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Ecuador-Peru
6.8 Earthquake Kills at Least 15
A 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck the Ecuadorian coastal province of Guayas on Saturday. The quake, felt as far as northern Peru, has caused at least 14 deaths in Ecuador and one in Peru, with several hundred people injured. Numerous roads in Ecuador have been blocked by landslides and multiple structures have been damaged, and officials are currently assessing the damages in both countries. Ecuador and Peru sit along a portion of the Pacific Ring of Fire where the Nazca tectonic plate is being forced beneath the South American plate. This is the strongest quake to hit Ecuador since 2016, when an earthquake centered further north on the Pacific Coast killed more than 600 people.
This map depicts the 6.8 magnitude earthquake that struck the southern coast of Ecuador midday Saturday. Click on the map to learn more.
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United States
Bank Failure Fallouts
The Biden Administration and the US Federal Reserve are looking to ease concerns about the stability of the American banking system following the failure of two major banks. Silicon Valley Bank (SBV) collapsed ten days ago, followed quickly by Signature Bank, forcing Federal banking authorities to take control and guarantee the safety of deposits at those banks above the $250,000 limit enacted by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Since the two went under, investors and ordinary Americans have been watching for the next bank failure. San Francisco-based First Republic Bank is currently seeing the most negative attention, with its shares down 20% this morning, its credit-rating downgraded, and fears that a $30 billion rescue from larger banks will not be enough. Last Thursday, Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen, reported the banking system is sound, yet denied the extraordinary measures taken to protect SVB and Signature depositors indicated a broader commitment to American bank customers.
This map depicts the proportion of deposits at banks in the United States that are above the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s protection limit of $250,000. Click on the map to learn more.
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Graphic Source: Reuters
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Australia
Millions of Fish Dead
Floods and hot weather in Australia have contributed to millions of fish washing up dead in southeastern Australia. Friday, the New South Wales government reported “millions” of fish died in the Darling River near the small town of Menindee. This is the third mass death to take place in the region since 2018. The fish species killed are mainly bony herring, as well as Murray cod, golden perch, silver perch, and carp. These populations had boomed following recent floods but are now dying off in droves as floodwaters recede, compounded by the low oxygen levels in the water, known as hypoxia. The current hot weather in Australia has exacerbated the hypoxia, as warm water holds less oxygen than cold water, and fish require more oxygen at warmer temperatures.
This map depicts water quality stages for hypoxic blackwater, connected to the mass fish deaths in southeast Australia. Click on the map to learn more.
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Q: Which ocean lost the highest proportion of surface area when the boundaries of a “new” ocean were delimited in 2000?
A: Indian Ocean
Covering 27,240,000 sq mi (70,560,000 sq km), the Indian Ocean is the third largest ocean. It is bounded by Iran, Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh to the north, the Malay Peninsula, the Sunda Islands of Indonesia, and Australia to the east, the Southern Ocean to the south, and Africa and the Arabian Peninsula to the west. On World Ocean Day in 2000, the Southern Ocean became the fifth world ocean. While it had already been recognized by many scientists, it was never officially agreed upon internationally, as geographers around the world debated the hot topic. The International Hydrographic Organization delimited the ocean waters in the third edition of the Limits of Oceans and Seas, creating the new boundaries for the Southern Ocean by combining the southern portions of the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific oceans. Completely surrounding Antarctica, the Southern Ocean extends from the coast of Antarctica to 60 degrees south latitude, which approximately falls along the extent of the Antarctic Convergence. While many agree the Indian Ocean’s southern limit extends to the boundary of 60 degrees south, some still maintain that it extends all the way to the Antarctic coast.
Source
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Q: The Spring Equinox is marked by what 3,000-year-old festival, celebrated by some 300 million people in 12 countries?
Stay tuned for the answer to today’s question in tomorrow’s DailyGeo.
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