Talk:Parallel 36°30′ north

Redirection to Missouri Compromise

What is notable about this line of latitude apart from its part in the Missouri Compromise? The only encyclopedic information in this article reproduces what is in that one, so surely redirection is the best solution. Phil Bridger (talk) 20:23, 27 October 2008 (UTC)

This article is one of series of articles about various lines of latitude. While the primary historical significance of the parallel 36° 30' north is as the line of the Missouri Compromise, the parallel retains its original geographic significance. To say that the parallel 36°30' north has no significance other than its connection to the Missouri Compromise is certainly Amerocentric. Other parallels with great historical significance include the 17th parallel north, the 38th parallel north, the 49th parallel north, and the parallel 54° 40′ north. --Buaidh (talk) 16:12, 28 October 2008 (UTC)

Please don't accuse me of being Amerocentric - I'm not even American. What "original geographic significance" does this parallel have that, say, 52° 30′ south doesn't? The category that you point to only has parallels at whole degrees, apart from the arctic/antarctic circles and the tropics, so those articles don't set any precedent for this one. Phil Bridger (talk) 16:32, 28 October 2008 (UTC)

Please do not redirect this article. It has value whether you see it or not. This article directs readers to the Missouri Compromise article for the historical aspects of the parallel. --Buaidh (talk) 16:39, 28 October 2008 (UTC)

The article is surely wrong to claim that Virginia did not join the Confederate States. The Confederacy capital city was Richmond Virginia. West Virginia later seceded from Virginia under Union encouragement (in 1863) but that does not alter the fact that Virginia was a slave state that was part of the Confederacy. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.169.162.100 (talk) 12:32, 9 September 2010 (UTC)

Map is Inaccurate; it is missing California

The map of what claims to be the United States at the start of the American Civil War is inaccurate. California was admitted to the union as a state in 1850 as part of the Compromise of 1850. See Compromise of 1850 and especially the maps there. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.134.228.176 (talk) 20:57, 1 October 2011 (UTC)

I changed the caption to "Ca. 1849"... AnonMoos (talk) 21:58, 1 October 2011 (UTC)

Correct mathematical notation

All measurements of latitude and longitude are written with spaces in them, and in fact, the measurements of all angles in this system are done likewise. For example, 36° 30′ and 40° 45′ 50". Some people might not give a hoot, but doing so genuinely makes them easier to read. It seems to me that nowadays, billions of people continually write things down that are not easy to read. Why don't we be better than that!? 98.67.173.206 (talk) 03:25, 25 November 2011 (UTC)

You should probably raise this at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Geographical coordinates because it has a much wider impact than just this article. Bazonka (talk) 08:24, 25 November 2011 (UTC)

White River versus St. Francois River

In the first paragraph of the section "In the United States", it mentions that the "... parallel also forms part of the boundary between Missouri and Arkansas, in the region west of the White River and east of Oklahoma ..."

However, according to the article on the Arkansas Territory, this is the St. Francois River, not the White River. From that article: "The Arkansas Territory was created from the portion of the Missouri Territory lying south of a point on the Mississippi River at 36 degrees north latitude running west to the St. Francois River, then followed the river to 36 degrees 30 minutes north latitude, then west to the territorial boundary."

Maybe I'm just confusing things, but can someone else take a look at these two passages and see if they make sense with each other? Gabefarkas (talk) 01:52, 14 September 2012 (UTC)

The St. Francis River defines the western side of the Missouri Bootheel from 36°00' to 36°30'. The border with Arkansas then runs west (approximately) along the 36°30' parallel to the border with Oklahoma. The White River crosses the border from Arkansas into Missouri, and then back into Arkansas again, but seems to have no bearing on where the border lies. I will remove this from the article. Bazonka (talk) 16:19, 14 September 2012 (UTC)

Tennessee - Kentucky Border

" As they worked west their line drifted north until by the time they reached the river they were about 3° north of 36°30′" 3 degrees is incorrect. At the most northern part of the Tennessee border is 36° 40'. 3 degrees too far north would be close to Indianapolis. I think the author writing this meant 10 minutes instead of 3 degrees. 170.141.177.95 (talk) 20:06, 1 April 2013 (UTC)

Good catch. I added that bit without stopping to think about how far 3 degrees would actually be. The book cited here is very well done—the best book about the history of US boundaries I know of—but that is obviously a mistake. Pfly (talk) 07:43, 2 April 2013 (UTC)

Bootheel measurement

The Missouri bootheel is described as "50 miles" south of 36 30', but google maps measurement shows about 35 miles. Also, on the main bootheel page, same problem.

Or is that 50 miles along the river as it bends? Is that what "30 miles inland" supposed to mean?

The main bootheel page still makes no sense: "Border dropped 50 miles south to 36 parallel".