How Do Millions of Canadians Live South of South Dakota?
Sure, it can get cold here in South Dakota (and in a couple of months we're all going to remember just how cold), but at least we're not in Canada, right? when most of us think of Canada, we picture a frozen tundra sitting far north of where we live.
And it's obvious that South Dakota and Canada aren't even neighbors - you have to drive straight through North Dakota just to cross the international border. Yet, thanks to a quirk of geography, millions of Canadians actually live south of South Dakota.
You’d think that to live south of South Dakota, you’d have to be somewhere down in Nebraska or Kansas (which, to be fair, is reality). But because of how the Great Lakes curve, a sizeable chunk of Canada (including major cities like Toronto, population 3 million) actually dips way down past several U.S. states.
Because South Dakota's northern border stretches further up than you might realize, that southwestern pocket of Ontario drops unexpectedly far south. It places millions of our northern neighbors directly parallel to, or even south of, parts of the Mount Rushmore State.
For example, South Dakota's biggest city of Sioux Falls is only (just barely) south of Toronto, in terms of latitude. Surprisingly, Sioux Falls sits at 43.5° N along the earth's latitude, while Toronto is just above us at 43.7° N. That makes Toronto about 8 miles north of the Sioux Falls metro.
So, the next time you're scraping ice off your windshield and cursing the bitter South Dakota winter, just remember - there are millions of Canadians who actually live further south than we do!
This South Dakota Town Is Best Place To Live In Whole State.
More From KXRB
