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June 29

Which US city is closest to the Equator?

I can't find an answer to the question above. When Googling I get answers only to questions I didn’t ask, such as "Which city in the 50 states is closest to the Equator?" (which excludes territories and dependencies, which I don't want), "Which state capital is closest?" (not my question), and "Which state is closest?" (cut it out with the states already) but not just plain "Which city is closest?".

I think the answer is Charlotte Amalie, but I'm not sure if I'm missing a territory or dependency. Thanks for any help. 2604:3D09:A17E:7300:5DEA:D376:3AAD:571 (talk) 23:31, 29 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Hmm, I think I'm not too surprised that you would get those Google results. I would intuitively interpret "US city" to mean "city in the fifty states plus the District". If you mean to broaden it beyond that you probably need to use different phrasing. --Trovatore (talk) 05:50, 30 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Hagåtña, the capital of Guam, is closer than Pago Pago, but can hardly be called a city. However, it is labelled as such ("the City of Hagåtña") by the government of Guam. Dededo is also closer and considerably more populous than both Hagåtña and Charlotte Amalie. --Lambiam 00:00, 30 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Surely it's one of the Hawaiian cities? HiLo48 (talk) 01:19, 30 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

That might depend on the definition of city. "The U.S. territory of Guam is comprised of 19 villages."^[1] However, the Virgin Islands are farther south than the Hawaiian Islands, so Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands could be correct. Still, according to our article, it is recognized as a town by the U.S. Census Bureau. American Samoa and Palmyra Atoll are even farther south, but might not have any "cities" (Pago Pago has the largest population at 3,656). Also note that "The Greater Pago Pago Metropolitan Area comprises several villages along Pago Pago Harbor",^[2] yet I haven't found any official source noting it as a "city". --136.54.106.120 (talk) 02:33, 30 June 2024 (UTC) . . . Edit:03:26, 30 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I like how in American Samoa, Pago Pago correctly comprises several villages; whilst in Guam, Hagåtña incorrectly "comprises of villages". Folly Mox (talk) 11:38, 30 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

The U.S. Census Bureau might not have a rigorous definition of city. They do seem to have independent city and consolidated city, but mostly appear to employ the technical terms metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas – which can contain a principal city.

I suspect the term city might be one of the things that varies by state, but one can only assume that at least for their unemancipated colonial toeholds ~~minor outlying territories~~ territories the federal government would have a single definition. Folly Mox (talk) 11:30, 30 June 2024 (UTC) edited 14:16, 1 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

"I suspect the term city might be one of the things that varies by state" Yep. In my own state of North Carolina, a city is any municipality that chose to use that word when incorporating. In Massachussetts it is based on the form of government, with cities having a mayor-council or council-manager type of government. In Louisiana it is based on population, with a minimum of 5000 people needed. In North Dakota any incorporated community is a city. I could probably find many other definitions in the other states, but that should get the point across. --User:Khajidha (talk) (contributions) 12:29, 1 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

PS: aside from some research stations and military installations the United States Minor Outlying Islands are uninhabited. I assume you are actually interested in the Territories of the United States.--User:Khajidha (talk) (contributions) 12:37, 1 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Whoops, yes, thanks. Fixed. Folly Mox (talk) 14:16, 1 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Is the government of Guam official enough?^[3] Reportedly,

"En la isla de Guam sólocabría hablar de ciudad en un caso: el deAgaña, que obtuvo tal título en 1686, trashaber ostentado el de villa con anterioridad."^{[4], p.433} — "On the island of Guam it is only possible to speak of a city in one case: that of Agaña, which obtained such title in 1686, after having previously held the title of town."

Being a Spanish possession at the time, the title would have been bestowed by a decree of the Spanish crown. In Europe, the traditional view is: once a city, forever a city. --Lambiam 13:06, 30 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Not always, see Rochester Martin of Sheffield (talk) 14:32, 30 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Traditions are not invariably upheld. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 151.227.226.178 (talk) 19:12, 30 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

My first job was in Cardiff which achieved city status in 1905, so I have a soft spot for Llandaff, the "city within a city"; it was never incorporated, but has its own cathedral. See also St Davids. MinorProphet (talk) 17:14, 1 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I became intrigued by how the USA classifies cities when I discovered Soldier, Kansas, population 102. HiLo48 (talk) 05:57, 7 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I think it's state-by-state. In California, as far as I understand, there is no official distinction between "city" and "town"; incorporated municipalities may refer to themselves by either name. There is a distinction between a charter city and a general law city, which may bear some vague analogy to the notion of "city status" that MinorProphet references, but I think it's not a very close one. --Trovatore (talk) 06:26, 7 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

(While our article does not describe it as a "city", you might also be interested in Monowi, Nebraska.) --Trovatore (talk) 06:43, 7 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]