Gord McD asked:
On satellite images it looks like the north/south line shifts at bit to the east at the 60th parallel heading north so that it is not a true quadripoint like the Four Corners in the US.
Hazel
On satellite images it looks like the north/south line shifts at bit to the east at the 60th parallel heading north so that it is not a true quadripoint like the Four Corners in the US.
Hazel
Tags: Line Shifts, Nunavut, Saskatchewan
It was _supposed_ to be a quadripoint. The point is located near the southern shore of Kasba Lake. It is in remote northern wilderness, hundreds of kilometres from any road, railway, or airport. The point is marked by a metre-high aluminium obelisk. The obelisk was erected in 1962 (before the creation of Nunavut) to mark the intersection of the boundaries of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and the then existing Northwest Territories districts of Mackenzie and Keewatin.
In the legal definition of Nunavut, its border is specified as “Commencing at the intersection of 60° 00′ N latitude with 102° 00′ W longitude, being the intersection of the Manitoba, Northwest Territories and Saskatchewan borders”. Although the Parliament of Canada did therefore intend to create a true quadripoint, it is questionable whether the pre-existing boundary of Saskatchewan and Manitoba falls precisely on the meridian of 102° W under the WGS84 geodetic.
In actual fact, the accepted survey line between Saskatchewan and Manitoba runs 1/4 mile west of 102° W. The so-called “legal” definition was actually instructions to the survey team; once the survey is accepted (mistakes and all) it becomes the real legal boundary. But I don’t think the 1/4 mile is a survey error; I think they used the existing (pre -1870) section lines.