The text states:
It was scary when graphic designers seized control of the country, but it turned out they just wanted to fix some things about the state borders that had always bothered them.
There is also a bonus text saying:
A schism between the pro-panhandle and anti-panhandle factions eventually led to war, but both sides spent too much time working on their flag designs to actually do much fighting.
Let’s look at the suggestions:
Simplified Explanation of Proposed Changes
Proposed Change: Give to Canada
Explanation: Minnesota’s Northwest Angle is a small, isolated area with about 120 residents, only accessible via Canada or water. This land became U.S. territory due to a mapping error and complicates borders. Giving it to Canada would simplify things. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the closed U.S.-Canada border caused significant challenges for residents relying on cross-border tourism.
Proposed Change: This should be Wisconsin
Explanation: Michigan’s Upper Peninsula was given to Michigan as a compromise after the Toledo War. Reassigning it to Wisconsin would eliminate a boundary and align the geography better.
Proposed Change: Move Long Island to NJ or CT, or make it its own state
Explanation: Long Island extends into the Atlantic and feels more geographically connected to New Jersey or Connecticut than New York. However, this change would be complex, as Long Island includes two of New York City’s boroughs (Brooklyn and Queens) and over half its population.
Proposed Change: Unlabelled clean-up at the eastern border of New York, northern border of Massachusetts, and northern border of Connecticut
Explanation: Straighten New York’s eastern border, Massachusetts’ northern border, and Connecticut’s northern border for cleaner state lines.
Proposed Change: Align to Grid
Explanation: Western states mostly follow a “boxy” design, but some borders are irregular. The proposal would make these borders more uniform, including replacing Idaho and Montana’s natural boundary with a simplified line.
Proposed Change: Clean Up (Maryland/Ohio/Pennsylvania/Virginia/West Virginia)
Explanation: Smooth out Maryland’s panhandle and West Virginia’s irregular shapes with shorter, straight lines. Extend the Mason-Dixon Line eastward to Pennsylvania’s eastern border for consistency.
Proposed Change: Enlarge Rhode Island & Delaware
Explanation: Expand Rhode Island eastward and Delaware across the Delmarva Peninsula to make them more visible on maps. This reduces fiddly boundaries and simplifies neighboring states’ borders.
Proposed Change: If we’re going to have a panhandle, why not commit to it?
Explanation: Oklahoma’s panhandle could either be given to Texas or extended further into Arizona and New Mexico. This would eliminate the Four Corners Monument by removing the shared borders of Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico.
Proposed Change: Fix this thing
Explanation: Transfer Missouri’s “Bootheel” region to Arkansas, creating a straighter border.
Proposed Change: Unlabelled cleanup at the junction of Kentucky/Virginia
Explanation: Shift Virginia’s western border east to align with adjacent states, creating a continuous line along the Appalachians.
Proposed Change: Unlabelled cleanup at the junction of Nevada/Arizona
Explanation: Extend Utah’s western border southward, adjusting Arizona’s boundary and transferring part of Mohave County to Nevada.
Proposed Change: Unlabelled cleanup at the junction of Texas/Oklahoma/Arkansas/Louisiana
Explanation: Square off Southwest Arkansas and align Louisiana’s northwest border for tidier corners.
Proposed Change: Clean up (Arizona/New Mexico/Texas)
Explanation: Simplify New Mexico’s borders by extending one into a straight line, redistributing land with Texas and Mexico, and dividing El Paso between Texas and New Mexico.
Proposed Change: Straighten to fix survey errors (Tennessee)
Explanation: Correct Tennessee’s southern border to match the intended 35th parallel. Adjustments would also smooth the border between Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi, as well as Tennessee’s northern border with Kentucky.
Proposed Change: Good Curve! Keep. (Florida/Georgia/South Carolina)
Explanation: The team likes the natural curve of the Atlantic coastline in northern Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina, so no changes are suggested.
Proposed Change: Let’s be honest, this should be Canada too
Explanation: Southeast Alaska aligns more naturally with British Columbia. Transferring it to Canada would clean up the border, but this change would require Alaska to find a new state capital since Juneau is in this area.
Proposed Change: Why should Florida get Alabama’s coastline? It has plenty.
Explanation: The Florida Panhandle prevents Alabama from having significant coastline. Transferring the Panhandle counties west of the Apalachicola River to Alabama would balance this, align borders with Georgia, and potentially shift Florida’s political dynamics.
Which, if any, of these ideas do you think are worth considering?
More XKCD maps:
- The World According to Americans (Who Really Know Their Geography)
- How To “Improve” The Map of The United States By Cleaning Up Some State Borders
- How To Date An Undated World Map
- What Would Happen If You Pulled A 10m Plug In The Mariana Trench
- 8 Really Bad Map Projections From XKCD
- Map Projections & What They Say About You
- Now Time Map
- XKCD Explains The Cause Of Landscape Features Of The United States
You can buy Randall Munroe’s books here:
Y.D. Robinson says
I think that Long Island should be its own state, rather than even being part of Connecticut, or certainly being a part of New Jersey. (There isn’t quite the geographical contiguity with New Jersey the way that Manhattan, the NW Bronx, and certainly Staten Island have.)
Also, Point Roberts in Washington State (but much closer to Vancouver, BC, Canada than to Seattle) is similar to the Northwest Angle in being in the US but having a land connection only with Canada.