Our Northern Neighbors

Are you aware that Pelee Island, Ontario, Canada is in southwestern Lake Erie.  It is the southernmost inhabited land in Canada.  South of Pelee Island lies Middle Island, the southernmost land in Canada, although uninhabited.  South of that, yet within the waters of Lake Erie at about 41 degrees 38 minutes north latitude, is the southernmost point of Canada.

Believe it or not, parts, or all, of 27 states within the United States lie north of that latitude.  They are Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota, Iowa, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and, of course, Alaska.  You knew about that last one all the time, didn’t you?

When you think of your northern neighbors, think again because some of them are not as far north as we usually think of them.

Now, just for fun, if you were to follow a compass due south from Middle Island in Lake Erie, which is about due north of central Ohio, where might you walk into the Gulf of Mexico?  What if I told you that Middle Island is approximately 900 miles from the east coast at Boston?  So, as Jacksonville, Florida is near the east coast, then a point possibly somewhere around 900 miles west of there might be close?  Would that be in Louisiana, or maybe eastern Texas?  In fact, following a compass south from Middle Island would have you pass maybe 50 miles or so west of Jacksonville, and you would ultimately go swimming in the gulf somewhere south of the Tampa/St. Petersburg, Florida area.