If you pull out a map and look at North America, you will see that the border between the United States and Canada, you would see that for most of it, the line is pretty straight (ignoring the northern area between Canada and Alaska).

Taken as a whole, this is the longest border in the world, made all the more impressive by the fact that since it was created, there have been virtually no disputes that required military intervention.

That straight border runs 2027 kilometers (1260 miles) from Lake of the Woods, located in Minnesota on the US side and Manitoba on the Canadian side. all the way to Boundary Bay (Washington State and British Columbia).

For the most part, it just follows right along the 49th parallel. If you zoom in a bit, or better yet, walk along the border, however, you’ll see a very different story.

The actual border was made based on a number of treaties, negotiations, arguments, and disputes that have taken place between the US, Canada, and the United Kingdom throughout the past several hundred years. The end result is a peaceful, unusual border.

One of the weirdest things about the border is Angle Inlet, Minnesota. It is the northernmost point in the continental United States. If you want to visit this little area from anywhere else in the continental USA, however, you will need to drive north in Minnesota, go over the border into Canada, then cut south, back over the border into Angle Inlet. That’s because the land juts out into a lake and is only accessible from Canada.

A similar issue occurs at Point Roberts in Washington state, which can also be accessed only if you first go up into Canada.

There are many other oddities along the border as well.

Many of them can be explained by the fact that when the border was agreed upon, there was no GPS, and for much of the area, no real maps.

Stephen Bown is the author of Dominion: The Railway and the Rise of Canada talked with The Guardian about it, saying:

“It’s not like the British and the Americans had a map and they drew a ruler on it. They didn’t have a map, and they just agreed upon this imaginary line: the 49th parallel. They just projected these imaginary lines further on to a geography that they didn’t know anything about.”

Making maps and establishing borders isn’t an easy task, so it is not surprising that the largest border in the world is filled with weird little abnormalities.

Fortunately, both countries have taken a friendly approach to the border disputes, so they aren’t likely to lead to conflict any time soon.

If you think that’s impressive, check out this story about a “goldmine” of lithium that was found in the U.S. that could completely change the EV battery game.