Home The Mine of Useless Information - everything you never needed to know!

US Trivia

This is a subcategory of Geography

Showing page 10 of 11

« Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Next »


Rugby, North Dakota is the geographical center of North America, not the geographical center of the United States. That is located in Butte County, South Dakota, on the state's western border. If only the 48 contiguous states are included, the point is in Smith County, Kansas.

Italy is smaller than the state of Montana (116,304 square miles and 147,138 square miles, respectively).

Jefferson County, Kentucky announced in 1996 that it was going to reduce its pauper burial system to restrain the tide of indigents who came to the county just to die. According to officials, the cost per pauper burial was almost $700.

Jesse Owens, Frazier Thomas, "Wheaties," and Muddy Waters all have a Chicago street named in their honor.

Juneau, Alaska is the only state capital not accessible by car.

Lake Erie is about 326 feet higher than Lake Ontario. The Welland Canal provides a navigable waterway between the two. The Canal stretches 27 miles and uses eight locks to raise and lower the ships. More than 3,000 ships pass through the waterway annually.

Lake Tahoe in California is the deepest (at 1,645 feet) and the largest mountain lake in North America.

Located about 45 miles south of San Francisco, San José was the first nonreligious community founded in California. Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe was settled in 1777 by enterprising farmers who wanted to make themselves and the bountiful region independent of Mexico and the network of Spanish missions for their supplies. Fruit and olive trees, livestock, grain, hides, and tallow all contributed to San José's early prosperity. It was California's first capital from 1849-1852.

San Diego's geology is the main drawing card for tourists who love its ocean and weather. With the collision of the Pacific and North American tectonic plates – the same collision responsible for faults, earthquakes, and volcanoes – the California coast is dramatic, not flat like the eastern U.S. seaboard. Cliffs, rocks, and coves make for a hospitable home for sea life, much of which is easy to observe in tidepools. Nature also thrives for the large offshore whales, seals, and sea lions. San Diego's climate remains temperate because of the desert a few miles inland. When the hot air rises, it pulls sea breezes ashore. The ocean itself is unexpectedly cold for such a southerly spot.

San Francisco is the first and last city in the world to operate cable cars. Almost 100 other cities around the world have had cable cars, but all have discontinued use. The cable cars began operation on August 2, 1873.Designed by London born engineer Andrew Hallidie, the cable cars are controlled by a subterranean loop that travels at a constant 9.5 miles per hour.

San Francisco was the birthplace of the United Nations in 1945. After a brief stop at Lake Success, New York, it was moved to New York City because many European nations believed San Francisco was too far to travel.

Savannah, Georgia, was founded in 1733 as a haven for British debtors.

St. Louis was called the "Gateway to the West" in the 1800s because it served as a starting place for wagon train departures.

Texas has 254 counties. Alaska, which is more than twice as large, hasn't any.

The 4,200-meter-high summit of Mauna Kea, a dormant volcano, on the island of Hawaii hosts the world's largest astronomical observatory, with telescopes operated by astronomers from eleven countries. The combined power of Mauna Kea's telescopes is fifteen times greater than that of the Palomar telescope in California – for many years, the world's largest – and fifty times greater than that of the Hubble Space Telescope. Since astronomers observe the skies at night and car headlights interfere with observations, it is preferred that visitors drive to the summit area between sunrise and sunset. Daytime visitors are also welcomed.

The administrative code of New York City still requires that hitching posts be located in front of City Hall.

The ancient cavern system of Ka`eleku Caverns at Hana on the Hawaiian island Maui, was created from hot molten lava flowing 30,000 years ago. Tourists can hike with experienced guides deep into the subterranean passages of one of the world's largest lava tubes.

The biggest tree in the world is the Sequoia. It can only be found in the Sierra Nevada mountains and can grow to be 275 feet tall and 100 feet around.

The Bingham Canyon copper mine in Utah is the biggest manmade hole on Earth. It is more than half a mile deep and 2.5 miles across. An astronaut can see this hole from the space shuttle with his bare eyes.

The Black Rock Desert is located in Nevada.

© 2006 The Mine of Useless Information