The 16 Compass Points - ExtremeGeographer.com

One of my goals for this road trip was to become the first person to visit all 16 extreme compass points in the contiguous mainland United States. The term "contiguous" means that I only considered the Lower 48 states, not Alaska or Hawaii. And the term "mainland" means that I didn't consider any islands. If you open it up to Alaska and include islands, the task becomes virtually impossible for myself or anyone else. Hey, I might be crazy but I'm not stupid!

On Monday, November 28, 2016, I visited the 16th and final point, the southernmost point of the contiguous United States, which is near Cape Sable, Florida in Everglades National Park. The 16 extreme compass points, and the dates that I visited them, are:

North-Northwesternmost Point (near Cape Flattery, Washington): May 1, 2016
Northwesternmost Point (Cape Flattery, Washington): May 1, 2016
West-Northwesternmost Point (near Cape Flattery, Washington): May 1, 2016
Westernmost Point (Cape Alava, Washington): April 30, 2016
West-Southwesternmost Point (near Point Arena, California): May 15, 2016
Southwesternmost Point (near Jalama Beach, California): May 17, 2016
South-Southwesternmost Point (near San Diego, California): May 20, 2016
Northernmost Point (Northwest Angle, Minnesota): September 16, 2016
North-Northeasternmost Point (near Madawaska, Maine): September 28, 2016
Northeasternmost Point (near Van Buren, Maine): September 28, 2016
East-Northeasternmost Point (near Hamlin, Maine): September 28, 2016
Easternmost Point (Quoddy Head, Maine): September 29, 2016
East-Southeasternmost Point (Quoddy Head, Maine): September 29, 2016
Southeasternmost Point (near Card Sound, Florida): November 26, 2016
South-Southeasternmost Point (near Pelican Key, Florida): November 26, 2016
Southernmost Point (near Cape Sable, Florida): November 27, 2016

This section describes the rules and methodology that I used, as well as each of the 16 points that I visited. So please read on!

View larger map

Above: The 16 extreme geographic compass points that I visited on my trip. The red dots are the locations and the blue lines are the bearing lines I used to determine each location. If you zoom in, you'll start seeing the descriptions.

The 16 Extreme Compass Points of the "Lower 48"

The Northwesternmost Point of the U.S.

The Westernmost Point of the U.S.

The North-Northwesternmost Point of the U.S.

The West-Northwesternmost Point of the U.S.

The West-Southwesternmost Point of the U.S.

The Southwesternmost Point of the U.S.

The South-Southwesternmost Point of the U.S.

The Northernmost Point of the U.S.

The North-Northeasternmost Point of the U.S.

The Northeasternmost Point of the U.S.

The East-Northeasternmost Point of the U.S.

The Easternmost Point of the U.S.

The East-Southeasternmost Point of the U.S.

The Southeasternmost Point of the U.S.

The South-Southeasternmost Point of the U.S

The Southernmost Point of the U.S.

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