Geographic centers of the United States
From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
This is a list of geographic centers of each U.S. state. Note that the geographic center of the entire U.S. is northeast of Belle Fourche in Butte County, South Dakota Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found., while that of the contiguous 48 is near Lebanon in Smith County, Kansas Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.. The geographic center of North America lies near Rugby, North Dakota Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found., though this designation has no official status.
Contents
Centers of the states and Washington, DC
| State | County | Location | Coordinates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Chilton County | 12 mi (19 km) south-west of Clanton | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Alaska | Yukon–Koyukuk Census Area (Unorganized Borough) |
60 mi (97 km) northwest of Denali | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Arizona | Yavapai County | 55 mi (89 km) east-southeast of Prescott | |
| Arkansas | Pulaski County | 12 mi (19 km) northwest of Little Rock | |
| California | Madera County | 38 mi (61 km) east of Madera, near North Fork, northwest of Fresno | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Colorado | Park County | 40 mi (64 km) west of Colorado Springs, southwest of Castle Rock | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Connecticut | Hartford County | in East Berlin | |
| Delaware | Kent County | 11 mi (18 km) southwest of Dover | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| District of Columbia | Near 4th and L Streets, Northwest | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. | |
| Florida | Hernando County | 12 mi (19 km) north-northwest of Brooksville | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Georgia | Twiggs County | 18 mi (29 km) southeast of Macon | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Hawaii | Maui County | off-shore southwest of Molokai and west of Lanai | |
| Idaho | Custer County | on the Yankee Fork River, southwest of Challis | |
| Illinois | Sangamon County | 1.5 mi (2.4 km) southeast of Rochester | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Indiana | Hendricks County | 2 mi (3.2 km) west of Avon | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Iowa | Story County | 5 mi (8.0 km) northeast of Ames | |
| Kansas | Barton County | 15 mi (24 km) northeast of Great Bend | |
| Kentucky | Marion County | 3 mi (4.8 km) north-northwest of Lebanon | |
| Louisiana | Avoyelles Parish | 3 mi (4.8 km) southeast of Marksville | |
| Maine | Piscataquis County | 18 mi (29 km) north of Dover-Foxcroft | |
| Maryland | Prince George's County | 4.5 mi (7.2 km) northwest of Davidsonville | |
| Massachusetts | Worcester County | 12 mi (19 km) northwest of Worcester, in Rutland | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Michigan | Wexford County | 5 mi (8.0 km) north-northwest of Cadillac | |
| Minnesota | Crow Wing County | 10 mi (16 km) southwest of Brainerd | |
| Mississippi | Leake County | 9 mi (14 km) west-northwest of Carthage | |
| Missouri | Miller County | 20 mi (32 km) southwest of Jefferson City | |
| Montana | Fergus County | 11 mi (18 km) west of Lewistown | |
| Nebraska | Custer County | 10 mi (16 km) northwest of Broken Bow | |
| Nevada | Lander County | 26 mi (42 km) southeast of Austin | |
| New Hampshire | Belknap County | 3 mi (4.8 km) east of Ashland | |
| New Jersey | Ocean County | 5 mi (8.0 km) southeast of Trenton | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| New Mexico | Torrance County | 12 mi (19 km) south-southwest of Willard | |
| New York | Madison County | 26 mi (42 km) southwest of Utica, near Syracuse | |
| North Carolina | Chatham County | 10 mi (16 km) northwest of Sanford | |
| North Dakota | Sheridan County | 5 mi (8.0 km) southwest of McClusky | |
| Ohio | Delaware County | 25 mi (40 km) north-northeast of Columbus | |
| Oklahoma | Oklahoma County | 8 mi (13 km) north of Oklahoma City | |
| Oregon | Crook County | 25 mi (40 km) south-southeast of Prineville | |
| Pennsylvania | Centre County | 2.5 mi (4.0 km) southwest of Bellefonte, in State College | |
| Rhode Island | Kent County | 1-mile (1.6 km) south-southwest of Crompton | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| South Carolina | Richland County | 13 mi (21 km) southeast of Columbia | |
| South Dakota | Hughes County | 8 mi (13 km) northeast of Pierre | |
| Tennessee | Rutherford County | 5 mi (8.0 km) northeast of Murfreesboro | |
| Texas | McCulloch County | 15 mi (24 km) northeast of Brady | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Utah | Sanpete County | 3 mi (4.8 km) north of Manti | |
| Vermont | Washington County | 3 mi (4.8 km) east of Roxbury | |
| Virginia | Buckingham County | 5 mi (8.0 km) southwest of Buckingham | |
| Washington | Chelan County | 10 mi (16 km) west-southwest of Wenatchee | |
| West Virginia | Braxton County | 4 mi (6.4 km) east of Sutton | |
| Wisconsin | Wood County | 9 mi (14 km) southeast of Marshfield | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Wyoming | Fremont County | 58 mi (93 km) east-northeast of Lander |
Updated list of geographic centers
The list above has been only slightly modified since it was first produced by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in the early 1920s.[1] At that time, the center for a state was found by suspending a cardboard cutout of the state by a string, and then drawing a vertical line from the suspension point. After rotating the cutout 90 degrees and drawing another vertical line from the new suspension point, the intersection of the two vertical lines was used as the geographic center.[2] The result is dependent upon the type of projection used. Although there have been different definitions offered for the geographic center, an intuitive one, and one used by the USGS, is "the center of gravity of the surface, or that point on which the surface of the area would balance if it were a plane of uniform thickness."[3] An updated list of geographic centers using this definition (which is equivalent to the state's centroid) is given below. It was derived by minimizing the sum of squared great circle distances from all points of land in a state (including islands, but not coastal waters, following the earlier practice of the USGS).[4]
The geographic center of the contiguous United States, determined in this way, is at (39.8355 N, 99.0909 W); this is 5.3 miles from Agra, Kansas, 5.5 miles from Kensington, Kansas, and 29.5 great circle miles west of the longstanding designated center of Lebanon, Kansas.
| State | Location | Coordinates |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 12.1 mi (19.5 km) southwest of Clanton | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Alaska | 77.1 mi (124.1 km) northwest of Denali | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Arizona | 49.7 mi (80.0 km) east-southeast of Prescott | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Arkansas | 14.2 mi (22.9 km) northwest of Little Rock | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| California | 37.4 mi (60.2 km) northeast of Madera, | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Colorado | 29.1 mi (46.8 km) northwest of Pikes Peak, | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Connecticut | 1.1 mi (1.8 km) east of East Berlin | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Delaware | 11.7 mi (18.8 km) south of Dover | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| District of Columbia | Near 3rd and P Streets, Northwest | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Florida | 5.8 mi (9.3 km) northwest of Brooksville | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Georgia | 17.7 mi (28.5 km) southeast of Macon | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Hawaii | 27.7 mi (44.6 km) off-shore south of Wailea-Makena | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Idaho | 21.4 mi (34.4 km) west-southwest of Challis | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Illinois | 28.8 mi (46.3 km) northeast of Springfield | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Indiana | 10.8 mi (17.4 km) northwest of Indianapolis | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Iowa | 7 mi (11 km) northeast of Ames | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Kansas | 22.6 mi (36.4 km) northeast of Great Bend | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Kentucky | 3.4 mi (5.5 km) southwest of Lebanon | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Louisiana | 5.8 mi (9.3 km) southeast of Marksville | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Maine | 12.6 mi (20.3 km) northwest of Dover-Foxcroft | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Maryland | 12.6 mi (20.3 km) northwest of Davidsonville | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Massachusetts | Irving St. and Wellington St., Worcester | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Michigan | 7.7 mi (12.4 km) west of Cadillac | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Minnesota | 10 mi (16 km) southwest of Brainerd | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Mississippi | 9 mi (14 km) west-northwest of Carthage | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Missouri | 21 mi (34 km) southwest of Jefferson City | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Montana | 10.1 mi (16.3 km) west of Lewistown | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Nebraska | 12.4 mi (20.0 km) northwest of Broken Bow | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Nevada | 26 mi (42 km) southeast of Austin | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| New Hampshire | 2.6 mi (4.2 km) east of Ashland | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| New Jersey | 4.3 mi (6.9 km) southeast of Trenton | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| New Mexico | 13.8 mi (22.2 km) south-southwest of Willard | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| New York | 11.5 mi (18.5 km) south-southeast of Oneida | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| North Carolina | 12.7 mi (20.4 km) northwest of Sanford | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| North Dakota | 2.7 mi (4.3 km) southwest of McClusky | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Ohio | 24.9 mi (40.1 km) north-northeast of Columbus | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Oklahoma | 4.4 mi (7.1 km) south of Edmond | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Oregon | 29.1 mi (46.8 km) southeast of Prineville | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Pennsylvania | 2.6 mi (4.2 km) southwest of Bellefonte, in State College | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Rhode Island | 2.4-mile (3.9 km) west of Crompton | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| South Carolina | 9.7 mi (15.6 km) southeast of Columbia | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| South Dakota | 7.9 mi (12.7 km) northeast of Pierre | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Tennessee | 2.5 mi (4.0 km) northeast of Murfreesboro | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Texas | 23.7 mi (38.1 km) north of Brady | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Utah | 3.1 mi (5.0 km) northwest of Manti | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Vermont | 3.7 mi (6.0 km) southeast of Roxbury | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Virginia | 16.6 mi (26.7 km) west of Buckingham | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Washington | 7 mi (11 km) west-southwest of Wenatchee | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| West Virginia | 4.9 mi (7.9 km) east-southeast of Sutton | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Wisconsin | 9.3 mi (15.0 km) east-southeast of Marshfield | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Wyoming | 60.6 mi (97.5 km) east-northeast of Lander | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
Google Maps default center
Coffeyville, Kansas, specifically a spot just north of Coffeyville Country Club, is the default center starting point of Google Maps, being the accidental center point of the default starting map being displayed, which shows the 48 contiguous United States.[5]
See also
- Centroid
- Geographical centre
- List of extreme points of the United States
- List of extreme points of U.S. states
- List of U.S. states by elevation
- Mean center of the United States population
- Geographic center of the United States
- Geographic center of the contiguous United States
Notes
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| Demographics | |
|---|---|
| Economy | |
| Environment | |
| Geography | |
| Government | |
| Health | |
| History | |
| Law | |
| Miscellaneous | |
- ↑ Douglas, E.M. 1923. Boundaries, Areas, Geographic Centers, and Altitudes of the United States and Several States. Bulletin 689. U.S. Geological Survey, Washington, DC.
- ↑ Adams, Oscar, S. 1932. Geographical Centers. The Military Engineer 24, 138: 586-587.
- ↑ Van Zandt, Franklin. 1966. Boundaries of the United States and the Several States. Bulletin 1212. U.S. Geological Survey, Washington, DC.
- ↑ Rogerson, P. 2015. A New Method for Finding Geographic Centers, with Application to the U.S. States. The Professional Geographer. Published online Aug 15, 2015; DOI:10.1080/00330124.2015.1062707 http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00330124.2015.1062707#.Vd30QflVhBc Retrieved 2015-08-26
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
