|
|
|
China-India
Border Dispute Leads to Face-Off
Reports are just now being released about a clash between Indian and Chinese forces along the two countries’ disputed Himalayan border last Friday. India claims China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) approached the national border in the Tawang sector of India’s northeastern state Arunachal Pradesh, an area China claims to be part of Tibet. Soldiers briefly clashed with each other using sticks and clubs near a mountain peak of 17,000 feet (5,180 m), with several soldiers from each side suffering minor injuries. China contends the PLA was following its routine patrol route. The skirmish was the most violent clash between the two armies since a territorial dispute in June 2020, when 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers died in the Galwan Valley of Ladakh. The two countries patrol up to the Line of Actual Control, a de facto line established through a 1996 bilateral agreement, however, some parts of the border and their patrol points are more disputed than others. Both sides refrain from using firearms in close proximity to the line in order to prevent another border war like that of 1962.
This map depicts the disputed border between India and China including the Eastern sector where the recent clash took place. Click on the map to learn more.
|
|
|
|
Graphic Source: Al Jazeera
__________________________________________
|
|
Peru
Protesters Block Roads, 7 Dead
Hundreds of thousands of people have been protesting in Peru since last week’s impeachment of President Pedro Castillo, blocking roadways and airports in their refusal to recognize the new president. Supporters of the former regime argue Castillo’s successor, President Dina Boluarte, was not elected by the people, and are demanding new elections. President Boluarte, previously vice president, was sworn in last week as the country’s first female leader after Castillo was removed by Congress and arrested for attempting to dissolve Congress prior to an impeachment vote against him. Clashes during the protests have killed seven people. Boluarte, Peru’s sixth president in as many years, has proposed moving the next general election up from 2026 to April 2024, citing “difficult times”.
This map depicts the Peruvian departments where supporters of the former President Pedro Castillo have blocked major highways. Click on the map to learn more.
|
|
|
|
Graphic Source: Reuters
__________________________________________
|
|
United States
Geminid Meteor Shower Tonight
In the United States, the Geminid meteor shower will peak Tuesday night into early Wednesday morning. Every year in mid-December, Earth passes into a trail of debris from 3200 Phaethon, a hybrid space object that has a tail like a comet but is rocky like an asteroid. Dense dust and fragments left by this object are vaporized as they travel at 78,000 miles per hour (125,500 km/hr) through the atmosphere, creating the Geminids display. The meteor shower will be active all night long, unlike many meteor showers that can only be viewed in the hours before sunrise. More than 100 meteors per hour can be viewed during tonight’s meteor shower, under the optimal conditions of clear skies and low light pollution.
This map depicts the viewing conditions for the Geminid meteor shower in the United States from Tuesday night into Wednesday morning. Click on the map to learn more.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q: Running over 650 miles (1,050 km) long through the Great Lakes, what geological formation shared by the United States and Canada is the basis of some of their most popular tourist areas?
A: The Niagara Escarpment
An escarpment is formed when harder rock is exposed after softer rock around it is eroded away. For the Niagara Escarpment, the glaciers that covered the Great Lakes area carved away shale rock from around the dolomite that forms the escarpment. Near the escarpment’s far eastern end in upstate New York, Niagara Falls, the escarpment’s namesake, makes for its most famous feature, as the Niagara River rushes directly over it. Heading west, the escarpment’s effect on the geography of the upper Great Lakes region can be clearly seen from space, creating an arc through Lake Huron from Ontario’s Bruce Peninsula, through the Manitoulin Islands and the lower part of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, and over to the Garden Peninsula and Wisconsin’s Door Peninsula, which together define Green Bay out of Lake Michigan. The escarpment then continues down through Wisconsin before ending in northern Illinois. The islands, peninsulas, and shorelines formed through the Great Lakes by the escarpment are popular areas for vacationers on both the American and Canadian sides.
Source
|
|
|
|
|
Q: Frequently touted as having the world’s whitest sands, at what beach can you also catch seasonal glowing “blue tides?”
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.
|
|
|
|
|
