[PLUG-TALK] Google Maps causes military conflict?

David david at fierbaugh.net
Thu Nov 11 17:52:17 UTC 2010


Interesting background info....
http://ogleearth.com/2010/11/about-costa-rica-nicaragua-their-border-and-google/

On Thu, Nov 11, 2010 at 9:47 AM, John Jason Jordan <johnxj at comcast.net>wrote:

> On Thu, 11 Nov 2010 08:41:38 -0800
> Keith Lofstrom <keithl at kl-ic.com> dijo:
>
> >
> http://technolog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2010/11/08/5429289-google-map-glitch-ignites-costa-rica-incursion
> >
> >Is this an example of what programmers call "fencepost error?"
>
> The event was blown out of proportion due to longstanding border and
> immigration issues between Nicaragua and Costa Rica. The root of the
> problems is economic: Costa Rica is one of the wealthiest Latin
> American countries, and Nicaragua is one of the poorest. This causes
> constant illegal immigration issues similar to the problems between the
> U.S. and Mexico. There is open discrimination in Costa Rica against the
> 'Nicas, even those that are there legally, in spite of the fact that
> Costa Ricans are generally educated and tolerant.
>
> If this error had happened along the U.S.-Canada border it would not
> likely have even made the news.
>
> Adding a related bit of trivia, the Oregon-California border is a mess.
> It is supposed to be a straight line (the 42nd parallel), but there are
> large areas that are in the wrong state.
>
> The problems are due to the way the area was surveyed as the area was
> being settled. All surveys in Oregon and Washington start at the
> Willamette Stone, located just outside of NW Portland. Most of northern
> California was surveyed from the summit of Mt. Diablo, located just
> east of the bay area. Both monuments were established in 1851. By the
> time the surveyors got from Mt. Diablo up to the border and from the
> Willamette stone down to the border, so many errors had accumulated that
> sometimes as much as a quarter section of Oregon really belongs in
> California, and vice-versa. (A section is one mile square.) The errors
> even include a town, which was supposed to be entirely in Oregon but
> ended up with the state line down the middle.
>
> I wonder if Google maps has the Oregon-California border right.
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