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Japan
State of Emergency Declared
Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga declared a state of emergency in Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama, and Chiba prefectures in an attemot to contain recent spike in COVID-19 cases that has put pressure on the nation’s healthcare system. The emergency restrictions, including an 8 pm curfew and suspension of the domestic tourism program, will go into effect on Friday and remain until hospital occupancy and COVID-19 positivity rates significant decrease. Tokyo recorded 2,447 new cases on Thursday, a new daily record, and hospital beds have filled to as much as 88% capacity. This map by COVID19Japan.com, shows COVID-19 cases by prefecture, including hotspots around Tokyo in the east. Active cases in the country number nearly 53,000. Japanese politicians have stressed the nation must control the pandemic before the Tokyo Olympics begin in July, less than 200 days away.
This map depicts cases of COVID-19 by prefecture in Japan. Click on the map to learn more.
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United States
Violent Mob Storms U.S. Capitol
Hundreds of violent rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol yesterday, interrupting lawmakers as they certified the results of the 2020 Presidential Election. The mob first rallied in front of the White House where President Donald Trump claimed the results of of the election were fraudulent and encouraged supporters to march in protest to the Capitol building. Hundreds of rioters broke through barriers of the Capitol complex shortly after 1 pm and breached the building 90-minutes later. Members of Congress were rushed out of the legislative chambers by law enforcement officers and taken to secure locations. The mob broke windows, looted offices, and desecrated the Senate chamber. One woman was shot and killed by U.S. Capitol police, and three others died from unspecified medical emergencies. Congress resumed their session following the siege and certified the election of President-elect Joe Biden early this morning.
This map depicts the locations of the breach at the U.S. Capitol and the route between the White House and the building. Click on the map to learn more.
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Graphic Source: BBC
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United States
Alaska’s Lease Sale
On Wednesday, the U.S. government held its first-ever oil and gas lease sale for Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The sale conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management was held as scheduled after a judge on Tuesday rejected requests by Indigenous and conservation groups to halt the event. Alaska’s state-owned economic development corporation was the only bidder on 9 of the 22 parcels offered for lease in the northernmost swath of the refuge, known as the coastal plain. Two small companies also each picked up a single parcel. The leases which were initially projected to generate $900m in revenue, only totaled about $14m for the 11 tracts of land which covered about 600,000 acres of the 1.6m-acre area offered. The rugged remote area off the Beaufort Sea is considered sacred by the Indigenous Gwich’in and is home to wildlife including caribou, polar bears, wolves, and birds.
This map depicts the area of the coastal plain designated for leasing in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Click on the map to expand.
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Q: The world’s highest concentration of hoodoos is located in which national park?
A: Bryce Canyon National Park, United States
Located in southern Utah, the Bryce Canyon National Park is not actually a canyon, but rather a giant natural amphitheater created by erosion along the eastern side of the Paunsaugunt Plateau. A series of natural amphitheaters extends for more than 20 miles (30 km) within the park, with the largest being the Bryce Amphitheater. It is approximately 12 miles long (19 km), 3 miles wide (5 km), 800 feet deep (240 m), and is filled with irregularly eroded spires of rocks called hoodoos. The hoodoos were formed from wind, water, and ice erosion of the river and lakebed sedimentary rocks that date back to around 50 million years.
Source
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Q: Of the three ethnogeographic groupings that make up the Pacific Islands, which island grouping covers the largest area?
Stay tuned for the answer to today’s question in tomorrow’s DailyGeo.
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