguous 48 states.  They have Canadian area codes and only four people live there.  Many of the houses have the border going through them. 

Northwestmost Point of the 48 States 

Northwest Point in the US – Cape Flattery Washington
48.3844327,-124.7156768

A Makah Recreation Pass can be purchased at the Makah Tribal Museum or Washburn’s grocery

1.5 miles, roundtrip hike

From Port Angeles follow US 101 west for 5 miles to the junction with State Route 112. Turn right (west) on SR 112, continuing for 64 miles to the community of Neah Bay. (Alternatively, take US 101 to Sappho and drive SR 113 north to SR 112 and then on to Neah Bay. This way is longer, but not as curvy.) Just past the Makah Tribal Museum is Washburn’s, where you can purchase the required recreation pass. Continue west on Bayview Avenue for 1 mile, following signs for “Cape Flattery and Beaches.”Turn left on Fort Street, and in 0.1 mile turn right on 3rd Street. In another 0.1 mile turn left on Cape Flattery Road. In 2.5 miles pass the Tribal Center. Proceed for another 5.1 miles to the trailhead. Privy available.

Southwesternmost Point of the Lower 48 States

Southwestern most in the Contiguous United States

Border Field State Park the boundary from Tijuana Mexico and California

1500 Monument Rd, San Diego, CA 92154

Southernmost Point of the 50 States

Ka Lae, Big Island Hawaii – Southernmost Point of 50 States

Southernmost point 18.910899, -155.680835 

Ka Lae, also known as South Point, is the southernmost point of the Big Island of Hawaii and of the 50 United States. The Ka Lae area is registered as a National Historic Landmark District under the name South Point Complex.

Southernmost Point of the Lower 48 States

Southernmost Point Buoy in Key West, Florida

This is the one almost everyone gets to sooner or later, the others locations are much harder to just be in the area for.

400 South St Key West, FL 33040
24°32’47.6″N 81°47’51.0″W
24.546565, -81.797504

Corner of Whitehead St & South St, Key West, FL 33040

Easternmost Point of the Lower 48 States

Easternmost Point in the United States, West Quoddy Head Lighthouse in Lubec, Maine

973 S Lubec Rd, Lubec, Maine 04652

44°48’54.0″N 66°57’01.9″W
44.814985, -66.950514

Most Northeasternmost Town – Madawaska, Maine

The most northeastern town in the contiguous United States and the most northern town in Maine. It is mostly French-speaking as Quebec is nearby.

Most Northeasternmost City – Caribou Maine

Close to New Brunswick, Canada about 4 hours north from the easternmost point at West Quoddy Head Lighthouse

Center of North America

Geographical Center of North America Monument at the corner of US Hwy 2 and State Route 3 in Rugby, North Dakota
48°21’16.0″N 99°59’53.0″W
48.354444, -99.998056

Geographical Center of the 50 States

Tourist version for Geographic Center of the Nation Monument
415 5th Ave, Belle Fourche, SD 57717

True Geographical Center of Entire United States (50 states)

True Center of the Nation / North of Belle Fourche, South Dakota
44°58’01.9″N 103°46’17.8″W
44.967195, -103.771614

26 minutes North from the Tourist version of the Geographical Center in Belle Fourche, South Dakota
Head north on US-85 N/5th Ave toward Edmunds St/Riverside Dr
Continue to follow US-85 N for 14.0 mi
Turn left onto Old US Hwy 85, Destination will be on the right in 7.7 miles

Center of the 48 States 

Geographic Center of the Contiguous United States (Center of the 48 states) Lebanon, Kansas

39°49’42.0″N 98°34’46.0″W

39.828333, -98.579444

The Geographic Center of the United States (contiguous 48) is located about two miles northwest of Lebanon, Kansas. Take US Highway 281 north 1 mile, and turn west one mile on K-191 to the maker that has been erected at the end of the paved road. The actual center is about a half mile away in the center of a former hog farm.

Geodetic Center of North American

Located at 39.224618, -98.527385 – on a dirt road Co Rd 691 near Delhi, KS. It is on private land but there is a sign by the road. There is also a replica marker and sign talking about it about 40 minutes away on a roadside park in Osborne, KS 67473 (39.452317, -98.693355)

Meades Ranch Triangulation Station, Probably the most widely known of all triangulation stations in the United States, “Meades Ranch” is located in Osborne County in north-central Kansas. This station was first established in 1891 as one of many points on the east-west transcontinental triangulation network along the 39th Parallel. It was named for a local homesteader named William H. Meade.

This was the “Primary Station” for all Mexican, American, and Canadian surveys, known as the North American Datum of 1927 (NAD 27). For most of the modern era, this was the geodetic center of the continent, and one of the most significant survey points in the world.

In 1986, the North American Datum of 1983 was officially adopted with the mass center of the earth as its datum point. With the new adjustment and the NAD83 Datum now in place, “Meades Ranch” was no longer a prominent point with the change in the datum point and it became just one of nearly 250,000 other triangulation stations. Surveyors, however, still hold this triangulation station with reverence since it was the focal point of all geodetic surveys from 1901-1986. with the advent of NAD83, the position on “Meades Ranch” that had been held fixed since 1901 was changed to latitude 39°13’26.71982” and the longitude 98°32’31.74686” (NAD83). The current position which has been updated with the use of GPS technology is now latitude 39°13’26.71218″ and longitude 98°32’31.74604″ (NAD83 2007).

Geodetic Center of the United States Plaque – posted on an Historical Marker sign in Osbourne KS:

“On a ranch 18 miles southeast of this marker a bronze plate marks the most important spot on this continent to surveyors and map makers. Engraved in the bronze is a cross-mark and on the tiny point where the lines cross depend the surveys of a sixth of the worlds surface. This is the Geodetic Center of the United States. The “Primary Station” for all North American surveys. It was located in 1901 by the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey. Later Canada and Mexico adopted the point and its supporting system as the base for their surveys and it is now known as the “North American Datum.” What Greenwich is to the Longitude of the world, there-fore, a Kansas pasture is to the lines and boundaries of this continent.It must not be confused with the Geographic Center of the United States, which is 42 miles north, in Smith County. “
– Erected by Kansas Histroical Society and State Highway Commission.

Official Population Center of the United States as of 2010  

At census every 10 years they determine where the center of population is at Plato, Missouri, population 109 is the official center of population. Some experts claim Tebbetts, Missouri is the Geographic Population Center. So naturally, I went to visit both.

The population center of the United States has been migrating to the west and south over the decades.  In 1790, when the Census Bureau first started tracking this sort of thing, the “center” of the U.S. population was in Kent County, Maryland.

As the decades passed, this center point moved gradually west and south. At first, this was because the new nation kept adding states in those directions. Lately, the trend continues as people move southwest, generally for blue-sky weather and for jobs that are leaving the Rust Belt and Northeast.

In 1870, not long after Plato got its name, the center of the United States was in Highland County, Ohio. In subsequent decades, the U.S. population center has trekked through Kentucky, Indiana and Illinois. It’s now crossing Missouri.

This mobile dot tells the story of American history — from colonization to Westward expansion and on to the current trend of southwestern suburbanization.

 

The Famous Arctic Circle

Arctic Circle Sign and the tour company brought out the red carpet even. We took the James W. Dalton Highway, or the Ice Road Truckers highway made popular by the TV show, usually referred to as the Dalton Highway,  is a 414-mile road in Alaska. It begins at the Elliott Highway, north of Fairbanks, and ends at Deadhorse near the Arctic Ocean and the Prudhoe Bay oil fields.

I took a small tour to the Arctic Circle sign with Northern Alaska Tour Co, it was informative, relaxing and I would totally do it again. It was nice to eat a Salmon burger at the Yukon River too.

http://www.northernalaska.com/arctic-circle-drive/

  • View the remarkable Trans Alaska Pipeline.
  • Visit the Arctic Circle Trading Post situated in the rural community of Joy, Alaska.
  • Travel the rugged Dalton Highway made famous by the construction of the Trans Alaska Pipeline.
  • Experience the mighty Yukon River. Marvel at the majestic beauty of the northland’s most famous waterway and learn of the river’s storied past.
  • Cross the Arctic Circle and receive an official Arctic Circle Adventure Certificate.
  • Explore up close the amazing arctic tundra and feel the veins of ice just beneath the surface.
  • Departs 6:30 am; returns between 10:30 and 11:30 pm.

Highest Point of North America

Highest Point in North America, Mount Denali / Mount McKinley Alaska at 20,310 feet. Though it was covered by clouds most of the time, here are some  Lenticular clouds (Altocumulus lenticularis) that came off of it.

Highest City in North America

Leadville, Colorado has the highest elevation of any incorporated city in the United States. At an elevation of 10,152 ft (3,094 m), it lies right at the edge of timberline, which in Colorado is from 11,000 to 12,000 feet.[24] The surrounding peaks are all well above 12,000, thus they are all bare of trees.  Leadville lies in a valley at the headwaters of the Arkansas River which flows through the southern Rocky Mountains and eventually empties into the Mississippi River. Originally called Silver City, Leadville was the last place Doc Holliday was a law man and the first proposed capital of the state.

Highest Town in North America

Alma, Colorado, North America’s Highest Incorporated Town. At an elevation of approximately 10,578 feet (3,224 m), it is the highest incorporated municipality in the United States with permanent residents. Its United States Post Office is located at the highest elevation of any in the country. Alma, which is a town, did not take the title as the highest incorporated city from Leadville, Colorado, as is commonly believed. Leadville is still the highest incorporated city in North America.

Highest Paved Auto Road in North America

The Mount Evans Scenic Byway begins at the Idaho Springs, Colorado Visitor Center. Take Exit 241 off Interstate 70 for 1 mile. Stop at the Visitor Center for information, then continue on Miner Street to 13th Avenue which is State Highway 103 and continues on State Highway 5 through a corridor between the Mount Evans Wilderness where it ends near the summit of Mount Evans. The byway is 28 miles (45 km) in length and gains over 7,000 feet (2,100 m) of elevation. Achieving a final elevation of 14,130 feet (4,310 m), this is the highest paved road in North America.

Cavanal Hill- World’s Highest Hill in Poteau, OK

You may never climb the world’s highest mountain, but you can DRIVE to the top of “The World’s Highest Hill” — 1,999 feet, only one foot shy of a mountain considering it takes 2,000 ft to be a mountain though technically the summit Cavanal Hill is 2,385 feet high but the sign is located farther down probably at 1,999 feet.  Located here 35.0708927,-94.6794837

The Lowest Point in North America

Badwater Basin in Death Valley, California (-282 feet) with an elevation of 282 ft (86 m) below sea level.

Highest wind measurement in the world 

From Mt. Washington in New Hampshire, you can see Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, New York Massachusetts, and Quebec.

Smallest Town in the USA Buford, Wyoming (right off I-80)

At 8,000 feet (2,400 m) of elevation, this is the highest populated settlement along the First Transcontinental Railroad (today’s Overland Route), and on the transcontinental Interstate 80.

41°07’26.0″N 105°18’08.0″W

41.123889, -105.302222

Longest Main Street in America

The longest main street in America, 33 miles, is located in Island Park, Idaho (pop. 215). The city limits follow U.S. Route 20, the main highway to Yellowstone National Park, with the city only 500 feet wide in some places.

4 Corners Monument

Four Corners Monument marks the quadripoint in the Southwestern United States where the states of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah meet.

36°59’56.3″N 109°02’42.8″W

36.998961, -109.045209

The area is very remote. The tiny community of Teec Nos Pos, AZ, is six miles away and it has a gas station.

The American Meridian

Also known as The Washington Meridian. Modern geographers measure degrees of longitude from the Prime Meridian running through Greenwich, England, but things didn’t always work this way. In fact, America, like many other countries, long maintained its own “Prime Meridian” for domestic and international cartographic measurements and surveys. This meridian was the basis for determining state borders and other domestic surveys, and formed a key part of demarcating a rapidly growing United States. It wasn’t until the International Meridian Conference in 1884 that most countries, including the United States, agreed to standardize their meridians on the British line.

See Seven States – Rock City on Lookout Mountain, Georgia

Rock City claims that you can see 7 states from that point:  Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia and Alabama.  But what can you really see from this point?  Georgia and Tennessee are easy to see.  At Rock City you are standing in Georgia and Tennessee is just to the north.  On clear days you can see some of the Smoky Mountains in North Carolina.  Alabama, however, is on the other side of Lookout Mountain, so it is impossible to see from Rock City no matter how clear it is.

The mountains around Chattanooga and the curvature of the earth’s surface mean that the farthest you can see is 110 miles and Virginia, Kentucky, and South Carolina are all farther away than 110 miles.

You can see five states from the top of Mt. Greylock in Massachusetts:  Vermont, New Hampshire, New York, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. From Mt. Washington in New Hampshire, you can see Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, New York Massachusetts, and Quebec.

Although Seven states might be a tall claim, it is still a nice place to visit on a sunny day.

Canada’s Geographical Points

Canadian – America Border

The most western border marker for the USA / Canada in Point Roberts, Washington separating a part of Washington that you can only reach by driving through Canada. 

The Haskell Free Library and Opera House is a neoclassical building that straddles the international border in Rock Island, Quebec and Derby Line, Vermont. The Opera House opened on June 7, 1904, and was deliberately built on the border between Canada and the United States. Today, it is the only library in the world that exists and operates in two countries at once.

Stewiacke, Nova Scotia – Halfway between the Equator & The North Pole

Canada’s Southernmost Point

Point Pelee National Park 1118 Point Pelee Dr, Leamington, ON N8H 3V4, Canada | 41.914145, -82.510393

Point Pelee is a small peninsula pointing south into Lake Erie towards Sandusky, Ohio and just a small amount of land falls below the 42nd latitude where most of Canada’s border with America is the 49th latitude. 

Longitudinal Centre of Canada

Just follow the Trans Canada Highway West of Winnipeg, Canada to coordinates 49.76773-96.8097 (49degrees 46′ 02.40″ 96degrees 48’35”). This point is between the two highway signs. It is approximately 8.2 miles (13.2 km) West of the junction of CA100 and CA 1 or approximately 6.7 miles (10.8 km) East of the junction of CA207 and CA 1 (near Deacons Corner, MB).

Some of the leftover geographical spots to visit.

Though there are more geographical places of interest left to see, I feel I got more than most people will ever see in their lifetime. Many of the extreme points listed below are very dangerous to get too in remote areas.

The North American pole of inaccessibility is located at 43°22′N 101°58′W, about eleven miles (18 km) southeast of the town of Kyle on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in Bennett County, South Dakota, 1,025 miles (1,650 km) from the nearest coastline. There is no sign or monument.

43°21’36.0″N 101°58’12.0″W

43.360000, -101.970000


Westernmost – Cape Prince of Wales, Alaska (65.64° N, 168.12° W)
The westernmost point on the North American continent.

– Peaked Island, offshore from Cape Wrangell,
Attu Island, Alaska (52.92° N, 172.44° E)

Anchor Point, Alaska is the westernmost point in the North American highway system.

For the 48 States

Westernmost – Cape Alava, Washington (48.16974° N, 124.73004° W)
The westernmost point on the mainland.

– Bodelteh Islands, Washington (48.17761° N, 124.76479° W)
The westernmost land permanently above the waterline.


All the United States Territory

Southernmost – Rose Atoll, American Samoa (14.374° S, 170.7595° W)
Easternmost – Point Udall, Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands (17.7555° N, 64.5650° W)
Westernmost – Udall Point, Guam (13.4475° N, 144.6182° E)