U.S. National Geodetic Survey

Roland Deschain pointed me in the direction of this oddity the other night -- apparently, it was published earlier this year that the "Four Corners Monument," marking the spot where Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah meet at right angles, was erected in the wrong place. Reports were claiming it was as much as 2.5 miles off from the true location.

Now, I've never been there myself. But I confess I've thought about it once or twice, if for no other reason than to cross two more states off my "I've set foot in these states -- not counting airports" list. (That would be Arizona and New Mexico, for me.) Hearing this news suddenly had me thinking just how ticked I'd be if I had done it, only to discover... "nope! actually, you haven't!"

Turns out, maybe reports of the demise of the Four Corners Monument were exaggerated. The alleged "misplacement" of the monument is I guess some sort of GPS quibble, as described roughly here. If I understand it right, the argument is that the state lines were incorrectly drawn from where they were supposed to be originally, back in the 1800s. But the U.S. National Geodetic Survey has stepped in defending the surveys, and it appears that regardless of where the lines should have been, they're officially this way now.

So if you've been to this spot to crab-walk in four states simultaneously, your "achievement" of sorts is still intact. Still, I'm off vacationing in an entirely different state right now, so I think any Four Corners trip for me will have to wait a while longer.