November 2006 Archives

An article in the Washington Post looks at the growing popularity of map mash-ups: "In the year since Google, Microsoft and others made their mapping programs available for free, thousands of Web developers have used them as digital canvases to display information."

Read the article and see our list of some cool map mash-ups (and ways to make your own).

Here's a fun use of Google Earth's 3-D imagery: Send someone a geo-greeting, with your message spelled out by letter-shaped buildings.

Send a greeting now and happy Thanksgiving!

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Geography Awareness Week may be over for this year, but with your help we can keep the momentum going! Please, continue to spread the word that geography education is critical for our kids. And if you haven't done so, tell your legislators that you support geography in schools. (Our form makes it easy.)

Don't forget about these fun (and free) ways to keep the excitement up:

This Geography Awareness Week, My Wonderful World has been highlighting the many facets of Africa to celebrate its uniquely diverse geography and people.

However, our relationship with Africa begins much further back in history, at the origins of humanity millions of years ago. Fossil and genetic evidence suggests that human history began in the valleys of Ethiopia, called the Cradle of Humanity. Here, paleo-anthropologists discovered the famous early hominid skeleton "Lucy" and, more recently, the world's oldest fossilized hominid skeleton of a child.

Photograph of Ethiopia by Jodi Cobb/National Geographic Image Collection

Test Your Africa IQ with our interactive quiz on Google Earth.

MORE ABOUT HUMAN ORIGINS

Humans have recognized the importance of the environment to our survival for millions of years. We use water, soil, minerals, metals, timber, and other natural resources in every aspect of our lives.

Africa is a major source of some of the world's most utilized minerals and precious metals, such as gold, copper, diamonds, and coltan (used in computer chips and electronics), as well as oil, natural gas, timber, and coal.

The management and sustainable usage of these resources has been a struggle for the African continent, and control over this environmental wealth has in part propagated and funded civil wars, government corruption, and industrial exploitation.

Africa's richness in natural resources is undeniable—mine this wealth with the resources below.

Photograph of gold miners in Gabon's Minkebe Forest by Michael Nichols/National Geographic Image Collection.

Test Your Africa IQ with our interactive quiz on Google Earth.

MORE ABOUT AFRICA'S NATURAL RESOURCES

General Information

Ready to represent in the first annual Geography Cup? This new, good-natured online competition pits the United States against the United Kingdom and is designed to call attention to the importance of geography knowledge.

The brainchild of U.K.-based Give Geography Its Place and U.S.-based A Broader View, the Geography Cup consists of 13 randomly selected questions. Participants can take the quiz up to three times a day between now and December 31. Current scores are available anytime on the Geography Cup site.

Ready? Sign up now and fight for the title of geography champ!

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Just this week, Google Earth released a fascinating new Featured Content layer: sixteen historical maps from the David Rumsey Map Collection.

Scanned at very high resolution, the maps show more detail as you zoom in closer. You can see the world as it appeared to cartographers in 1790, follow Lewis and Clark's 1814 journey, visit the New York of 1836, time-travel to 1710's Asia, and much more.

Of most interest to us this Geography Awareness Week is the 1787 map of Africa. Beautifully rendered and detailed, it offers a rare look into the past. Created during Africa's period of colonization, the map (drawn by S. Boulton and printed for Robert Sayer of London) depicts "all the European Forts and Factories" as well as "all its states, kingdoms, republics, regions, islands, etc." (Note: The map refers to the Khoi ethnic group by the name "Hottentot," which was common to the time but is now considered derogatory by many.)

To see the maps, you'll need the newest version of Google Earth (released November 1, 2006). You can download it free here. Open Google Earth and you'll see "Rumsey Historical Maps" in the Featured Content layer in the lefthand column. Choose a map and double-click it to overlay it onto the 3-D globe. Zoom in for more details.

(New to Google Earth? Here's a "Getting Started" user guide.)

Explore Africa's past—made modern by technology—and let us know what you think.

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Most people have heard of the ancient Egyptians, rulers of the Nile and architects of the famous Giza Pyramids. But have you ever heard of the African country called Rhodesia, the Sahelian kingdom of Mali, or Zanzibar? How about the ancient trade cities of Carthage, Tripoli, or Timbuktu? Or the Berbers, Bantu, Nubians, or people of the Zulu nation?

Throughout history, many civilizations have commingled on the African continent. Africa played a prominent role in the Greek and Roman empires, the Crusades, the Age of Exploration and colonization, and the slave trade of the 18th and 19th centuries. Geographers look into the past to discover explanations for the present, and Africa's unique and tumultuous history can shed light on the major issues that occur there today.

Photograph of a restored theater at the ancient Roman city of Sabratha, in today's Libya, by Robert Sisson/National Geographic Image Collection.

Test Your Africa IQ with our interactive quiz on Google Earth.

MORE ABOUT AFRICA'S HISTORY

General Information

We've created three new Google Earth layers:

Geography Awareness Week events: See if there is an event happening near you! (More about GAW events.)

Geography Alliance Network: Find your local Geography Alliance and work with other educators and geographers to improve geography education in your area. (More about the Geography Alliance Network.)

College and University Geography Departments in the U.S. and Canada: See which schools offer degrees in geography.

To view a layer, download it (by clicking the link above) and open it in Google Earth. You see it under "Temporary Places" in the left-hand column. Then zoom in to North America and click the icons to explore, or double-click on the links in the left-hand column.

(Don't have Google Earth? Get it here for free. And here's a "Getting Started" user guide.)

And don't forget to test your Africa IQ with our interactive quiz on Google Earth.

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Today is GIS Day!

Geography is more than just maps—it's about understanding our world and the innumerable factors that have created place over time. However, maps are one of the most essential tools that geographers use to understand the constant changes of our planet and its inhabitants.

An important modernization of mapping has been the development of geographic information systems (GIS): computer systems and associated technology that allow users to create maps to display, analyze, and interact with valuable geographic information.

Geographers, explorers, and scientists alike are using GIS to map the African continent in new and exciting ways. We can now track the migration of elephants through national parks, find areas of deforestation in Africa's rain forests, evaluate the use and distribution of natural resources, and much more.

Map your own exploration of Africa!

Image of National Geographic's MapMachine

Test Your Africa IQ with our interactive quiz on Google Earth.

MORE ABOUT GIS AND MAPPING

About GIS

Geography (and My Wonderful World) got a great plug Monday on WAMU's Kojo Nnamdi Show. Doug Richardson, executive director of the Association of American Geographers (a My Wonderful World coalition member) joined John Hanke, director of Google Earth and Maps; artist Christian Nold of University College London; and Mark Monmonier, author and professor of geography at Syracuse University, on the show.

Listen to the radio show segment and tell us what you think!

Humans have existed on the African continent longer than anywhere else in the world. Consequently, Africa's cultures--its languages, religions, art, music, cuisines--reflect a deep past, rooted in ancient kingdoms, nomadic migrations, the Age of Exploration, and modern globalization.

Africa is home to many different peoples (such as San Bushmen, north Africa's Tuareg, and the Maasai plainspeople) and religions (Islam and Christianity share prominence). This diversity makes Africa special, but also combustible, as tensions between peoples can spark civil wars, exploitation, even genocide.  However, if history teaches us anything, it's that the African people and culture are most representative of survival and a celebration of heritage.

Photograph of women walking along the Zambezi River in Zimbabwe by Chris Johns/National Geographic Image Collection

Don't forget to take our Test Your Africa IQ quiz on Google Earth.

MORE ABOUT AFRICA'S ANIMALS AND CONSERVATION

Interactive Features

Get a taste of Africa and celebrate Geography Awareness Week at a special My Wonderful World event at Busch Gardens Africa in Tampa Bay, Florida.

This Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, visitors to Busch Gardens Africa can go on a special "Edge of Africa" scavenger hunt, play an interactive geography and animal conservation game, check out our giant map of Africa, and win great prizes. Plus, we'll have cool My Wonderful World giveaways and information about the campaign.

Can't make it to Tampa Bay? Check out Busch Gardens and Sea World resources online:

How better to celebrate Geography Awareness Week than with an all-expenses-paid trip to the Galápagos Islands? Enter the My Wonderful World sweepstakes for a chance to win a ten-day trip for four on a Lindblad Expeditions cruise. Enter now and good luck!

My Wonderful World is a National Geographic-led campaign to increase geographic learning at home, in school, and in the community. Learn more about the campaign, test your Global IQ, find games and cool sites, and much more.

If, when you think of Africa, you picture herds roaming across the savanna or exotic animals swinging through the rain forest, you're familiar with one of Africa's richest resources--its dizzingly diverse variety of wildlife. There are lions, elephants, gorillas, zebras, aardvarks, ostriches, crocodiles, pythons, and sharks, just to name a very, very few.

However, the loss of habitat and poaching are threatening Africa's animals, and many species are now in danger of being lost forever. That's why many African countries and governments are working to create national parks and game reserves, as well as establishing large-scale conservation efforts to ensure that Africa does not lose its animals to extinction.

Learn about conservation efforts and meet Africa's wildest residents!

Photograph of hippopotamuses in Uganda's Ruwenzori National Park by George Mobley/National Geographic Image Collection

Don't forget to take our Test Your Africa IQ quiz on Google Earth.

MORE ABOUT AFRICA'S ANIMALS AND CONSERVATION

Interactive Features

How much do you know about our second largest continent? Can you tell Tripoli from Timbuktu, or the Nile from the Niger? Test your Africa IQ with this new Google Earth quiz from My Wonderful World.

To play, download the Geography Awareness Quiz layer from Google Earth's Geography Awareness Week page and open it in Google Earth to get started.

(Don't have Google Earth? Get it here for free.)

How to Play

First, double-click on the quiz folder under "Places" in the left column of Google Earth. In that folder there are ten questions--double-click each to expand it and see the answers. Click on your answer to see if you are correct. (Double-clicking on an answer will "fly" you in to see that place up close.)

Have fun and good luck!

New to Google Earth? Here's a "Getting Started" user guide.

Google Earth and Geography Awareness Week

Educators, get a new perspective on the planet and the theme of this year's Geography Awareness Week. Explore the world using Google Earth (an interactive 3-D model of the globe with high-resolution imagery) and find related classroom materials on Google's new Educators site.

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Sunday begins our favorite time of year: Geography Awareness Week!

Every year since 1987 National Geographic and other organizations have celebrated geography with special programs and events during the third week of November.

This year, My Wonderful World is kicking off a multiyear, around-the-world program to get everyone—parents, teachers, students, and others—excited about geography. Our first stop is Africa, so all this week we're going to feature cool sites and topics about Africa's unique, rich geography.

Geography Awareness Week
This is your one-stop shop for GAW. It's got Africa information (maps, photos, music, games, and more), classroom materials for educators (including new Africa lesson plans), and a "Just for Kids" area.

Geography Awareness Week Events
Get out and do something! Find a Geography Awareness Week event near you.

Coming this week on the blog:

Physical geography is the study of processes that shape the Earth's surface. All of the rivers, mountains, fields, and valleys that make up our neighborhoods (and cities and states and countries) add up to create the physical geography of our planet.

And the African continent has one of the most unique physical geographies in the world: the world's largest desert and longest river, plus mountains, plains, woodlands, valleys, volcanic rifts, and much, much more.

This great variety of landscapes makes Africa the perfect place to celebrate geography—and sets the backdrop for our Geography Awareness Week look at its cultures, wildlife, resources, and history. Explore the African continent and take a journey beyond your wildest imagination!

Photograph of Tanzania's Mount Maru by Dan Westergren/National Geographic Image Collection

MORE ABOUT AFRICA'S PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY

General Information

Many areas are hosting local events to celebrate Geography Awareness Week (November 12-18), but what's happening in your home or classroom? Celebrating can be as simple as looking up new places in an atlas, as fun as playing geography-themed games, as tasty as trying some new-to-you cuisine, or as exciting as going geocaching.

Need some ideas? Check our Geography Awareness Week site.

What are you doing? Tell us!

USA Today and ABC's Good Morning America have teamed up to develop a new list of the "seven wonders of the world." They are unveiling a new "wonder," decided by a panel of experts, every day. The first wonder was announced today: the Potola Palace in Lhasa, Tibet. The Potola Palace is a Buddhist landmark and former home to ruling Dalai Lamas.

The list of the seven ancient wonders of the world remains the same as when we learned it in grade school:

• Great Pyramid at Giza
• Hanging Gardens of Babylon
• Colossus of Rhodes
• Lighthouse of Alexandria
• Temple of Artemis at Ephesus
• Mausoleum at Halicarnassus
• Statue of Zeus at Olympia

And there are the seven natural wonders of the world:

• Great Barrier Reef
• Mount Everest
• Victoria Falls
• Paracutin Volcano
• Northern Lights
• Rio de Janeiro
• Grand Canyon

What do you think about this new list of wonders? What would you add to the list? Tell us!

How's your knowledge of the Middle East and northern Africa? Can you pinpoint places such as Qatar, Libya, and Iraq? Test yourself with this cool interactive map game from Rethinking Schools.

Students at Collinsville Primary School in Martinsville, Virginia, got a lofty lesson in geography recently when they learned that a balloon released as part of a contest found its way all the way to Plettenberg Bay, South Africa. Teachers speculate that Bermuda trade winds might have carried the balloon over the ocean to the southern tip of the African continent.

Read the article and tell us what you think!