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China
6.8 Earthquake Hits Sichuan
At least 65 people have died and 15 more are missing after at magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck Sichuan province Monday afternoon. The tremor’s epicenter was located at the remote mountain town of Luding, roughly 6 miles (10 km) beneath the Earth’s surface. Landslides triggered by the quake left numerous roads in the mountainous province impassable. In the provincial capital of Chengdu, about 140 miles (226 km) northeast, the shaking sent residents out of their apartment blocks and into residential complex courtyards. Chengdu went into lockdown for COVID last Friday, meaning most people were at home at the time of the quake.
This map depicts the impacts of a 6.8-magnitude earthquake that struck the Chinese province of Sichuan on Monday afternoon. Click on the map to learn more.
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Nigeria
Military Strikes Boko Haram
Late last week, Nigeria launched a successful operation against Boko Haram in Borno state, killing around 200 militants, including 70 soldiers who drowned as they fled from airstrikes. Among those killed were five top military Boko Haram commanders. Since 2009, Boko Haram have killed over 40,000 people and displaced two million in northeast Nigeria. However, the government’s response has also caused significant numbers of civilian deaths. In just the northwestern states of Kaduna, Kebbi, Sokoto, and Zamfara, about 12,000 civilian deaths have been reported since 2011.
This map depicts civilian casualties during the Nigerian army’s military raids against Boko Haram in Nigeria. Click on the map to learn more.
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Graphic Source: Al Jazeera
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Space
Voyager 45th Anniversary
45 years ago, on August 20 and September 5, 1977, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) launched the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 space probes. Three times the distance of Pluto from the sun, they are now the farthest man-made objects from Earth. Even with this distance, NASA engineers were able to recently make a repair an issue with garbled data from Voyager 1. These probes are managed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California and are the only probes to ever explore interstellar space. The Voyager missions have been imperative in examining the sun and its impacts on our solar system. They also each carry a golden record containing information about life on Earth, such as images, nature audio, music, and scientific diagrams. Within the next 10 years, both original Voyager probes will completely run out of power. A proposal for a $3.1 billion Interstellar Probe (IP) that could reach the Voyagers’ current distance in approximately 15 years is being considered. If approved in 2024, the probe could be launched in 2036.
This map depicts the locations of the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 spacecrafts. Click on the map to learn more.
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Q: What European country has over 1,000 islands off its coast and is home to a rare meteorite crater field?
A: Estonia
Situated in northeastern Europe, Estonia and all of its islands sprawl out into the Baltic Sea. Meteorites that hit Earth some 7,500 years ago landed on the already-inhabited Saaremaa Island with the force equivalent to a small nuclear bomb. The explosions left nine total craters, known as the Kaali Meteorite Crater Field. Thanks to Estonia’s geography and geology, favorable conditions led to the preservation of these craters and enabled researchers to investigate how they were formed. Some of the craters are small, measuring just one meter deep, however the largest of them, the Kaali crater, measures 360 ft (110 m) across and 72 ft (22 m) deep. Surrounding the large crater, which is now partially filled with water and called Lake Kaali, are the remains of a stone wall erected in the late Bronze Age. Archaeologists also uncovered the remains of domestic animal bones near Lake Kaali, providing clues that the crater may have been used as a sacrificial site.
Source
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Q: Although it often receives the title as the “Grand Canyon of Mexico,” what is the name of Mexico’s massive canyon which is actually four times larger than its northern counterpart?
Stay tuned for the answer to today’s question in tomorrow’s DailyGeo.
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