Recently in Geography Category

This was a pretty good series based on mostly rural India and Pakistan and the young folks who live there.

Even for having conservative weasel Steve Inskeep involved, the stories were pretty much free of bias and inanity.

This is the kind of stuff NPR excels at and I hope they keep at it.

I've got to get this book. A history of states that might have been.

If you follow land purchases out here in the West, Deseret may still happen, formally or not.

Check these out. Time to go play with Google Earth again.

This is an old link, but a damn cool one that I've been forgetting to pass along. Well, here ya go. Everything on each "flag" are foodstuffs from the nation it signifies. Cool, huh?

This is a damn cool spread on the various Chinese ethnic groups. Below is a taste of the different folks who make up that nation.

Apparently, it seems that ever since we bought Alaska for a song, we've been losing money on the deal ever since. Yep, the place is the place where federal budgets go to die.

Granted, no one would have wanted a bunch of Soviet missile stationed there in the sixties but when you just cut it down to dollars and cents, it seems Alaska has been a huge money pit for this nation.

Not to mention the nightmare called Sarah Palin or even Ted "Tubes" Stevens.

Apparently my son was born in Rochester, NV.

At least, that's what Google Maps says. It's some form of screw up, and no one knows why, but part of Henderson (a big suburb of Vegas) is called Rochester. Check it out:

And check Google itself. As of this moment, it still isn't fixed.

That said, Henderson *is* a real city. It exists, even if misnamed. Check out this story about Argleton, a town in the UK that only exists on a map. In reality, it's a farm field.

Ah, the future. So full of mistake-free promise.

I love maps. Road maps, aerial photos, Google Earth overlays, I don't care.

You can't love travel without knowing how to consult a good map. So, I read this review and realized that I should probably set some cash aside and get the latest copy of this.

A neat article on how the Prime Meridian was created, but some useful discussion on how it's location seems best for setting the International Date Line.

(h/t to Robert for sending me the link)

Stunning photos from China's celebration of the Revolution. Here's a taste:

Apparently Mongolia is big news judging by the amount of stories I've picked up on it lately. Here are some pics from both Mongolia and Inner Mongolia.

A taste:

I don't know what it is about Mongolia that's always interested me. I've linked more than a few stories about the country over the years, but this series has done a lot to flesh out the place as more than just some child's mythological place.

That said, reading - and watching - The Long Way Round did a lot for the process as well.

Another great geography post. This one tackles how population dispersion - or the lack of it - may be a more realistic look at how we view some nations.

I love maps. No one knows how to read the things anymore but my dad taught me and I plan on teaching Gabriel.

Here is a quick primer on borders and how they are created. Hopefully more stuff like this gets published so I can build up a nice collection of knowledge I can share with everyone.