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Netherlands
Leaders Gather for NATO Summit
Members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) gathered yesterday in The Hague, Netherlands, to begin their annual summit. Currently, NATO has 32 member states from Europe and North America, including three nuclear powers: the U.S., U.K., and France. At the top of this year’s agenda is a U.S.-backed proposal for NATO members to commit to spending 3.5% of national economic output on defense, and 1.5% on “defense-related expenditure”. This totals 5% of GDP spending on military and defense, more than double the current NATO guidelines which stands at 2%, a target not met by eight out of 32 countries in 2024. NATO members have agreed to reach the 5% target by 2035. Alongside the bid to increase defense spending, NATO members are also set to discuss Ukraine’s potential membership, and the recent U.S. strikes on Iran.
This map depicts the 30 European member countries of NATO. Click on the map to learn more.
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Graphic Source: Anadolu Ajansı
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United States
‘Alligator Alcatraz’ in Everglades
Florida is moving forward with a controversial plan to build a $450 million immigration detention center, dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz”, in the environmentally sensitive Everglades. The facility will be located at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport, about 36 miles (58 km) from Miami, and funded largely by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) shelter and services program. State officials mention that its location will deter escape. It is expected to house an estimated 5,000 undocumented migrants. Critics, including Miami-Dade’s mayor and environmental groups, warn the project threatens Native land and a globally significant ecosystem that sustains Miami’s water supply. The plan echoes earlier abandoned projects at the site, such as the failed 1968 Everglades Jetport.
This map depicts the planned migrant detention center site at Dade-Collier Airport, in Florida’s Everglades. Click on the map to learn more.
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Graphic Source: The U.S. Sun
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Ethiopia
Magma Pulses Pulling Africa Apart
Geologists have found that magma surging underneath Ethiopia’s Afar region is causing a rhythmic pulsating as part of a process that appears will eventually pull the African continent apart. Afar sits on the junction of three different tectonic plates, the Arabian, Nubian, and Somalian. The Arabian plate is being gradually pulled northeast while the Somalian is being pulled eastward. Eventually, the rifts between the plates in Afar will be pulled open enough that the surface of the earth will collapse there, creating a new inlet of the sea. On a timescale of millions of years, that inlet will create a whole new body of water as large segments of East Africa are pulled from the main body of the continent.
This map depicts where magma is pulsing beneath Ethiopia’s Afar region, as part of a process that should eventually separate several tectonic plates Africa, tearing the continent apart and creating a new large body of water. Click on the map to learn more.
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Q: What African mountains were dubbed the “Mountains of the Moon,” and presumed to be the source of the Nile River?
A: Rwenzori Mountains
The Rwenzori mountains in Uganda, which are home to six of the highest mountains in Africa, are better known to many as ‘the Mountains of the Moon’. The highest peak of the Rwenzori reaches 16,762 feet (5,109 m), and the range’s upper regions are permanently snow-capped and glaciated. The Rwenzori Mountains run north to south for about 75 to 80 miles (120 to 130 km) in between two lakes, Lake Albert and Lake Edward. and have a breadth of around 30 to 40 miles (50 to 65 km). The “Mountains of the Moon” is an ancient term used to describe the mountain range from which the Nile River comes (this term was described by the Greek scholar Ptolemy of the 2nd Century C.E.). Since it is believed that the streams from the Rwenzori Mountains actually make up one of the sources of the Nile, it is generally accepted that the Rwenzori are the Mountains of the Moon of ancient times.
Source
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Q: What country faces the most hurricanes each year?
Stay tuned for the answer to today’s question in tomorrow’s DailyGeo.
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