Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Yes, I remark this when traveling on I-40 West from Tennessee to Arkansas. Lots of trees along the interstate in TN, then you hit the urban/suburban environs of Memphis, then once you cross over the Mississippi River into Arkansas it feels much more flat and open - can see the horizon. Much more of a delta feel in the landscape.
Its almost like Arkansas should be flipped. You would expect the western hilly part of the Ozarks and Ouachitas to border Tennessee and the plains near the river to border Oklahoma.
On I 20 leaving Texas and going into Louisiana, it's not as much a change of landscape as it is immediately a change in precipitation and weather in general. Also, the roads tend to be kept a lot better in NE Texas so you go from smooth to bumpy immediately.
I-76 West from PA to OH changes from Appalachia to Great Lakes Plains around the border
I-91 North crossing from MA to VT goes from flat/gently rolling to hilly/rugged in a hurry
I-80 crossing from NV to UT past Wendover goes from mountains with trees to salt flats in just a couple miles
NE Oklahoma has a different feel and look from SW Missouri. Going west from Springfield you leave the almost jungle-like forest of scrub trees and undergrowth of the Ozarks into a more open and tall-grass prairie/plains transition zone. You see fewer billboards. On I-40, crossing the Texas Panhandle into New Mexico the terrain and scenery changes pretty significantly.
Vermont into Quebec. You can't really tell from Google Maps, but across most of the border, the landscape dramatically flattens right at the border.
^This. Most drastic transition I’ve seen. Not only does it suddenly get flatter, but it goes from forests to farms really quickly. At least when going from I-89 to Route 133.
Going from Louisiana to Mississippi on I-20 crossing the river into Vicksburg. You go from flat delta farmland in Louisiana into large river bluffs and hills in Vicksburg. Quite a difference if you have ever been through there.
Crossing from California to Nevada on CA-88/NV-88 between Markleeville and Minden/Gardnerville, the line where the trees stop, coming off the Sierras and transitioning to a desert environment, is very close to the state line. Along I-80 that line is also pretty close to the border, but Nevada still has a few miles of forest cover.
Also, not a state border, but driving across Eastern Washington on I-90, the transition line between plains and forest is basically right at the border between Lincoln and Spokane Counties, like trees start appearing right at the county marker.
That's just because the California-Nevada border is set along the ridge of the Sierra Nevada and the other side is behind the rain shadow, not any different from going from Los Angeles east into the Inland Empire which is in the desert.
I do think there's a pretty quick change from West Virginia into Ohio, especially around Point Pleasant or Huntington where you quickly get a more open Midwest feel on the Ohio side vs the mountains and hollers of West Virginia.
Florida planted a ton of palms at the state line with Georgia on I-95. Though it doesn't substantially change the nature of the landscape (which is more of a slow evolution north to south for hundreds and hundreds of miles), it does make you think that it's changed at the state line.
/\ This is the only example that I could personally think of right off hand. But this is a very interesting thread nonetheless.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.