There’s something oddly satisfying about watching structure emerge from chaos, especially when that structure mirrors natural systems. That’s exactly what you see in a stunning map created by Reddit user @tjukanov, which shows optimal car routes from the geographic center of the contiguous United States to every single county. The result? A network of routes that look almost like veins or tributaries, branching out from a single location in Kansas.
So where exactly is this central point? It’s just northwest of Lebanon, Kansas. In fact, back in 1918, the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey established this spot—2.6 miles (4.2 km) northwest of Lebanon in Smith County—as the geographic center of the 48 contiguous states.
Using that location as the origin, @tjukanov used GraphHopper (a routing engine powered by OpenStreetMap data) to calculate the shortest driving route to each of the 3,000+ counties in the lower 48. What you get is not a cluttered mess, but a pattern that looks surprisingly organic—like a living system branching out to touch every edge of the country.
It’s not just visually satisfying. This map also offers a practical demonstration of how road infrastructure directs movement. You can immediately spot the high-density interstate corridors. For example, the thick routes running westward toward Colorado, south toward Texas, and east toward Illinois mirror major highways like I-70 and I-35. Even though we don’t see state borders or cities, the roads themselves trace the shape of the nation.
That makes sense when you think about it. Highways were built not only to connect cities, but also to move goods and people efficiently across the landscape. What’s remarkable is how clearly that goal plays out in a single visualization—without needing any labels.
This visualization also brings to mind the way river basins work. Just like water follows the path of least resistance downhill, these routes follow the fastest paths through our modern transportation network. And while the U.S. highway system may not be shaped by topography alone, it’s absolutely shaped by efficiency.
What do you think—is there another way you’d visualize national connectivity? Feel free to drop a comment below and let’s keep the conversation going.
