Valley Springs, South Dakota: Three-state marker

Some people like to view maps and look for interesting little quirks from geography. There's only one place in the United States in which four states meet at the same point - the Four Corners. But there are several places where three states comes together.

And this is one of them. Sort of.

Head for the Grand Falls Casino Resort in northwest Iowa, and head east up the road. In about three miles, you'll come to a three-way intersection. There is a marker on the side of the road, and this is it. It's easy to miss, but it's just past the bridge.

There are no "Welcome to Iowa" signs in the area. Oddly, the streets have different names depending on the side. One person's 110th St. is his neighbor's 268th St. Same road.

The actual point of contact is in the middle of the intersection; the marker is located in South Dakota, which is why this post is labeled this way. Be careful around the marker; the land is very uneven and it's easy to turn an ankle (ahem). The marker has taken a pounding by the weather, as the picture shows, but it did get a cleaning as recently as 1980.

However, there is very little traffic in the midst of the corn fields, so it's easy to stand in the middle of the road and be photographed standing in three states at once. Allegedly there is a surveyor's spike at the actual point, but I didn't notice it.

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