At the center

Here is a question for you: where is the geographical center of North America? Not a fact we tend to carry around at our fingertips (if we ever knew it!). Well, we are at it, right here in Rugby, ND! I can't help but wonder if there might be more than one way to calculate it - North Anerica isn 't exactly a nice proportional square! In fact I have to wonder how one finds the center of such an irregular shape. I wonder if the procedure for finding it is archived somewhere. Actually, I wonder what motivated the effort? It was done by the U.S. Geological Survey in 1931. Was it done solely using maps or did it involve on-the-ground survey work? What did it cost? Would Congress fund the effort today? (That's easy - "NO!")

The marker is modest but handsome. It was built by Boy Scouts! It used to be across the road and had to be relocated when they rebuilt Route 2 in the 1970's. It doesn't seem to have brought Rugby much fame and fortune. But it is sort of amazing to realize that when you sit on that bench, you are at the center of a continent! 

Cairn marking the geographical center of North America. 

P.S. The geographical center of the contiguous U.S. is Lebanon, KS, which Ellen and I visited a few years ago. It is a bit more impressive spot. There is even a small chapel there (what's that about?) Come to think about it, I suspect that there is a quasi-religious sensibility attached to the idea of "center" even in these instances of totally non-sacred entities like a nation or a continent. The "omphalos," the "navel." Fascinating !