The Northwest Angle, known simply as the Angle or the stovepipe by locals is a projection of land extending north of the forty-ninth parallel on the northern boundary of Minnesota. This 130-square-mile area, separated from the rest of Minnesota by the Lake of the Woods, is the northernmost territory in the contiguous United States.

Minnesota’s Northwest Angle was created by accident, tethered to mapmakers’ hazy conceptions of the origins of the Mississippi River. When the river turned up south of where they expected, the border dropped down too, leaving an isolated piece of the U.S. up north. Today, that piece is home to some 100 year-round Minnesota residents, who say the beauty of the place is without equal, and the living has never been easy.

Known for its great fishing and easy lifestyle the city of Lake Of the Woods can only be reached from the rest of the U.S. either going through Canada or crossing water . Most of the Northwest Angle is Ojibwa Indian Reservation and National Forest. Many of the inhabitants live on islands in the lake, but the village of Angle Inlet has a population of 100.

Crossing into Angle Inlet from Canada on the rough unpaved road only a sign indicates you are back in the US At the Crossroads or one of the boat landings you must call into US Homeland Security via a video phone booth and give your name, birth date, and license plate number. You use the same video phone on your way out this time calling Canadian customs and immigration in Ottawa, Canada.

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