Twelve Mile Circle

  • Coast Defense Study Group

    I don’t generally review individual websites. I’ve done that in the distant past and even then it happened only on rare occasions. It’s not because I don’t believe they’re not worthy. Rather, it’s because I like to provide links that align with a specific context I’m attempting to portray on 12MC. Plus, I’m not very…

  • All Ways – Every Cardinal Direction

    I put a little throwaway comment at the tail-end of my recent All Ways South article. There I demonstrated that someone could travel due south from Missouri into each of its eight neighboring states from at least one point along their shared borders. As I thought about it I noted, “Come to think of it,…

  • All Ways South

    I noticed a claim on the Intertubes, primarily because someone using a search engine landed on Twelve Mile Circle seeking more information. It asserted that one can travel due south from Missouri to enter each state that borders it. That doesn’t seem logical so that’s why the claim attracts attention. Missouri and Tennessee are the…

  • John Day’s Day

    Bill Williams’ Fingerprints appeared on the Twelve Mile Circle about a year ago. Mr. Williams was “one of the classic mountain men of the old west”. His name carried forward to various geographic features throughout Arizona, as I noted at the time. This inspired longtime reader Pfly to comment, “This post makes me think about…

  • Mardela to Delmar

    I’ve expressed my enjoyment of geographic portmanteaus previously. These are place names created by mashing together two or more other place names. Delmarva is a perfect example. The Delmarva Peninsula on the east coast of the United States is bound on the east by the Delaware River and the Atlantic Ocean, and on the west…

  • But What’s the Meridian?

    The definition of “meridian” sounds straight-forward enough. There are some ancillary definitions relating to greatest moments, highest achievements and such, plus one dealing with acupuncture. However, the one roughly analogous to longitude interests 12MC the most. From Dictionary.com: me·rid·i·an…(1.) Geography. (a.) a great circle of the earth passing through the poles and any given point…

  • Same City Name Distance

    I’ve been experiencing an ongoing conundrum. I have a huge pile of potential topics to cover on Twelve Mile Circle but I never get around to using them. I seem to get diverted onto whatever topic happens to be on hand and I forget about those I’ve held in reserve. Occasionally I’ll take a look…

  • Longest Google Maps Routes

    [EDITOR’S NOTE: Google Maps changes its algorithms over time. Many of the solutions developed when the article was written in 2012 no longer work] I received an email message from 12MC reader Andrew a few days ago. He said that he and a friend have been playing a game using Google Maps. The rules are…

  • Alternate Rhode Islands

    Something has to be the smallest. Most of us, or at least those of us in the 12MC audience from the United States, probably know that Rhode Island (map) claims this honor for the U.S. So exactly how small is it though? One hears frequently of individual counties within the United States as being “larger…

  • Want to be a Lighthouse Keeper?

    Lighthouse Keeper is one of those occupations similar to lamp lighter, elevator operator, stenographer and ice delivery person that probably doesn’t offer many career opportunities in the modern world. It takes a special personality to endure days and weeks of loneliness and isolation. So imagine life in a lighthouse perched on rocky crags far removed…


Latest Comments

  1. Hi Mr. Howder — Just going from memory, I recall that your “rule” for counting a nation/state/county is “if I’m…

  2. Does anyone have actual music to the song – Tanaha ,Timpson. Bobo and Blair ?? It was recorded by Tex…