The weekly times-record. (Valley City, N.D.) 1912-1922, 1920-11-25
DIMENSIONS o. 4
UNIFIED I ! ! !: STATES |! !
Interesting Data Compiled BY
the Geological Survey, De-
partment Of interior.
COAST line IS 10000 MILES
Gross Area Is More Than 5000 coo
Square Miles outhernmost Point
q Cape Sable, Fla, Northern 4.
most Point Is in Minnesota

| Washington.-The gross area of the
United States is 3,O26,7S0 square miles.
The land area amounts to a2,97S,774
square miles, and the water area-ex-
elusive Of the area Of the Great Lakes,
the Atlantic, the Pacific and the Gulf
of Mexico within the three-mile limit
amounts to 53,O15 square miles. These
and other data determined or compiled
by the United States geological survey.
department of the interior, to show
the limits of the continental United
States contain some interesting facts.
@ Most Southerly Point. .
The southernmost point Of the main
land is Cape Sable. Fla, which is in
latitude 25 degrees minutes and lon
gitude 81 degrees minutes. The ex-
IRENE southern part of Texas is in lat
itude % degrees so minutes and longi-
tude 81 degrees "a minutes. Cape
Sable is therefore 40 miles farther
south than the most southern point in
Texas. % II s. ii.
7. A small detached land area of north
ern Minnesota at longitude So degrees
9 minutes extends northward to lati-
tude 40, degrees % minutes. 4 Ia
The. easternmOst point Of the Unit
ed States is West Quoddy head. near
Eastport, Me-, in longitude &C degrees
81 minutes and latitude "A degrees 40
minutes; the westermnost point Is
Cape Alva. Wash, in latitude 4S de-
grees 10 minutes, which extends into
the Pacific ocean to longitude 124 de-
grees IS minutes. II
From the sOuthernm0st point In
Texas, due north to the forty-nfntf
parallel, the boundary between the
United States and Canada. the dis
lance is 1888 miles From West
Quoddy head due west TO the Pacific
ocean the distance is a.SO7 miles. TIE
shortest distance from the Atlantic
TO the Pacific across the United States
Is between points near Charleston.
s. c., and San Diego, Cal, and is 2.152
miles. sA <5Sz
The length Of the Canadian bound
ary line from the Atlantic to tile Par
ciffc is 3.898 miles. The length Of the
Mexican boundary from the gulf to
the Pacific is 1,744 miles. The length
of the Atlantic coast line is $500 miles
and that Of the Pacific coast line is
2,730 miles. The Gulf Of Mexico Dor
ders the United States for 3.640 miles.
Curved Lines on the Map.
Nearly all maps of the United
States show the parallels Of latitude
as curved lines and are likely to lead
the ordinary observer to believe that
certain eastern or western states are
farther north than some of the central
states that are actually in the same
latitude. For this reason. one who is
asked which extends farther south
Florida Or Texas, is very likely to say
Texas" but as stated the mainland
of Florida is nearly fifty miles farther
south than the southernmOst point fn
Texas. For the same reason. when we
consider the geographic positions Of
countries south of the United States
we find that errors are likely to he
made in estimating position or extent
in longitude. Few realize that the
island of Cuba. for example. if trans
ferred directly north would exteed
from New York city to Indiana. or thar
Havana is farther west than Cleve-.
land. Ohio, or that the Panama canal
is due south Of Pittsburgh. Pa, or that
Nome. Alaska, IS farther west than
Hawaii.