We talk about the 49th parallel bordering the U.S. and Canada since that is the border from Manitoba west to British Columbia. Everything above the 49th parallel belongs to Canada except for the Northwest Angle.
The Northwest Angle consists of a small land mass jettisoning north separating Manitoba and Ontario via the state of Minnesota. Reportedly, about 120 people live in this extension.
There is a petition in the United States to give that land back to Canada. The petition is called "Give Canada back the Northwest Angle located in Manitoba." The petition is launched under We the People under the White House Web site. If a petition reaches 100,000 signatures, they are reviewed by administration officials for an official response.
During warmer weather, residents of the Angle can access the rest of Minnesota by boat through the Lake of the Woods. During colder weather, the only way for those people to reach the United States is to drive through Manitoba.
If the Northwest Angle were to revert to Canada, that would be a great way to try and claim to be in Canada. Being forced to move just to stay in your country would seem rather unfair.
The other oddity of note is Point Roberts, Washington, a skin flint of an area that hangs below the 49th parallel just south of Tsawwassen in the Vancouver suburbs.
Point Roberts is reportedly used by the United States government as a place for witness relocation since the area is surrounded by 3 sides by water and the fourth side by the Canadian border.
Like the Northwest Angle, you can get to the rest of Washington state via Canada.
U.S. border patrol annoys Canadians by land and by sea
The recent documentary Lobster War focuses on the Gray Zone, 277 square miles of sea off the coast of Maine and New Brunswick.
You might recall this was the area where U.S. border patrol was harassing Canadian seafood harvesters in disputed waters back in July.
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The world is filled with places distinguished by unique geography on the border of countries. Pheasant Island (Ile des Faisans in French; Isla de los Faisanes in Spanish) is shared by France and Spain every 6 months. Gibraltar, owned by the United Kingdom, and Spain had an unique relationship.
The Northwest Angle and Point Roberts wouldn't be as isolated if the United States and Canada had a Schengen relationship like we currently see in the European Union. The likelihood of flipping either place is as slim as getting a borderless system between Canada and the United States but we continue to dream.
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