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Geographic Center of the Contiguous United States

 
Geographic Center of the Contiguous United States

 
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Geographic Center of the Contiguous United States
 
 
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One of the locations claimed to be the Geographic Center of the Contiguous (or Conterminous) United States is pinpointed by a historical marker that is located within a small park near the town of Lebanon, Kansas
Lebanon, Kansas

Lebanon is a city in Smith County, Kansas, Kansas, United States, in the north central part of the state. The population was 303 at the 2000 United States Census....
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Lebanonmarker1
Lebanonmarker2
One of the locations claimed to be the Geographic Center of the Contiguous (or Conterminous) United States is pinpointed by a historical marker that is located within a small park near the town of Lebanon, Kansas
Lebanon, Kansas

Lebanon is a city in Smith County, Kansas, Kansas, United States, in the north central part of the state. The population was 303 at the 2000 United States Census....
. It is located at the intersection of AA Road and K-191
K-191 (Kansas highway)

K-191 is a Kansas state highway originating at U.S. Route 281 just north of Lebanon, Kansas and ending a mile later at a monument marking the Geographic Center of the Contiguous United States....
, accessible by a turn-off from U.S. Route 281
U.S. Route 281

U.S. Highway 281 is a north-south United States highway. It is 1,872 miles long and is currently the longest continuous three-digit U.S. Route....
 approximately a mile north of the town. In actuality, the measured center is about 1/2 to 3/4 mile away on a private farm, but the owner did not want tourists trudging through his field, so the marker was placed as close as possible. There is generally an American flag flying on the pole placed on top of the monument. Just to the south of the monument, yards away, exists a covered picnic area and small four-pew chapel where a couple can take wedding vows if they wish.

The reality of the monument is probably a little more fiction than fact. In 1918, the Coast and Geodetic Survey found this "center" by balancing on a point a cardboard cutout shaped like the U.S. Thus, measured in this manner, the actual "center" of the U.S. could be located twenty or more miles from this point, but still might not pinpoint the true "center" at all as an official measurement would have to be defined by an agreed upon standard which does not exist.

The plaque's inscription


The GEOGRAPHIC CENTER of the UNITED STATES
LAT. 39°50' LONG. 98°35'
NE 1/4 - SE 1/4 - S32 - T2S - R11W
Located by L.T. Hagadorn of Paulette & Wilson - Engineers and L.A. Beardslee - County Engineer. From data furnished by U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey.
mi Sponsored by Lebanon Hub Club. Lebanon, Kansas. April 25, 1940.

Methods of calculation


In contrast to the complicated centroid
Centroid

In geometry, the centroid, geometric center, or barycenter of a plane figure is the intersection of all straight lines that divide into two parts of equal moment about the line....
 method, a simplified method of mathematically determining the geographic center of the United States is to calculate the coordinates for the point halfway between the northernmost and southernmost and the easternmost and westernmost points of the contiguous U.S. The result is about southeast of Grenola, Kansas
Grenola, Kansas

Grenola is a city in Elk County, Kansas, Kansas, United States. The population was 231 at the 2000 United States Census....
 at 37°15'2" N and 96°21'30" W.

This is using Ballast Key, Florida (24°31'15?N) as the southernmost point, Northwest Angle, Minnesota (49°23'4.1"N) as the northernmost point, West Quoddy Head, Maine (66°57'W) as the easternmost point, and Bodelteh Islands, offshore from Cape Alava, Washington (124°46'W) as the westernmost point.

See also

  • Geographic centers of the United States
    Geographic centers of the United States

    This is a list of geographic centers of each U.S. state. Note that the geographical center of the entire U.S. is west of Castle Rock, South Dakota in Butte County, South Dakota, while that of the Geographic Center of the Contiguous United States is near Lebanon, Kansas in Smith County, Kansas ....
  • Mean center of U.S. population
    Mean center of U.S. population

    The mean center of U.S. population is determined by the United States Census Bureau after tabulating the results of each census. The Bureau defines it to be:...
  • centroid
    Centroid

    In geometry, the centroid, geometric center, or barycenter of a plane figure is the intersection of all straight lines that divide into two parts of equal moment about the line....
  • Extreme points of the United States
    Extreme points of the United States

    This is a list of the extreme points of the United States, the points that are farther north, south, east, or west than any other location in the country....


External links and references

  • article about applying mathematical methods to geography
  • article
  • article about the origins and accuracy of the marker
  • article