I have a good friend who has often reminded me that his home state of Kansas has been proven to be “flatter than a pancake.” Jerome Dobson, a University of Kansas geographer, has released the result of a study that indicates that rival Illinois (my home state) is in fact flatter and even Illinois is not as flat as . . . Florida. To add insult to injury, Kansas actually comes in a measly seventh in flattest.
Dobson’s team found that, due to Florida’s coastal plains, it is the flattest of the 48 contiguous states and Washington, D.C. Illinois came in over North Dakota, Louisiana and Minnesota. The least flattest is West Virginia.
Illinois owes its new distinction to glaciation that left a flat expanse.
One of most interesting aspects of the study is Dobson’s observation that the whole pancake analogy is a poor measure. He notes that any pancake, if expanded to the size of a state, would be more hilly than most states.
Other studies have found the same thing:
A perfect flatness quotient, in which no two points on a surface are at different levels, would be 1.0. The pancake was a surprisingly spiky 0.957, with both sharp spikes and an overall ‘lump’ in the center. Kansas, majestic prairie state that it was, left that pancake, metaphorically, in the dirt. It was an ultra-flat 0.9997, designated by the scientists as ‘damn flat.’ It had both less of an overall slope than the pancake and fewer small hills.
Source: Chicago Tribune
Yes Oxa, Exactly!!
Nick & RTC – FIB?? Oh, you must mean “Fine Illinois Brethren.”
@Paul C. Schulte
Arizona may have all climate zones, but it has very large expanses of very flat land between its mountain ranges. In West Virginia any flat ground larger than a tennis court is man made.
California is not going to slide or drop into the Pacific Ocean. None of it is moving westward or sinking. The western portion is moving northward such that at some point San Francisco and Los Angeles will merge.
Bill H – California has many earthquake faults and the most southern one is moving south into Mexico. San Diego could be a Mexican city. 😀 Several of the major faults run north-south, meaning when the earth splits it goes east-west. It will take awhile but part of CA is going to be in the ocean in my lifetime.
BTW, it was a joke, son, it was a joke.
Aldo Leopold had an interesting perspective on Illinoisans in Sand County Almanac; hopefully we’ve changed a bit since then (1947).
FIBS indeed, RTC. I was a FIB so I see the rivalry from both perspectives.
Paulette, I LOVE Philly! I have good friends from Philly. My brother went to Villanova. I used to go to Philly games, Big 5 games @ the Palestra, Eagles and Flyers Games. Saw many concerts. I love the food. All that said, Philly folks are a provincial, negative group of people. If the love you, they REALLY love you and will defend you till their death. If they don’t love you, well then they HATE you. If you’re a Philly girl you know what I’m talking about here.
FIBS, Nick. The term you’re talking around is FIBS.
I don’t know, BarkinDog, this was a pretty cool topic to blog on, as far as I’m concerned. I turn to this blog for legal insight, like you and many others, but what makes this blog more appealing than, say, scotusblog or volokh conspiracy, is the wider view of news and social affairs that this blog encompasses.
I found this post quite interesting.
Just saying
Nick ~
As the place of my birth, I assume the responsibility to defend the honor of all Philadelphians against your gratuitous attack. It has been my experience that what you give is what you get.
Paul ~
“When California falls (actually slides) into the Pacific, Yuma AZ will be beachfront property.”
http://instantrimshot.com
Cheeseheads call Illlini, “Flatlanders.” There is often a few adjectives preceding “Flatlander.” I love regional rivalries/animosity. When I lived in Ct. we hated both NYers and Bay Staters, although we loved their sports teams. Interestingly, there was no animosity @ all regarding Rhode Islanders. When I lived in Pa. there were all types of rivalries. Philly folks hate Nyers and South Jersey people. They also hate rural people and Pittsburghers. Actually, Philly people hate just about everyone, even people from Delaware. Kansas City folks hate St. Louis people. But, the two cities will unite for one purpose, to REALLY hate Kansans. I’ve lived other places but that’s enough hate for one day.
We can use more law topics although the flat lands of Kansas do speak for themself. Same iwth Illinois until you get to hill country south of hyw 70.
Have you every driven across North Dakota. It is so flat the freeway has a bend every 20 miles to realign it with the curvature of the Earth.
We can use more law topics.
That explains why most flat Earthers come from those states:
(The Flat Earth Society). That is another reason to understand why all weather is local.
As flat as a pond on a still day! There’s a better metaphore for flatness.
I don’t know. What constitutes the “least flat?” Is it more area without a lump of ground sticking up, or total elevation difference? Can’t speak for Arizona, but WV is pretty darned lumpy, and it is not rare to have snow showers in June in the higher elevations (which really aren’t that high compared to western states). Still not a good pancake model, although one time I made a pancake that had a remarkable likeness to the shape of WV on the map.
Well, I’m an ex-New Yorker who moved to Florida 15 years ago… and I’ve done the research… The highest point in the entire state of Florida, is only 346 feet above sea level….. So, When the Oceans rise, because of ‘Global warming, by the end of this century, where I live now, in Palm Beach County…. my house will be under water…. ;-( I’ve told my grand-children to not plan on living here, after I’m gone…….
When California falls (actually slides) into the Pacific, Yuma AZ will be beachfront property.
This will eventually change. Northeastern Illinois is rising about a tenth of an inch each year as a result of post-glacial rebound.
In case anyone is interested, PBS will be airing a documentary on the life of the preeminent landscape designer, Jens Jensen, one of the earliest proponents of using native plants in design. Fortunate to have seen the prairie when much of it was still intact, he described it as more powerful than the mountains.
Just saying.
Oh really?
Geez, I hope federal money was not involved in this study. Arizona is one of a few states that has all climate zones, so I am not sure how the heck W. Va is least flatest.
Yeah, Delaware and Florida are the flattest. Delaware is basically a coast for its entirety, just like Florida.
Kansas has been lying to us for decades.