Myanmar's New, Well-Organized, Capital City
Monday June 30, 2008
The New York Times tells of Naypyidaw, the new capital city of Myanmar, which is taking shape as a capital. Naypyidaw was designated suddenly in late 2005 with a ... Read More
Global Warming Overview
Thursday June 26, 2008
Contributing Writer Nicole Lindell provides thorough and comprehensive overview of global warming - including its causes, effects, the future, and what we can do about it. It's a great ... Read More
Man Takes Island, Changes Its Status
Thursday June 26, 2008
A man named Stuart Hill, who owns an island off the west coast of the Shetland archipelago, has declared that his island is no longer a dependency of the United ... Read More
Soap Operas as Birth Control
Thursday June 26, 2008
FP Passport reports on a study that relates the decrease in the total fertility rate of Brazilian women over the past few decades to an increasing popularity in soap operas ... Read More
Our Dumb World
Wednesday June 25, 2008
If you haven't had a chance to check out The Onion's humorous new atlas titled Our Dumb World: Atlas of the Planet Earth (73rd Edition), I encourage you to do ... Read More
New Geography Quiz
Monday June 23, 2008
Test your geographic knowledge with the latest and greatest Geography Quiz! It's fifteen multiple-choice questions that are sure to make you think about the world around you. Good ... Read More
ISO 3166-1 Country Names and Codes
Monday June 23, 2008
A reader wrote to ask why there are so many "countries" listed on the ISO 3166-1 list of 246 "countries" while here on my site I report that there are ... Read More
Kosovo's Constitution Takes Effect
Monday June 23, 2008
The New York Times reports on Kosovo's new constitution, which recently took effect in the worlds newest country. As of this writing, 43 countries have recognized Kosovo's independence. ... Read More
Glaciers
Sunday June 22, 2008
Glaciers are a hot topic these days and are a frequent subject of debate when discussing global climate change or the fate of polar bears. Do you ever find yourself ... Read More
New Geography Intern
Sunday June 22, 2008
I'm pleased to announce that Colin Stief has been chosen as the fall semester Geography Intern here at Geography at About.com. You can read his bio for more information ... Read More
Floods and Flooding
Sunday June 22, 2008
In light of recent flooding in the Midwest, I updated and enhanced one of the first articles I wrote here on my site, way back in 1997. I present ... Read More
Explorer Biographies
Sunday June 22, 2008
About.com has a new history site, Latin American History, that I think you'll enjoy. There, Guide Christopher Minster has been publishing a plethora of great content. Two items ... Read More
Two 500-Year Floods in 15 Years?!?
Friday June 20, 2008
The U.S. Geological Survey is reporting that Iowa's recent flooding and the 1993 flooding in the Midwest (including Iowa) were 500-year floods. How do two 500-year floods happen in ... Read More
2248 Years Ago Today: Eratosthenes Measures Earth's Circumference
Thursday June 19, 2008
Wired magazine reports that on this day in 240 B.C.E. the Greek geographer Eratosthenes calculated the circumference of the earth using measurements using a well and a column. He ... Read More
7 Billion People on Earth in 2012
Thursday June 19, 2008
The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that they expect the world population to cross the seven billion mark in the year 2012, a mere four years from now. The ... Read More
World Refugee Population Over 11 Million
Thursday June 19, 2008
The United Nations has announced that the 2007 world refugee population is estimated at 11.4 million. World Refugee Day is June 20, a day designated to take action on ... Read More
Colliding Air Masses Cause Iowa Flooding
Wednesday June 18, 2008
In light of the recent severe flooding across the United States' Midwest region, the Associated Press has an article entitled
"Colliding Air Masses Rain on Flooded Iowa." It's a brief look ... Read More
National Parks
Monday June 16, 2008
Contributing writer Amanda Briney provides an overview of the history and development of national parks in the United States and around the world.
Super Tall Skyscrapers as Housing
Sunday June 15, 2008
The New York Times provides an article that discusses the growth (literally and figuratively) of skyscrapers in Asia and in the Middle East. While skyscrapers are primarily built for ... Read More
Electoral Vote Map
Friday June 13, 2008
USA Today provides a delightful map that allows one to award Electoral College votes to various states to forecast the results of the 2008 Presidential Election. The map also ... Read More
Tornado Season is Here
Thursday June 12, 2008
The U.S. Storm Prediction Center filed 57 reports of tornadoes, 107 reports of damaging wind, and 143 reports of hail on Wednesday, June 11, a extreme weather day. ... Read More
Chinese Babies Named "Olympic Games"
Thursday June 12, 2008
The BBC reports that more than 4000 Chinese babies, nearly all of whom are boys, have been given the name Aoyun, which means "Olympic Games." Obviously, China has Olympic fever ... Read More
South Carolina Placing Cross on Licence Plate
Wednesday June 11, 2008
The state of South Carolina passed a bill to authorize the production of a new license plate that includes a Christian cross over a stained glass window and the words, ... Read More
National Geographic Pages Glued Together in China
Tuesday June 10, 2008
Caitlin reports in her blog Geolounge on the May issue of National Geographic in China which was distributed with map pages glued together by the local distributor due to the ... Read More
Gas Prices Skyrocketing
Sunday June 8, 2008
If you drive, you feel the pain that skyrocketing gasoline prices have brought. AAA announced that the national average has risen above $4/gallon. My latest article explores high ... Read More
Syria May Open Embassy in Lebanon
Sunday June 8, 2008
Syria, which has gone many years without an official diplomatic presence in Lebanon, is considering opening an embassy in that country. Syrian troops left Lebanon in 2005 after nearly ... Read More
Spin The Globe Adventures
Sunday June 8, 2008
Children's author and illustrator Marissa Giamo sent me a copy of her first book that seeks to teach geography about various places around the world. She tackled Australia in ... Read More
Drought
Sunday June 8, 2008
Contributing Writer Amanda Briney provides us with a fascinating overview of drought - its definition, its causes, its effects, and even how its mitigated and managed. As we head ... Read More
Contributing Writer Amanda Briney
Sunday June 8, 2008
Former Geography at About.com intern Amanda Briney completed her internship and thus, in honor of her great work and dedication, she has been promoted to Contributing Writer for Geography at ... Read More
African Country Name Similarities
Friday June 6, 2008
About.com's Africa Travel Guide Anouk Zijlma provides an entertaining blog entry about the interesting name similarities between quite a few African countries. While you're there, be sure to explore ... Read More
Four Cities Finalists for 2016 Olympic Games
Wednesday June 4, 2008
The International Olympic Committee announced today the four final bid cities for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. The four bid cities for the Games of the XXXI Olympiad are: ... Read More
The Center of the United States
Tuesday June 3, 2008
The New York Times tells the interesting tale of the geographic center of the United States, currently located in Butte County, South Dakota (because is the center of all fifty ... Read More
Russia and Ukraine Spar Over Sevastopol
Monday June 2, 2008
In 1954, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev transfered the Crimean Peninsula from the Russian Soviet territory to the Ukrainian Soviet territory. Upon the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, ... Read More
Puerto Rico Primary
Sunday June 1, 2008
While Puerto Ricans don't get to vote for President of the United States, they do get the chance to vote in the primary elections to select their party's candidate for ... Read More