Maine is the Closest U.S. State to Africa
Not Florida. Maine
Maine is the Closest U.S. State to Africa
Not Florida. Maine.
Everyone assumes Florida because it juts out into the Atlantic and "looks" closer on a map.
But flat maps lie.
The Earth is a sphere. And when you calculate the actual shortest distance — called the "great circle" route — Maine wins by almost 1,000 miles.
Quoddy Head, Maine → El Beddouza, Morocco: 3,154 miles Singer Island, Florida → Africa: 4,085 miles
Why does Maine win? Longitude.
Maine reaches further east into the Atlantic than any other state. And Africa's northwestern bulge (Morocco) curves toward the northeast.
On a globe, they're practically pointing at each other.
The classroom map on your wall used the Mercator projection — the same one that makes Greenland look the size of Africa (it's actually 14x smaller).
Your sense of world geography was shaped by a 450-year-old map that distorts everything.
More Geography
Though Minnesota is known as The Land of 10,000 Lakes, they actually have 11,842 lakes. Furthermore, they have 6,564 natural rivers and streams that cumulatively flow for 69,000 miles.
Though these two facts are astounding, Wisconsin has 15,074 lakes and more than 12,600 natural rivers and streams. Take that Minnesota
Mongolia is the least densely populated independent country in the world. In an area roughly the size of Quebec or Iran, there are 2.6 million people.
Mongolia has 1. 7 people per square Kilometer
Have you ever heard that Michigan has a lot of coast line? If so, you must have smart friends (or at least the type that enjoy an obscure fact from time to time).
Michigan has the longest freshwater coastline in the United States and the second longest overall coast line in the United States; only Alaska has more. Way to go Michigan