Carter Lake is a small
Iowa city which is strangely located on the
west side of the
Missouri River (The river is the border between
Nebraska and
Iowa). Carter Lake was originally settled in the 1850's on the east side of the river. In 1877 major flooding ocurred and the river changed its course, leaving Carter Lake on the
Nebraska side of the river. The two states fought over this small chunk of land for 15 years, until the
United States Supreme Court ruled in 1892 that the land still belonged to Iowa.
Today, the tiny city is surounded on three sides by the city of Omaha, Nebraska and on the fourth by the Missouri River. It is completely disconnected from the rest of Iowa. It is also the home of Iowa's shortest state highway. Iowa 106 is a four-lane expressway which is only a half mile long. Even more interesting is that this highway is part of the most direct route from downtown Omaha to Eppley Airport. This always confuses the hell out of travellers who land in Omaha and manage to pass by "Welcome to Iowa" and "Welcome to Nebraska" signs within a half mile of eachother without ever crossing a bridge.