A Washington town marooned at the tip of a Canadian peninsula columbian.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from columbian.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Richard Read12:02, Jun 25 2021
Makaristos/wikimedia commons
The international boundary between Canada and the United States in Point Roberts, Washington.
In 1846, after decades of haggling, American and British diplomats finally agreed on a border between the US Northwest and what would later become Canada. Following the 49th parallel west from the Rocky Mountains almost to Vancouver Island, the boundary sliced straight across a peninsula that jutted south from Canada, leaving 4.8 square miles (12.4 sq km) on the American side. Point Roberts, Washington, long prospered as an appendage of Canada. Its economy thrived on sales of petrol, groceries and alcohol at prices considered a bargain by Canadians, whose frequent visits helped make the border station one of the busiest crossing points between the two countries.
Link Point Roberts is a bizarre US exclave in Canada, which Canadians visit for cheap petrol, packages and alcohol.
Photo: Alamy
The 1100 Americans and Canadians who lived here thought nothing of crossing into Canada for work, school or errands or to get to the US mainland.
Then on March 21, 2020, in response to the pandemic, US and Canadian officials abruptly closed the entire border to nonessential travel – squeezing the peninsula like a tourniquet. You will now receive updates from Traveller Newsletter
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A U.S. town marooned at the tip of a Canadian peninsula latimes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from latimes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.