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Post by grenouille on Apr 28, 2012 3:48:34 GMT -5
Nope, I cannot comprehend distances too until I came to Europe. From where I came from, it takes 2 hours to travel from one end of the island to the other through choked traffic and its only about 60km.
Hye
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daveh
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Posts: 4,696
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Post by daveh on Apr 28, 2012 5:23:10 GMT -5
For me the most remarkable country is Chile. 2,700 miles long and an average of 110 miles wide. Climate? Well everything from the driest desert to just about the wettest place on earth and to permanently snow capped mountains, with flora and fauna to match.
Countries though are just political things. In terms of contiguous land mass Eurasia is similar to the Americas. Geologically, though, Eurasia is attached to Africa and it is only the Suez canal that breaks the continuity, just as the Panama canal does between North and South America.
No land, though compares to the ocean for being a vast nothingness. The nearest I have had to that is on a 6,000 ton cruise ship in the Indian Ocean with no clouds, no other ships, no planes, no birds and barely a ripple on the water. The only thing (other than what was on the ship itself) to break the wonderful monotony was the occasional flying fish. Imagine being alone, marooned on a little raft. It would be difficult to maintain sanity.
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Post by pompiere on Apr 29, 2012 13:36:39 GMT -5
You can really appreciate the size of the ocean when you are looking over the horizon at another ship, and can only see the topmost part of the stacks due to the curvature of the Earth.
Distances in populated areas are just a mindset of the people who live there. I only live 3 miles outside of town, but people who live in town talk about having to drive "all that way" to reach my house. We are about 25 miles from a large city and most people go there regularly for shopping, etc., but for a city resident to come out to visit us, they act as if they are crossing the western prairie. Which I find funny since it would take them about the same amount of time to drive from one side of the city to the other.
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mickeyobe
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Post by mickeyobe on Apr 29, 2012 15:59:42 GMT -5
Pompiere,
I have lived in Toronto all my life. The Greater Toronto Area now has a population of almost 6 million. I am accustomed to city traffic so I always try to avoid the main arteries.
I would rather drive across the Prairies or through the Rockies with one arm behind my back or through the Maritimes in reverse than drive across Toronto.
You are right. It is a matter of perception. My perception is that everyone is out to get me so I drive accordingly.
Mickey
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Post by bobwright on Jan 17, 2013 17:03:20 GMT -5
If ya'll don't mind my joing in on a rather dated thread, here's a shot from Deadhorse Point, Utah: Memphis, Tennessee is just over the horizon, about 2,000 miles away. Bob Wright
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lloydy
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Post by lloydy on Jan 17, 2013 17:15:51 GMT -5
Gateway to the West. Death Valley Junction by Mudplugga, on Flickr I love the SW USA, my wife and I have spent a lot of time down there, and we always rent a 4x4 in Moab to explore the magnificent Arches National Park and beyond. Moab. Utah. by Mudplugga, on Flickr
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