Feb 18 2023 - The Wiggly Border

 

Today's Bing has the Eben Ice Caves in Upper Michigan and as I looked at the map I noice a lot of wiggling in the border line at Rainy River.  See it below.    It is fine to be straight in the water, but what about on land.  Isn't that messy for the inhabitants? The current shape came about on April 11, 1908 with the Treaty of 1908.  You can imagine all the disputes along the way.  These have been between Great Britain (U.K.) and the U.S.   There has been so much surveying since then that I guess all these wiggles are well marked.   Things seem to me to be clear in terms of borders. There is one land dispute active today.  It is over Machias Seal Island (off the coast of Maine).  There are four maritime disputes in the Arctic and Pacific.   The current disputes are listed HERE. The Alaskan Panhandle dispute still causes grief today with nearly 800,000 sockeye salmon caught in Alaskan territory, but of Canadian origin. And then there are pink salmon, steelhead, and chum, and so on.  Canadian fisheries were shut down to protect the diminishing number of salmon and steelhead returning to Canada.  So it seems that boundary disputes that are resolved politically - which is the acknowledged case in the Alaska Boundary case - can have long and lingering issues.   But what about that wiggly part of the border at Rainy River?  I haven't found any issues identified there.  That's because the border is the Rainy River. I guess paddling there could be an international experience.   Today's picture is a little Millie moment.   Read more daily posts here: marilyncornwellblogspot.com Purchase works here: Fine Art America- marilyncornwellart.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

Sep 10 2020 - Border Crossing

 

Americans seem to love our border and want to cross it during the COVID-19 lockdown.  Even to the point of taking to the waterways in B.C.  A Washington State border jumper entered Canada illegally at a closed border crossing and ended up on foot, eventually in the water for two and a half hours to evade arrest.   What do towns do when they have a street that's split in two by the border?  Stanstead Canada and Derby Line US have this situation.  It is the only street like this on the border between Canada and the U.S. There are historical quirks here: the Haskell Free Library and Opera House was deliberately constructed on the Canada–US border and opened in 1904. The original owners were a couple with dual nationality; Mr. Carlos F. Haskell was an American businessman from Derby Line who owned a number of sawmills, while Mrs. Haskell was born in Canada. The intent was that people on both sides of the border would have use of the facility, which is now a designated historic site. Visitors today may still enter the facility from the Canadian or American sides, though those who use it as a border crossing must report to their respective customs office. The library is closed during COVID. That's the only report - nothing else on how the border  is doing during these times.  Here's one of my favourite backgrounds for flowers.  I think I took this in the botanic garden in Florida - Camelia leaves are shiny and reflect the sun, so I was able to defocus to make all the reflections into beautiful blurry sun circles.

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