The Midwest’s Geography Is A Lot More Interesting Than You Might Think

A new video from YouTube channel Geography by Geoff explored the quirks hiding in America’s heartland, and the details are stranger than most residents realize. The Midwest has no official map boundary, but the video focuses on seven core states, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa and Minnesota.

The facts are pretty wide ranging, including the fact that Michigan holds the longest freshwater coastline on Earth thanks to its two peninsulas and access to four Great Lakes. Lake Superior alone contains roughly 10 percent of the planet’s surface freshwater, enough to submerge North and South America under a foot of water.

Minnesota’s Northwest Angle exists because of an 18th century mapping mistake, leaving a chunk of the state accessible only through Canada. Chicago engineers reversed the flow of the Chicago River in 1900 to protect the city’s drinking water. And centuries before European contact, the city of Cahokia in Illinois held a larger population than London did at the time. Make sure to watch the entire video for the full exploration.

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