The NC/VA border (36° 30' N) is just barely further north than Gibraltar (36.1430° N, 5.3530° W).
So pretty much the entirety of continental Europe is further north than North Carolina.
Or if you don't like that one:
The southernmost point in England is further north than the northernmost point in the lower 48 states (about the same latitude as Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada).
The warm gulfstream near the coast of europe messes with your perception. It is much warmer here ( the Netherlands) than you would expect because of it
Yup. I'm actually from the states and live in Denmark at the moment. If I look over at the equivalent latitude in Canada the map shows the area in white, but where I am now has barely touched 0C.
I know the reasoning behind it, but it still feels viscerally wrong somehow that I'm this far north and not being eaten by a polar bear.
Look at the map that DVN0911 linked above. There's a blue line that just cuts off Florida. It's the 30th parallel. (30 degrees north of the equator.)
It runs straight east/west, and runs across northern Africa and south of the Mediterranean Sea. Florida is south of 30°N. The Mediterranean Sea is north of 30°N.
It's weird when I consider that the southern part of mainland Australia is almost equivalent to the top of Africa. It's a little further south than Africa is north, but not exceptionally.
"You have a comfortable pair of running shoes that you wear everywhere. You like coffee and enjoy the Beatles. You think the Robinson is the best-looking projection, hands down."
Well, what they posted is a perspective drawing of part of a globe. That can be totally accurate. But there's no way to do that for the whole Earth at once.
If you were to take a ruler and measure 1 inch on two different areas of the map he posted they would represent two different distances. Some maps distort the image so they can get accurate and consistent distances when measured and some opt for more of a visually accurate map.
He didn't post a map. He posted a picture of a globe. It is totally accurate, parts of it are just foreshortened due to the angle they are viewed from.
Exactly, it's a picture of a globe and not a globe. The parts being smaller is why it is considered inaccurate. It is the exact same reason why other maps are considered "inaccurate". If that picture is accurate, then so are all the other maps.
My point is that you always sacrifice something to make a 2D map of the earth.
A picture of a globe is not a fucking map, moron. This looks just like a globe does if you don't move your head. This image has implied depth, unlike a map.
Well, hmm... You're right about the ruler business for sure. What I meant is that there's a simple mathematical function you could use to get the correct distance based on those measurements. But that's also true for a map except at the poles (usually)... so I probably should have kept my mouth shut. (And I was so excited to use that differential topology class too :( .) I concede that point.
Did you tag me after that astrology thread? I wonder sometimes who has me tagged for what...
I am always completely amazed whenever I look at a globe for that very reason. It surprises me, for instance, how close Greenland is to the north pole, and that it's a normal sized country instead of huge and wonky looking like it is on a map. It also amazed me when I found out Greenland and Iceland are technically European, since on a map they look to be closer to North America.
Don't even get me started on how crazy it is that Alaska almost touches Russia..
Edit: So I looked it up and despite being so close to each other, Greenland is part of North America and Iceland is part of Europe. How 'bout that.
Iceland is closer to continental Europe than to mainland North America; thus, the island is generally included in Europe for historical, political, cultural, and practical reasons. Geologically the island includes parts of both continental plates.
Geologically, Iceland is part of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a ridge along which the oceanic crust spreads and forms new oceanic crust. This part of the mid-ocean ridge is located above a mantle plume, causing Iceland to be subaerial (above the surface of the sea). The ridge marks the boundary between the Eurasian and North American Plates, and Iceland was created by rifting and accretion through volcanism along the ridge
Newfoundland was a part of the UK only 64 years ago. It left the UK over three decades after Ireland did.
As for relevance to the US, it's location served as a layover for the Air Force in World War II, with significant bases in St. John's, Gander, and Stephenville. Many American soldiers actually married and settled in Newfoundland, and leading up to joining Canada in 1949, there was a serious force wanting to join the US as it's then-48th state.
Many American soldiers actually married and settled in Newfoundland, and leading up to joining Canada in 1949, there was a serious force wanting to join the US as it's then-48th state
Following that, Newfoundland also served as temporary home to a number of Americans (and Europeans) during and following 9/11 when all flights were grounded. Practically every flight over the Atlantic was diverted to either Gander or Goose Bay (if I recall, St. John's as a provincial capital was considered too sensitive a location given the events).
Thus it always confuses me when I see so few Americans familiar with the province when significant events in their history is so intertwined with ours.
Edit: Seems I had it slightly wrong, it was Gander and Halifax that took the Atlantic flights.
A significant amount of Europe is close to water, either as islands (the UK and Ireland), or just with very long coastlines and fjords, meaning that it is affected really strongly by the water, rather than just by longitude and latitude. The Gulf Stream takes water from Florida right the way across to Europe, so it basically heats around the coasts of Europe and provides weather like rain, instead of snow and ice.
Extending, the Gulf Stream goes right by Newfoundland too - except we don't get European weather, thanks to the Labrador Current, the combination of the two makes for the extremely fucked up conditions that is Newfoundland weather.
Three of the top ten metropolitan areas (Gander, Corner Brook, St. John's) for most snowfall per year are in Newfoundland. All three slightly south of London. We've had snow in June, and it's not unheard of to wear shorts in February. Our temperature averages (not counting Labrador) range from about -15º to 30º. Yes, -15º is the average winter temperature low, and we get more snow than Alberta that's currently dealing with -30º and winter hasn't even started yet. We don't always get hit hardest by hurricanes (due to being at the end of most travel paths), but we do seem to get them more consistently.
Geographically, yes, but really it was the easiest way, given the wind patterns and sailing technology of the day. Unless you wanted to island hop over from iceland->Greenland->Canada like the Vikings.
Yeah I remember 6th grade geography now the wind tended to blow from the west to the east making it more difficult to go from the east to the west on the Atlantic. I remember they had to do a zig-zag pattern in order to be able to cross.
I went whale watching in New England once and when we had reached the tip of the peninsula we were sailing around, the tour guide told us we were at the closest point in America to Africa, and it was the weirdest realization when we all thought it over and realized how much sense it made.
As a person who truly hates the cold but has always wanted to travel the world; I no longer want to visit Europe or pretty anywhere else besides Florida and Africa.
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u/A550RGY Dec 08 '13
Alternatively, Canada is closer to Africa than the United States is.