1918 Geographic Center Of The [contiguous] Lower 48 States [CONUS] - Lebanon, Kansas
[yes, it has moved many times for a variety of reasons; the methodology of this one though...]
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https://clui.org/ludb/site/geographic-center-lower-48-united-states <-- shared technical article
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https://www.ngs.noaa.gov/PUBS_LIB/GeoCenter_USA1.pdf <-- shared 1959 NOAA technical article
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https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/many-centers-united-states-180955253/ <-- shared 2015 technical article
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https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/journey-to-the-center-of-the-united-states <-- shared technical media article
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In 1918, SMEs at the US Coast and Geodetic Survey attempted to find the center of what was then the United States’ (lower) 48 states. Because they lacked the computing power to process the complex geometry of an irregular, three-dimensional landmass, they placed a carefully scaled map of the 48 conterminous states onto a uniform piece of cardboard. After cutting it out, they determined the geographic center by finding the exact point at which the map balanced perfectly on a pin. Evidently, it was within ± 20 miles.
This pivot point turned out to be in northern Kansas, just outside a town called Lebanon…”
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“There’s no real reason for figuring out the middle of the country, aside from giving cartographers a point of reference and perhaps creating a tourist trap. It’s also an incredibly difficult mathematical problem to solve, writes Dan Nosowitz for Atlas Obscura [link above], because the United States is an irregular shape wrapped around an enormous sphere. But even so, mathematicians and mapmakers spent years trying to answer the question…”
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“The Geographic Center of the [contiguous] Lower 48 States [CONUS] is located north of Lebanon, Kansas. It was determined by finding the center of gravity for the contiguous United States, that is, the point at which a plane map of the 48 states would balance if it were of uniform thickness. A monument was erected in an opening ceremony on June 29, 1941, in Lebanon, Kansas, for what was then the Geographic Center of the entire country, before Alaska and Hawaii joined the union. As early as 1918, this point was identified when the United States Geological Survey located the country’s center at N 39° 50’ 00” W 98° 35’ 00”…”
#spatial #mapping #USA #Lower48th #center #centre #Lebanon #Kansas #geodetic #geodesy #geography #spatialanalysis #cartography #PinAndCardboard #history #tourism #americana
@NOAA | @USGS | @US Coast and Geodetic Survey
Very interesting