If You’re In Windsor, Ontario, Canada & Want To Get To Detroit You Have To Head North Rather Than South – Brilliant Maps

The
map
above
shows
an
unintuitive
geographical
fact.

If
you’re
in
Windsor,
Ontario,
Canada
and
want
to
visit
Detroit
on
the
US
side
of
the
border,
you
head
north
rather
than
south
as
you’d
expect.

Why?

The

Detroit
River
has
long
served
as
a
natural
dividing
line,
and
its
role
in
marking
the
U.S.–Canada
border
is
rooted
in
centuries
of
history
and
international
treaties.

Here’s
a
closer
look
at
how
this
unique
border
came
to
be:

1. 
   Natural
   Features
   as
   Boundaries:
   When
   European
   powers
   and
   later
   the
   emerging
   nations
   were
   carving
   up
   territories
   in
   North
   America,
   natural
   landmarks
   like
   rivers
   were
   often
   used
   to
   define
   borders
   because
   they
   were
   clear,
   unchanging
   features
   on
   the
   landscape.
   The
   Detroit
   River,
   flowing
   between
   what
   is
   now
   Windsor
   and
   Detroit,
   naturally
   lent
   itself
   to
   this
   role.
2. 
   Early
   Treaties
   and
   Agreements:
   • 
     Post-Revolutionary
     War
     Arrangements:
     After
     the
     
     American
     Revolutionary
     War,
     boundaries
     between
     
     British
     North
     America
     (which
     would
     become
     Canada)
     and
     the
     newly
     independent
     United
     States
     were
     hotly
     contested.
     Although
     the
     Treaty
     of
     Paris
     in
     1783
     set
     some
     initial
     guidelines,
     it
     was
     not
     until
     later
     that
     the
     Great
     Lakes
     region
     received
     more
     precise
     attention.
   • 
     The
     Jay
     Treaty
     (1794):
     This
     agreement
     between
     the
     U.S.
     and
     Great
     Britain
     helped
     to
     stabilize
     relations
     and
     clarify
     some
     of
     the
     disputed
     boundaries
     in
     the
     Great
     Lakes
     region,
     including
     areas
     around
     the
     Detroit
     River.
   • 
     Subsequent
     Treaties
     and
     Agreements:
     Later,
     treaties
     such
     as
     the
     
     Treaty
     of
     Ghent
     (1814),
     which
     ended
     the
     War
     of
     1812,
     and
     the
     
     Rush-Bagot
     Agreement
     (1817),
     which
     limited
     military
     forces
     on
     the
     Great
     Lakes,
     reinforced
     the
     use
     of
     natural
     boundaries
     like
     the
     Detroit
     River
     to
     demarcate
     national
     territories.
3. 
   Surveys
   and
   Local
   Decisions:
   Over
   time,
   detailed
   surveys
   were
   conducted
   to
   pinpoint
   the
   exact
   line
   running
   down
   the
   middle
   of
   the
   river.
   These
   surveys
   confirmed
   that
   Windsor
   is
   on
   the
   southern
   bank
   (designated
   as
   Canadian
   territory)
   while
   Detroit
   lies
   on
   the
   northern
   bank
   (within
   U.S.
   territory).
   Even
   though
   this
   might
   seem
   counterintuitive—given
   the
   general
   notion
   that
   Canada
   lies
   “up
   north”—it’s
   the
   result
   of
   following
   the
   river’s
   course
   rather
   than
   strict
   latitude
   lines.
4. 
   Modern
   Implications:
   Today,
   this
   historical
   arrangement
   means
   that
   if
   you’re
   in
   Windsor,
   Ontario,
   and
   you
   drive
   north
   across
   the
   Detroit
   River,
   you’re
   crossing
   an
   international
   border
   into
   Detroit,
   Michigan.
   The
   decision
   to
   use
   the
   river
   as
   the
   dividing
   line
   has
   persisted,
   reinforcing
   how
   historical
   treaties
   and
   natural
   geography
   can
   create
   quirky,
   memorable
   borders.

Have
you
ever
driven
across
the
ambassador
bridge?

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Author: Brilliant Maps