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Russia
Fighting in Bryansk
Russian President, Vladimir Putin, is accusing Ukraine of engaging in terrorism after an apparent attack on a village in Russia close to the Ukrainian border. The governor of Russia’s Bryansk region alleges fighters from Ukraine opened fire on a civilian vehicle in Lyubechane, killing two adults and injuring a 10-year-old boy, before taking hostages. Russian security services claim to have repelled the group back into Ukrainian territory. If true, this would constitute the first confirmed fighting of ground forces in Russian territory since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine one year ago. Ukrainian authorities call the event a staged provocation by the Russian government, with evidence emerging that the attack may have been the work of an anti-Putin dissident faction known as the Russian Volunteer Corps. While the faction is based in Ukraine, the group hasn’t been active in serious fighting. A video apparently made by the group was posted on social media claiming credit for the attack.
This map depicts the region of Bryansk in southwest Russia, where Ukrainian fighters allegedly attacked civilian targets yesterday. Click on the map to learn more.
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Graphic Source: Al Jazeera
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Colombia
Proposal to Remove Hippos
Colombia is proposing the transfer of at least 70 hippopotamuses living near the former ranch of late drug dealer, Pablo Escobar. The so-called “cocaine hippos” are descendants of four hippos originally imported illegally by Escobar in the 1980s. Since his death in 1993, the population has grown to an estimated 130 animals and has spread far beyond the ranch, located about 125 miles (200 km) from Bogotá, along the Magdalena River. Scientists warn the hippos have no natural predators and could damage the local biodiversity, with Colombia declaring them a toxic invasive species in 2022. A plan to move the hippos to sanctuaries and zoos in Mexico and India has been forming for over a year, with facilities in Ecuador, the Philippines, and Botswana having also expressed interest in taking some of the hippos.
This map depicts where the four hippos escaped from drug lord Pablo Escobar’s private zoo, and now have a reached population of 130 hippos outside of Bogotá, Colombia. Click on the map to learn more.
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Graphic Source: LA Times
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Egypt
Hidden Corridor Captured
Egyptologists have successfully captured images of a 30-foot (9 m) long, hidden corridor of the Great Pyramid of Giza, first discovered in 2016. The gabled limestone structure that sits in front of the corridor near the main entrance potentially holds clues about the original construction of the pyramids. Scientists retrieved the images by feeding a 6mm-thick endoscope through the pyramid’s stones, aided by muography, a form of radiology. It is thought the unfinished corridor was created to redistribute the pyramid’s weight around either the main entrance, just 23 ft (7 m) away, or as a chamber or space. Despite being one of the oldest and largest monuments on Earth, there is no consensus about how the pyramids were built.
This map depicts the known corridors and rooms inside the Great Pyramid of Giza, including the secret corridor first detected in 2016 and recently photographed. Click on the map to learn more.
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Q: What New Zealand waterfall was named after the aerial photographer who discovered the falls and the lake that feeds them on one of his flights in 1940?
A: Browne Falls
Located above the fiord called Doubtful Sound, in Fiordland National Park, Browne Falls is 2,030 ft (619 m) high, and is fed by Lake Browne. Doubtful Sound is New Zealand’s second most famous tourist destination. The region receives annual average rainfall of 120 – 140 in (3,000 – 6,000 mm), watering a dense native rainforest on the mountainous landscape. When Lake Browne is full, it overflows down the side of the mountain face, however the falls’ low angle can make the stream look less impressive. Victor Carlyle Browne was a pioneering aerial photographer in New Zealand who discovered two lakes in Fiordland in the mid-20th century, including Lake Chamberlain and Lake Browne, which was named after him as well as its associated Browne Falls. His publication “New Zealand from the Air,” was a seminal piece in aerial photography, where he and Captain Bradshaw flew over the entire country, from Stewart Island to North Cape, capturing New Zealand’s landscapes from above.
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Q: What country, the largest in Central America, is home to the region’s first Geopark?
Stay tuned for the answer to today’s question in Monday’s DailyGeo.
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