Northwest Angle

Lake of the Woods County

27-01550

The Northwest Angle ( " Northwest Angle" ), officially Angle Township, referred to by locals simply as The Angle is the northernmost part of Lake of the Woods County in the U.S. state of Minnesota. Aside from Alaska, these are the only area of ​​the United States, located north of the 49th parallel.

This latitude is west of the North West Angles, the boundary between the United States and Canada and indeed between Washington, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota and a portion of Minnesota on the one hand, as well as British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba on the other. Further east reaches the U.S. territory not so far north. The northwestern corner of the Northwest Angle is 49 ° 23 ' 4.1 " north latitude, 95 ° 09' 12.2 " west longitude.

As the state of Alaska, Point Roberts in Washington, Elm Point, Minnesota and Vermont Alburgh in Northwest Angle can not be reached from the rest of the United States without having to travel either through Canadian territory or over a body of water; in this case it is the Lake of the Woods.

A large part of the area belongs to the Red Lake Indian Reservation ( Ojibwa ), but is not permanently inhabited.

Origin

The Treaty of Paris (1783 ), which was concluded between the United States and the Kingdom of Great Britain at the end of the American Revolutionary War, stipulated that the boundary between the territory of the United States and the British possessions in North America " ... through the Lake of the Woods should run to its extreme north-western point and then from there to a well- westerly course to the Mississippi River ... ". However, the parties were not aware that the source of the Mississippi, lay them at that time the Europeans unknown Lake Itasca, south. One reason for this misperception was the use of the Mitchell Map during the treaty negotiations. This map showed namely, that the Mississippi sufficiently extended far to the north. The Northwest Angle is thus a consequence of the ignorance of the geography in the 18th century. With the Treaty of London (1818 ), the error was corrected by the fact that the border of the north-west corner of the lake ran directly south until they reached the 49th parallel, which they followed to the west. When these north-south line then in 1825 was measured by Johann Ludwig Tiarks, it was found that it cuts through some bays of the lake and therefore led to the separation of what is now known as the Northwest Angle U.S. territory. The also disputed border between Lake Superior and Lake of the Woods was only in 1842, the border demarcation within the Lakes of the Woods even be clarified until 1925.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the municipality covers an area of ​​1544.5 km ², of which 318.8 km ² of land, and 1225.7 km ² ( 79.36 % ) is attributable to water. It includes several islands and two peninsulas that extend from the north across the 49th parallel also to the south, and therefore belong to the United States, without being connected to them by land. These two areas are located in the extreme southwest of the municipal area, south of the southeast corner of the Canadian province of Manitoba, not far from the northeast corner of Roseau County. In the United States Census 2000, the population of the Angles was 152 persons; of which 118 lived on the mainland and 34 islands in Lake of the Woods. All inhabited islands are north of the 49th parallel. The land area consists of the main area with an area of ​​302.075 km ², islands with a total area of ​​16.325 km ² and the two headlands along 0.408 km ². The municipality has the last school with only one classroom in Minnesota. The border crossing is unoccupied. The travelers who sail the lane gravel road in the Angle must submit their customs declaration over the phone installed there the Canadian or U.S. customs authorities.

Elm Point

Elm Point, Minnesota, in Lake of the Woods County, a small spit of land is southwest of the Northwest Angle, which reaches over 49 Latitude addition to the south and therefore belongs to the United States without being connected to their territory by land.

Politics and popular culture

Separation of the United States and Canada was proposed annexation by occasionally by some residents, but little has been done due to the nichtdringlichen nature of the case, the lack of public support and because of the U.S. sovereign rights.

The author, Tim O'Brien has made ​​the area famous for its best-selling novel In the Lake of the Woods.

Demographic data

According to the census in 2010 lived in the Angle Township 119 people in 66 households. The population density was 0.4 people per square kilometer. In the 66 households lived statistically 1.8 persons each.

The racial passed the population with one exception only of whites.

10.1 percent of the population were under 18 years old, 62.2 percent were between 18 and 64 and 27.7 percent were 65 years or older. 47.1 percent of the population was female.

The median annual income for a household was $ 14,732. The per capita income was $ 19,924. 75.9 percent of the population lived below the poverty line.