Northwest Angle

The Northwest Angle in Minnesota, bordering Manitoba, Ontario, and Lake of the Woods
The Northwest Angle (top) viewed from space

The Northwest Angle, known simply as the Angle by locals, and coextensive with Angle Township, is a part of northern Lake of the Woods County, Minnesota. Except for minor surveying errors, it is the only place in the United States outside Alaska that is north of the 49th parallel, which forms the border with Canada from the Angle west to Washington State. It is one of only six non-island locations in the 48 contiguous states that are exclaves of the U.S. although not directly connected to them by land. At 49.22° north latitude, it is the northernmost township in Minnesota and the northernmost point in the lower 48 states. The unincorporated communities of Angle Inlet and Penasse are located in the Northwest Angle.

Seventy percent of the land of the Angle is held in trust by the Red Lake Indian Reservation (Ojibwa).[1]

Although the Angle is listed as one of several distinct regions of Minnesota, its total population was 119 at the 2010 census.[2] The area is mostly water and the land is mostly forest.

Origin

The initial establishment of Angle Township being in the United States was due to a map-maker's error. Benjamin Franklin and British representatives established the initial U.S. and Canadian borders in the Treaty of Paris in 1783 from the Mitchell Map of colonial American geographer John Mitchell, which misrepresented the source of the Mississippi River.

The Treaty of Paris, concluded between the United States and Great Britain at the end of the American Revolutionary War, stated that the boundary between U.S. territory and the British possessions to the north would run "...through the Lake of the Woods to the northwestern-most point thereof, and from thence on a due west course to the river Mississippi..."

The parties did not suspect that the source of the Mississippi River, Lake Itasca (then unknown to European explorers), was south of that point. The entire Mississippi was too far south to be intersected by a line running west from the Lake of the Woods. The parties had used the Mitchell Map during the treaty negotiations; that map showed the Mississippi extending far to the north. In the Anglo-American Convention of 1818, the error was corrected by having the boundary continue due south from the northwest point of the lake to the 49th parallel and then westward along it. The Webster–Ashburton Treaty of 1842 reaffirmed this border.

When a survey team led by David Thompson finally located the northwestern-most point of the lake and surveyed this north–south line, it was found to intersect other bays of the lake and therefore to form the boundary of a section of U.S. territory to its east, now known as the Northwest Angle.

Geography

Reporting booth at Jim's Corner. Upon entering the Northwest Angle by road, the traveler must enter the booth and report to U.S. Customs via videophone. Before leaving the Northwest Angle by road, one must report to Canadian customs from the same booth.

According to the United States Census Bureau, Angle Township has a total area of 596.3 square miles (1,544.5 km2) of which 123.09 square miles (318.81 km2) is land and 473.2 square miles (1,225.7 km2) (79.36%) is water. The land includes several islands, including Oak Island, and two small capes that are below (south of) the 49th parallel north in the extreme southwest part of the township, one of which is known as Elm Point, south of the southeast corner of Manitoba, and not far from the northeast corner of Roseau County. Of the 2000 census population of 152, there were 118 living on the mainland, and 34 persons on the islands in Lake of the Woods. All of the populated islands are north of the 49th parallel.

The mainland portion of the township north of the 49th parallel has an area of 116.632 square miles (302.08 km2). The total land area of all islands is 6.303 square miles (16.32 km2), and the two capes total 100 acres (0.16 sq mi; 40.47 ha). The township has the last one-room public school in the state.

Elm Point, in Lake of the Woods County, is a small cape southwest of the Northwest Angle. It borders Canada and is, together with a similar smaller cape to the west, separated by land from the continental United States.

Access

Border crossing at the Angle

The Angle is accessible from the rest of Minnesota by one of two ways:

The border crossing is unstaffed. Travelers using the single gravel road in and out of the Angle are expected to use a telephone at Jim's Corner, Youngs Bay Marina, or Carlsons Landing to contact Canadian or U.S. Customs and make their declarations.

Political issues

Because of laws restricting fishing, some residents of the Northwest Angle suggested leaving the United States and joining Canada in 1997. The following year, U.S. Representative Collin Peterson of Minnesota proposed a constitutional amendment to allow the residents of the Northwest Angle, which is part of his district, to vote on seceding from the United States and joining Canada. This angered the leaders of Red Lake Indian Reservation, which holds most of the Northwest Angle's land.[3][4]

In 1997, in order to change what were considered unequal fishing regulations between the U.S. and Canada, Angle resident Gary Dietzler utilized this cartographical mishap to implement a mock secession from the United States, going so far as to get a bill issued by their Congressman Collin Peterson (D) in the U.S. House of Representatives. The mock secession succeeded in getting fishing regulations better synchronized across these international (fresh) waters.[5]

Peterson said he introduced the amendment to bring equity (under NAFTA) to alleged irregularities in the ways differing nationalities were treated on the Canadian portion of Lake of the Woods. US fishermen were not allowed to keep any gamefish caught in Ontario, unless they were staying at Canadian lodging facilities. This was later repealed by Ontario officials once a court action was initiated.

Demographics

As of the census[6] of 2000, there were 152 people, 71 households, and 48 families residing in the Angle. The population density was 1.2 per square mile (0.5/km2). There were 272 housing units at an average density of 2.2 per square mile (0.9/km2). The racial makeup of the township was 99.34% White (151 out of 152). Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.66% of the population.

There were 71 households out of which 14.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.4% were married couples living together, 1.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.0% were non-families. 23.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.14, and the average family size was 2.53.

In the Angle the population was spread out with 14.5% under the age of 18, 3.3% from 18 to 24, 21.1% from 25 to 44, 48.7% from 45 to 64, and 12.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 50 years. For every 100 females, there were 120.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 124.1 males.

The median income for a household in the township was $28,500, and the median income for a family was $31,250. Males had a median income of $28,500 versus $21,250 for females. The per capita income for the township was $13,932. About 13.3% of families and 12.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including none of those under the age of 18 or 65 and older.

Representation in other media

See also

References

  1. "About the Red Lake Indian Reservation". Red Lake Net News. Archived from the original on November 15, 2010.
  2. "2010 Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171) Summary File - County Subdivision". American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on 20 May 2011. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
  3. Radil, Amy (August 17, 1998). "The Northwest Angle". Minnesota Public Radio.
  4. "Campaign 2006: U.S. Congress: 7th District: Collin Peterson". Minnesota Public Radio.
  5. Stoddard, Grant (January–February 2011). "The Lost Canadians". The Walrus. pp. 24–31.
  6. "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.

External links

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Coordinates: 49°16′N 95°3′W / 49.267°N 95.050°W / 49.267; -95.050

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