The northwesternmost point of the Lake of the Woods was a critical landmark for the boundary between United States territory and the British possessions to the north. This point, on the shore of the Lake of the Woods, was referred to in the Treaty of Paris in 1783[1] and in later treaties including the Treaty of 1818. The point lies at the corner of the Northwest Angle in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and is thus the northernmost point of the contiguous United States. After Canadian Confederation, the point became the basis for the border between the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario.
Example demonstrating how the most northwest point of the Lake of the Woods was determined. If the line intersects any part of the lake, it is determined not to be the most northwest point of the Lake of the Woods.
The "northwesternmost point" of the lake had not yet been identified when it was referenced in treaties defining the border between the US and Britain; it was simply an easily described abstraction based on a large landmark. The best maps at the time of the original negotiation depicted the lake as a simple oval.[2] However, although the southern portion of the lake is easily mapped, to the north it becomes a complex tangle of bays, peninsulas, and islands, with many adjacent bodies of water separated or connected by narrow isthmuses or straits. An 1822 survey crew declared the referenced point impossible to determine.[2] In 1824, British explorer David Thompson was hired to identify it. Thompson mapped the lake and found four possibilities, but did not conclusively declare one location.[2]
Surveyors report (1912) of the northwesternmost point of Lake of the Woods
In 1825, Johann Ludwig Tiarks, a German astronomer in British service, surveyed the lake. Tiarks identified two possibilities for the northwesternmost point on the lake, based on Thompson's maps: the Angle Inlet and Rat Portage. To determine which point was the most northwestern, he drew a line from each point in the southwest–northeast direction. If the line intersected the lake at any point, it was not the most northwestern point, as shown in the example diagram here. Tiarks determined that the only such line that did not intersect the lake was at the edge of a pond on the Angle Inlet.[3] (A 1940 academic study documents this point as being in the immediate vicinity of 49°23′51.324″N95°9′12.20783″W / 49.39759000°N 95.1533910639°W / 49.39759000; -95.1533910639 (NAD83).)[4][5]
Under the 1783 treaty, the international border would have run due west from this point to the Mississippi River. As this was determined to be geographically impossible (the Mississippi begins further south), under the 1818 treaty the international border instead ran from the point determined by Tiarks, to the 49th parallel. (It was not known at the time whether that was to the north or – in fact – the south.)[2] From there it ran due west to the Rocky Mountains (and later, the Pacific coast).
Tiarks's point, however, created problems, because the 1818 treaty called for the border to run directly north–south from it. South of that point, the channel of the Northwest Angle Inlet meandered east and west, crossing the border five times, thereby creating two small enclaves of water areas totaling two and a half acres that belonged to the United States but were surrounded by Canadian waters. A 1925 treaty addressed this by adopting the southernmost of the points where the channel and the border intersected – approximately 5,000 ft (1,500 m) south of Tiarks's point – as the new "northwesternmost point".[4]
^. University of Oklahoma College of Law. 2009. Archived from the original on 2008-09-29. Retrieved 28 Oct 2009.
^ abcdLori Nelson. "Drawing the Line… The Canada-U.S. Border". Retrieved 15 Oct 2009.
^William E. Lass (1980). Minnesota's Boundary with Canada: Its Evolution Since 1783. Minnesota Historical Society Press. p. 48. ISBN0-87351-153-0. Retrieved 15 August 2011.
^ abBoggs, Samuel Whittemore (1940). International boundaries: a study of boundary functions and problems. Columbia University Press. pp. 48–49. ISBN9780404009199. Retrieved 2013-04-27.
^"Map of the vicinity of the northwesternmost point of Lake of the Woods". Retrieved 2013-08-19.
^International Boundary Commission (1937). "Joint Report upon the Survey and Demarcation of the Boundary between the United States and Canada from the Gulf of Georgia to the Northwesternmost Point of Lake of the Woods" (Document). U.S. Govt. print. off. p. 332. hdl:2027/mdp.39015027937153.
^United States National Geodetic Survey. "North American Datum Conversion, NAD 27 to NAD 83, NADCON Program Version 2.11". Retrieved 2013-10-28.
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The northwesternmost point of the Lake of the Woods was a critical landmark for the boundary between United States territory and the British possessions to the north This point on the shore of the Lake of the Woods was referred to in the Treaty of Paris in 1783 1 and in later treaties including the Treaty of 1818 The point lies at the corner of the Northwest Angle in the U S state of Minnesota and is thus the northernmost point of the contiguous United States After Canadian Confederation the point became the basis for the border between the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario Example demonstrating how the most northwest point of the Lake of the Woods was determined If the line intersects any part of the lake it is determined not to be the most northwest point of the Lake of the Woods The northwesternmost point of the lake had not yet been identified when it was referenced in treaties defining the border between the US and Britain it was simply an easily described abstraction based on a large landmark The best maps at the time of the original negotiation depicted the lake as a simple oval 2 However although the southern portion of the lake is easily mapped to the north it becomes a complex tangle of bays peninsulas and islands with many adjacent bodies of water separated or connected by narrow isthmuses or straits An 1822 survey crew declared the referenced point impossible to determine 2 In 1824 British explorer David Thompson was hired to identify it Thompson mapped the lake and found four possibilities but did not conclusively declare one location 2 Surveyors report 1912 of the northwesternmost point of Lake of the Woods In 1825 Johann Ludwig Tiarks a German astronomer in British service surveyed the lake Tiarks identified two possibilities for the northwesternmost point on the lake based on Thompson s maps the Angle Inlet and Rat Portage To determine which point was the most northwestern he drew a line from each point in the southwest northeast direction If the line intersected the lake at any point it was not the most northwestern point as shown in the example diagram here Tiarks determined that the only such line that did not intersect the lake was at the edge of a pond on the Angle Inlet 3 A 1940 academic study documents this point as being in the immediate vicinity of 49 23 51 324 N 95 9 12 20783 W 49 39759000 N 95 1533910639 W 49 39759000 95 1533910639 NAD83 4 5 Under the 1783 treaty the international border would have run due west from this point to the Mississippi River As this was determined to be geographically impossible the Mississippi begins further south under the 1818 treaty the international border instead ran from the point determined by Tiarks to the 49th parallel It was not known at the time whether that was to the north or in fact the south 2 From there it ran due west to the Rocky Mountains and later the Pacific coast Tiarks s point however created problems because the 1818 treaty called for the border to run directly north south from it South of that point the channel of the Northwest Angle Inlet meandered east and west crossing the border five times thereby creating two small enclaves of water areas totaling two and a half acres that belonged to the United States but were surrounded by Canadian waters A 1925 treaty addressed this by adopting the southernmost of the points where the channel and the border intersected approximately 5 000 ft 1 500 m south of Tiarks s point as the new northwesternmost point 4 The new northwesternmost point thus became 49 23 4 14 N 95 9 11 34 W 49 3844833 N 95 1531500 W 49 3844833 95 1531500 based on the NAD27 datum 6 which is equivalent to 49 23 4 12373 N 95 9 12 20783 W 49 3844788139 N 95 1533910639 W 49 3844788139 95 1533910639 under the modern NAD83 datum 7 References edit The Paris Peace Treaty of 1783 University of Oklahoma College of Law 2009 Archived from the original on 2008 09 29 Retrieved 28 Oct 2009 a b c d Lori Nelson Drawing the Line The Canada U S Border Retrieved 15 Oct 2009 William E Lass 1980 Minnesota s Boundary with Canada Its Evolution Since 1783 Minnesota Historical Society Press p 48 ISBN 0 87351 153 0 Retrieved 15 August 2011 a b Boggs Samuel Whittemore 1940 International boundaries a study of boundary functions and problems Columbia University Press pp 48 49 ISBN 9780404009199 Retrieved 2013 04 27 Map of the vicinity of the northwesternmost point of Lake of the Woods Retrieved 2013 08 19 International Boundary Commission 1937 Joint Report upon the Survey and Demarcation of the Boundary between the United States and Canada from the Gulf of Georgia to the Northwesternmost Point of Lake of the Woods Document U S Govt print off p 332 hdl 2027 mdp 39015027937153 United States National Geodetic Survey North American Datum Conversion NAD 27 to NAD 83 NADCON Program Version 2 11 Retrieved 2013 10 28 49 23 04 N 95 09 12 W 49 384479 N 95 153391 W 49 384479 95 153391 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Northwesternmost point of the Lake of the Woods amp oldid 1208910614, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
