|
Solomon Islands
Ban on Foreign Navies
On Monday, the government of the Solomon Islands issued a moratorium on United States Navy ships docking in the country’s ports, preceding a temporary ban on all foreign naval visits the next day. The ban was issued after the Islands gave no response for more than a week to requests made by a U.S. Coast Guard ship and a British naval vessel to visit its ports. Solomon Island authorities dismissed media speculation of their decisions being driven by Chinese influence in the wake of the new security pact between the countries, specifying the American and British vessels did not get approved because their documents were submitted late. The Solomon Islands are reportedly frustrated by foreign vessels attempting to enter the country without obtaining diplomatic clearance.
This map depicts the U.S. and China’s diplomatic battle surrounding influence over the Pacific Islands. Click on the map to learn more.
|
|
|
Sudan
Monsoon Floods Kill 100
Flash flooding driven by heavy monsoon rains in Sudan have killed at least 100 people and affected over 258,000 in 15 of Sudan’s 18 provinces, according to Sudanese and U.N. officials. Sudan’s regular rainy season runs from June until October, and this year’s death toll from flooding has already surpassed last year’s total of more than 80 people. The U.N.’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has identified the Western Darfur region and provinces of Nile River, White Nile, West Kordofan, and South Kordofan as the worst-affected areas. The crisis has added to political tensions in the country, as the opposition claims the military government is either incapable or unwilling to help victims.
This map depicts the numbers of people affected and damages in Sudan from flooding caused by this year’s monsoon rains. Click on the map to learn more.
|
|
|
|
Graphic Source: ReliefWeb
__________________________________________
|
|
|
|
Zimbabwe
Oldest Dinosaur Habitats
Paleontologists working in northern Zimbabwe have recently revealed what may be the oldest dinosaur fossil ever discovered, a nearly complete skeleton of a two-footed, long-necked sauropod named Mbiresaurus raathi. This find has provided important insights for scientists about the geographic range of dinosaurs in the late Triassic period, around 230 million years ago, when they only lived in certain areas of the supercontinent Pangaea, a single landmass of most of today’s continents pushed together. Scientists believe climate established the boundaries of the dinosaur range at that time. However today, fossils from the same time period and same region of Pangaea that held Mbiresaurus raathi can be found in both southern Africa and South America, revealing how plate tectonics can separate formerly-neighboring areas by thousands of miles and over millions of years.
This map depicts the area of modern Zimbabwe where possibly the oldest dinosaur fossil ever was discovered, with the equivalent location of that fossil on the supercontinent of Pangaea during the late Triassic period. Click on the map to learn more.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Bordered by 6 countries, which Middle Eastern state only has a sliver of its border, 36 miles (58 km), on the Persian Gulf?
A: Iraq
Iraq is bounded by 2,403 miles (3,867 km) of borders, and of that, only 36 miles (58 km) are located on the Persian Gulf coastline, making it the Middle Eastern country with the least access to the sea and offshore sovereignty. Iraq shares international borders with Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Turkey, Syria, and Saudi Arabia. Its longest international border is shared with Iran along the entire eastern edge of the country. The Tigris and Euphrates Rivers both flow through Iraq for over 750 miles before converging to form the Shatt al Arab, which empties into the Persian Gulf in Iraq’s southern region. Because of increased upstream use of the Tigris and Euphrates, Iraq implemented a large scale irrigation project in the 80s to connect dams and canals to the river system. This has been crucial in years of drought, and the country reached an agreement with Syria and Turkey to secure an annual minimum flow at its borders to ensure the water levels aren’t too low by the time they reach Iraq.
Source
|
|
|
|
|
Q: Which country is home to continental Africa’s only known population of cave-dwelling crocodiles?
Stay tuned for the answer to today’s question in tomorrow’s DailyGeo.
|
|
|
|
|
AGS is accepting DailyGeo GeoQuestion suggestions.
Write to ags@americangeo.org with any ideas!
Please include GeoQuestions in the subject line, along with your answer and source.
|
|
|
|
DailyGeo is a daily digital communication created by AGS for the geography community. Feel free to share and encourage others to become part of the community too!
Copyright © 2022 American Geographical Society, All rights reserved.
We understand this might not be for everyone. Although we would hate to see you go, you can unsubscribe here.
How are we doing? We want to hear your feedback on the DailyGeo – what are we doing right and what should we be doing differently. Talk to us by emailing ags@americangeo.org.
|
|
|
|
|
