It is time to talk about Washington’s odd corner. You may be asking yourself if Washington has one; Washington’s shape isn’t particularly odd, except, of course, for the fragmented land in the northwestern corner surrounded by bays, sounds, and straits. Oh, that’s right, there is a strange piece of land called Point Roberts in Washington.
Point Roberts is the southernmost portion of the Tsawwassen Peninsula and is connected by land only to British Columbia, Canada; Point Roberts is slightly more than twenty miles from both Vancouver, Canada, and the San Juan Islands, USA. Looking from the US perspective alone, the point seems to be a haphazardly placed speck, but looking at the land internationally, Point Roberts is simply the tip of a peninsula.
You should know the theme of this series by now, not even the most secluded odd corners evade our attention! Point Roberts, your appearance in this series was inevitable.
Why does Washington have Point Roberts?
The internet doesn’t exactly have a lot of explanation for why Point Roberts is part of Washington and not Canada, but that is likely due to its self-explanatory nature. Sure, Canada does occupy most of the Tsawwassen Peninsula, but Point Roberts lies below the 49th parallel that is the US-Canada border, placing the point on the American side. That basically describes the entire reason for the inclusion of Point Roberts in the state of Washington. Though this odd corner seemingly presents no mystery, it is odd, nonetheless!
Fun Fact: one of the oddities of living in Point Roberts is that there is only a primary school on the point, anyone in a higher grade has to cross into Canada and re-enter the US, going through customs twice each way. That is, undoubtedly, fatiguing.
Did you already know about Point Roberts? Do you have anything to add?
Onward American 