The Canada – United States boundary has been established through a long history of political engagements and military disputes. The French and Indian war of 1754-63 and the War of 1812 established much of the boundary in the east. It has taken many years of diplomacy and agreement among four countries, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Russia to establish the present day boundary.
The Atlantic-Pacific boundary was determined by the 1783 Paris Peace Treaty, the 1818 Convention of Commerce and 1846 Oregon Treaty. The Pacific-Arctic boundary dates to the Convention of 1825.
The International Boundary forms the boundary of ten states, seven provinces and one territory, and it traverses four of the Great Lakes. From Lake of the Woods in Ontario all the way to the Pacific, the Canada-US border is the world’s longest continuous straight International Boundary.
In 1908, the United States and United Kingdom (representing Canada) signed a treaty establishing the International Boundary Commission and making it responsible for the marking and maintaining of this boundary.
Boundary Facts:
- The Canada – US boundary stretches 8,891 km (5,525 mi) from the St. Croix River on the Atlantic Ocean to the Strait of Juan de Fuca on the Pacific Ocean, and from Dixon Entrance on the Pacific to the Arctic Ocean.
- Boundary on land 5,061 km (3,145 mi)
- Boundary on water 3,830 km (2,380 mi)
- 5,525 boundary monuments
- 5,700 triangulation stations
- shortest distance between 2 monuments is 46 cm (10.2 in)
Alberta at 298 km (185 mi)
Pennsylvania at 68 km (42 mi)
Medicine Line:
With the westward movement of European settlement and the conflicts it brought with it, First Nations people on both sides of the boundary soon discovered the benefits of this “line” separating the white men.
The blue coats or long knives (US Cavalry) couldn’t follow them north of this line and the red coats (NWMP) couldn’t chase them south of the line. This worked great as long as you maintained good relationships on one side or the other.
PLEASE NOTE: The first part of this cache is on the north side of Border Road which is considered and patrolled as the International Boundary although the coordinates place it south of the 49th parallel. If you are from the USA, you must go through US/Canada customs first before looking for the cache. If coming from Canada, do not go south of this road! You must go through customs in Coutts(AB)/Sweetgrass (USA) to head south into the USA. US Border Patrol and Canada Customs patrol this road. The second part of this cache is located just north of the 49th parallel.
The reason that the Border Road is south of the 49th is that it followed the original Northwest Boundary Survey which was done in 1857- 1861.
To find the location, read the number at the top of the monument, use the number as . _ _ _ and then put the number into the following formula.
N 49. 01.462 - ._ _ _ = new coordinates
W 111.49.520 + ._ _ _ = new coordinates