HikeArizona.COM

Geography Quiz:
Which landlocked US State has the greatest difference between its highest and lowest points?
I actually don't know the answer for sure, but I know two that are near the top, and only separated by 400 feet. I have to double check on some other possibilities, but I'm pretty sure none others come close.

Edit:
The top two I refer to have a difference of over 12,000 feet. Two others have a difference of over 11,000 feet. Colorado isn't on the list.

Maps can be deceiving. Especially when when trying to accurately represent a round planet on a flat map. But some things are just misperceptions too. In Arizona there's a real east-west divide. Few realize that Prescott is further north than St. Johns or New River further north than Mt. Baldy or Tucson is further south than Yuma or San Diego, etc.

And San Diego is at about the same longitude as Winnemucca. I used to have relatives in Winnemucca, so that was one of the first geographical oddnesses I ever learned when I was a kid.

A lot of people aren't like us. They don't walk around with maps in their heads, and they can't tell north from south or east from west, and they can't even read a map. I feel sorry for them, because they have no spatial or geographical awareness. It wouldn't take much for some to learn, just use a map whenever you go somewhere, and identify the other features you are passing by, such as names of mountain ranges in relation to towns, etc.

I gotta say, Winnemucca isn't somewhere I have ever heard of before today.

I had a friend once who literally could not figure out which direction he was going in the valley (because our curvy mountain streets are very disorienting?). He would always look for the "alien lights" on South Mountain as a guide. I guess I should give him credit for looking for a landmark? Not since that time he got lost in Ahwatukee and drove almost to Maricopa before realizing he must be going the wrong way since it didn't really look like Scottsdale down there!

A railroad and mining town, named after Chief Winnemucca (Shoshone, I think.) You haven't lived until you have been to Winnemucca! My aunt and uncle operated a mining camp north of there, in the Santa Rosa Range, at Buckskin Mountain. The cabin where we spent summers was at 8,000 feet. Here's a photo of it from the Nevada Ghost Towns website:

Sounds like a really neat place. When I was a kid my grandmother use to take me all over the country every summer break. She introduced me to AZ when I was 7 and fell in love with it. 21 years later I moved here.

I assumed Winnemucca was in Canada for some reason

Recently I have become acquainted with several members of the County Highpointers Association, a group of peakbaggers who try to climb to the high point of every one of the 2200+ counties in the US. All of the ones I have met have been to Granite Peak (9,732 feet) in the Santa Rosa Range of Nevada. It's the high point of Humboldt County, Nevada, and Winnemucca is the county seat. The funny coincidence for me is that they passed within about 5 miles of that cabin, which really is off the beaten track, about 15 or 20 miles of dirt to get to it from Highway 95. This area is very close to Oregon, only about 15 miles or so as the crow flies.

Check out their website for some interesting trip reports.

chumley wrote:I gotta say, Winnemucca isn't somewhere I have ever heard of before today.

It's mentioned in the opening line of "I've Been Everywhere", so I figure everybody's heard it at least once. There are a handful of other musical references, but I'm having trouble finding them. I remember playing a tune called "Big Wind From Winnemucca" in a big band once, but I can't find it anywhere.

My friends own the Rainbow Ridge opal mine up there. You can go up and dig your own opals, then head down to the thriving metropolis of Winnemucca...

big_load wrote:It's mentioned in the opening line of "I've Been Everywhere", so I figure everybody's heard it at least once.

Never heard of that either.

Don't worry, I haven't either. It's on a major east-west highway, I-80, so if you ever drive from SF to SLC you will go through it.

chumley wrote:

big_load wrote:It's mentioned in the opening line of "I've Been Everywhere", so I figure everybody's heard it at least once.

Never heard of that either.

I bet you'd recognize it if you heard it. It's even been used in truck commercials not long ago. The Hank Snow and Johnny Cash versions are pretty good.

@big_load
I think the yellow pages used a bastardized version "I'm used everywhere".
Wow, I didn't think that was a forbidden word, but actually a colloquial description of someone creating an inferior version of something.

What is the southernmost part of Canada?

Rob del Desierto wrote:What is the southernmost part of Canada?

Middle Island, Ontario, is the southernmost point of land in Canada, located at 41°41'N, 82°41'W, or about 41.7 degrees north latitude. It lies in Lake Erie, just south of Pelee Island, and is part of Point Pelee National Park. Windsor Ontario is the southernmost city in Canada and is south of Detroit. Wonderful little city. Decent casino and great tours of the Seagram's Factory. If you speak adequate Francais, you can use the French Lane of the tunnel and avoid the lines getting into the US. I sure hope we don't have too many Canadians sneaking in across our southern border.

chumley wrote:I gotta say, Winnemucca isn't somewhere I have ever heard of before today.

Pretty funny hearing that town mentioned. I actually worked a State of Nevada Road Project up there about 9 years ago. Other than all the towns in NV that you hit between here and Vegas, it's really only the 2nd place in NV that I had ever been. The drive up there through the middle of NV was actually pretty scenic and so is Winnemucca. First time in my life I had ever heard of the Basque culture and experienced their food and wines....

Outdoor Lover wrote:

chumley wrote:I gotta say, Winnemucca isn't somewhere I have ever heard of before today.

Pretty funny hearing that town mentioned. I actually worked a State of Nevada Road Project up there about 9 years ago. Other than all the towns in NV that you hit between here and Vegas, it's really only the 2nd place in NV that I had ever been. The drive up there through the middle of NV was actually pretty scenic and so is Winnemucca. First time in my life I had ever heard of the Basque culture and experienced their food and wines....

I love the isolation and desolation of central Nevada, especially in the winter. The drive from the Utah border up through Ely and then on to Reno on 50 might be one of my favorite road trips.

Well, Rob and Outdoor Lover--my sentiments exactly! But I haven't been in the area since I was 14! I would love to do a long road trip to the NW, visit quite a few friends and relatives in N. Nevada, Oregon and Idaho. I still have a cousin in N. Nevada who owns a big cattle ranch in Paradise Valley, and maintains that cabin in the photo.