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Somalia
Car Bombing Kills Eight
Jihadist group al-Shabab has claimed responsibility for a car bombing this morning on the road to the airport for the Somali capital of Mogadishu, killing eight. Witnesses claimed that a United Nations convoy passing by appeared to be the target of the attack, aligning with al-Shabab’s claim it was intended for “white officials,” but the U.N. mission reported none of its personnel or contractors were nearby. The explosion injured another nine bystanders and caused widespread destruction to vehicles and surrounding buildings. Somalia is currently in the middle of a power struggle between the President and the Prime Minister, with each being supported by armed factions, but al-Shabab isn’t aligned with either side.
This map depicts the location of Somalia’s capital of Mogadishu, where a car bombing near the international airport killed eight this morning. Click on the map to learn more.
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Graphic Source: Modern Ghana
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Turkmenistan
Closing ‘Gateway to Hell’ Crater
Turkmen President Berdymukhamedov has ordered experts to find a way to extinguish the flames of a massive natural gas crater 230 ft (70 m) wide and 65 ft (20 m) deep. Formally known as the Darvaza gas crater, it earned its ‘Gateway to Hell’ nickname for its seemingly-eternal flame. There is some mystery around the formation of the crater, but the popular belief is that a Soviet drilling operation in the Karakum desert went awry in 1971 when geologists seeking oil accidentally hit a pocket of natural gas, causing the earth to collapse and form sinkholes. They set the gas on fire in order to stop it from spreading, and this flame has been burning ever since. The fire has harmed both the environment and health of the locals for decades, and hindered economic development in the area. Past attempts to quell the flames have been unsuccessful.
This map depicts the location of the flaming Darvaza natural gas crater. Click on the map to learn more.
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Graphic Source: The Sun
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Australia
Fossil Forest Mysteries Revealed
Paleontologists have unveiled the discovery of a fossil forest in McGraths Flat in New South Wales yielding a wealth of well-preserved specimens of numerous species. The new report in the journal Science Advances details the find, which reveals the gradual change in the ecosystem of the site in the Miocene epoch, 23 to 5 million years ago. Scientists used electron microscopy to reveal details of fossil soft tissues as small as a fly’s compound eye and midges in a fish’s stomach. The fossils were well preserved because they are encased in the iron hydroxide mineral known as goethite, which would have leached out of surrounding basalt rocks into a lake and then encased any plants and animals that sank into the water, protecting them from decay.
This map depicts the location of the McGraths Flat fossil site in New South Wales, Australia, where an abundance of Miocene era fossils have been discovered. Click on the map to learn more.
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Q: At which international border crossing will you need to adjust your clock by 3.5 hours?
A: Afghanistan-China Border
Afghanistan has a tiny chunk of land stretching out to the east, known as the Wakhan Corridor, that borders China’s westernmost Xinjiang Province. The Wakhan Corridor in the remote Badakhshan province is inhospitable and hardly accessible as three major mountain ranges meet in this region. The only accessible crossing on the 46 mile (74 km) border is at the Wakhjir Pass on the southeastern end of the corridor, nearly 16,400 feet (5,000 m) above sea level. In 1949, China imposed one standard time for the entire country, sticking to the time zone of Beijing (UTC+8). So if you ever plan to traverse the tiny border from Afghanistan into China, you will need to reset your clocks!
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Q: Which national park is nicknamed “Crown of the Continent” and is designated a UNESCO world heritage site and an international biosphere reserve?
Stay tuned for the answer to today’s question in tomorrow’s DailyGeo.
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