From the Burlington, Vermont area, it’s only about a 45 minute drive to the Canadian border. (Yes, we are *that*close!🙂) As you get close to the border on Interstate 89, there is a sign on the right side that says:
Latitude 45° North
Midpoint
Equator to
North Pole
Yes, indeed, once you drive past that point you are now getting closer to the North Pole than the Equator from a latitude perspective!
Wikipedia of course has some interesting info about the 45th parallel, including that it has formed part of the US / Canada border at times.
In fact, when we lived in Ottawa, Ontario, for five years from 2000-2005, I maintained a blog called “North of 45” about our experience living there. (Sadly now all filled with ads because of the decline of LiveJournal.)
These days, we mostly drive north of the 45th to either: 1) go curling just over the border in Bedford, Quebec; 2) go to the Montreal airport (YUL) to fly somewhere; or 3) go to our closest IKEA in Boucherville, Quebec, just to the east of Montreal. 😀
I just smile whenever I see the sign. We are definitely in the northern part of the northern hemisphere!
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