Geography Awareness Week

Geography Awareness Week is November 16 - 22, 2008.

My Wonderful World - Geography Awareness Week website

The Geography Awareness Week website describes this program in the following way: "Launched in 1987 by presidential proclamation, Geography Awareness Week is held the third week of each November, promoting the importance of geography education in the United States."

Also of note this week is National Geographic's Geography Action!:

National Geographic - Geography Action

The website describes Geography Action in the following way: "For more than a century, the National Geographic Society has fostered awareness of the world’s diverse cultures and environments. The tradition continues with Geography Action! , an annual awareness program that helps educators promote geographic fluency in schools and communities across the United States and Canada."

The week spotlights the importance of a foundational geographic knowledge in this increasingly globalized world in which we live.

The following survey shows how Americans in general need a more thorough grounding in geographic literacy:
National Geographic-Roper Survey 2006

If you want to know many fun ways in which you can celebrate Geography Awareness Week, have a look at the following article I wrote on eHow.com:
How to Celebrate Geography Awareness Week

And here is a link to an article I wrote in 2006 about the poor state of global geographic knowledge among young people in the U.S.A.:
Geographic Knowledge in America is Severely Lacking

Therefore, after reading that op-ed, if you are now looking for a fun way to build your geographic literacy and knowledge, have a look at my Geo Mania World website where you can access a wide variety of free online geography and geographic knowledge games:
Geo Mania World - Free Geography Games and Map Quizzes

Geography on YouTube!

Here are some interesting videos about geography and geographic topics discovered on youtube.com:

Geography Tutor - Map Skills:



Geography Tutor - Types of Maps and Map Projections:



Geography Tutor - Map and Globe Terms:



The Nations of the World:



Fifty State Capitals:

Fun Ways to Build Geographic Literacy and Knowledge "Hubpage"

Check out this "hub" about Fun Ways to Build Geographic Literacy and Knowledge and GeoManiaWorld, on hubpages.com:

• Fun Ways to Build Geographic Literacy and Knowledge

This site contains a variety of resources for geography fans, including various geography links, a live feed from the GeoManiaWorld blog, great geography stuff on Amazon.com, fun geography youtube.com videos, geography news posts from Yahoo news, a guestbook, and more.

Check it out!

Geographic Superlatives

Well, it's about time for some more lists. This time I'm talking about geographic superlatives of the world - the highest, lowest, wettest, driest, longest, shortest, biggest, smallest, etc. of Earth's physical features. This is the type of information you will traditionally find in an Almanac. So, here we go:

Hottest, Coldest, Wettest, and Driest:
-Hottest Place: Dalol, Denakil Depression, Ethiopia, annual average temperature (93.2°F, 34°C).
-Coldest Place: Plateau Station, Antarctica, annual average temperature (-56.7°C).
-Wettest Place: Mawsynram, Assam, India, annual average rainfall (11,873 mm, 467.4"); Mt. Waialeale on Hawaii's Kauai Island is also a contender with an estimated 472" of rainfall in a year.
-Driest Place: Atacama Desert, Chile, imperceptible rainfall on a yearly basis.

Highest points on each continent:
-Mount Everest 8850m (29035ft) Asia
-Aconcagua 6959m (22831ft) S. America
-Mount McKinley 6194m (20320ft) N. America
-Mount Kilimanjaro 5963m (19563ft) Africa
-Mount Elbrus 5633m (18481ft) Europe
-Puncak Jaya 4884m (16023ft) Oceania
-Vinson Massif 4897m (16066ft) Antarctica

Lowest points on each continent (below sea level):
-Dead Sea, Asia -409 meters
-Lake Assal, Africa -156 meters
-Death Valley, North America -86 meters
-Valdés Peninsula, South America -40 meters
-Caspian Sea, Europe -28 meters
-Lake Eyre, Australia -16 meters
-Antarctica (ice covered) -2,538 meters

Deepest ocean depths:
-Mariana Trench, Pacific Ocean 35,827 ft
-Puerto Rico Trench, Atlantic Ocean 30,246 ft
-Java Trench, Indian Ocean 24,460 ft
-Arctic Basin, Arctic Ocean 18,456 ft

Deepest lakes:
-Baikal, Russian Fed. (5,315 ft)
-Tanganyika, Africa (4,800 ft)
-Caspian Sea, Asia-Europe (3,363 ft)
-Malawi or Nyasa, Africa (2,317 ft)
-Issyk-Kul, Kyrgyzstan (2,303 ft)

Driest inhabited places (rainfall in inches per year):
-Aswan, Egypt 0.02"
-Luxor, Egypt 0.03"
-Arica Desert, Chile 0.04"
-Ica, Peru 0.1"
-Antofagasta, Chile 0.2"
-El Minya, Egypt 0.2"
-Asyut, Egypt 0.2"

Wettest inhabited places (rainfall in inches per year):
-Buenaventira, Colombia 267"
-Monrovia, Liberia 202"
-Pago Pago, American Samoa 198"
-Moulein, Burma (Myanmar 192"
-Lae, Papua New Guinea 183"
-Baguio, Philippines180"
-Sylhet, Bangladesh 178"

Largest deserts of the world:
(Subtropical):
Sahara, North Africa 3,500,000 sq. miles
Arabian, Middle East 1,000,000 sq. miles
Great Victoria, Australia 250,000 sq. miles
Rub'al Khali, Middle East 250,000 sq. miles
Kalahari, Southern Africa 225,000 sq. miles
Syrian, Middle East 200,000 sq. miles
Chihuahuan, Mexico 175,000 sq. miles
Thar, India/Pakistan175,000 sq. miles
Great Sandy, Australia 150,000 sq. miles
Gibson, Australia 120,000 sq. miles
Sonoran, S.W. USA 120,000 sq. miles
Mohave, S,W, USA 54,000 sq. miles
(Cool Coastal):
Atacama, Chile SA 54,000 sq. miles
Namib, S.W. Africa 13,000 sq. miles
(Cold Winter):
Gobi, China 500,000 sq. miles
Patagonian, Argentina 260,000 sq. miles
Great Basin, S.W. USA 190,000 sq. miles
Kara-Kum, West Asia 135,000 sq. miles
Colorado, Western USA 130,000 sq. miles
(also called the Painted Desert)
Taklamakan, China 105,000 sq. miles
Iranian, Iran 100,000 sq. miles

Geography Fun and Games "Lens"

Check out this "lens" about Geography Fun & Games and GeoManiaWorld, on squidoo.com:

• Geography Fun and Games - An Introduction to Geography and GeoManiaWorld

This site contains a variety of resources for geography fans, including various geography links, a geography travel poll, a live feed from the GeoManiaWorld blog, great geography stuff on Amazon.com, geography photography on flickr.com, new geography youtube.com videos, geography news posts from Google, a guestbook, and more.

Check it out!

States, Provinces, Capitals, and Countries

Brushing up on your knowledge of capital cities, states, provinces, and countries is always a good idea to maintain your geographic literacy and knowledge of geography facts. With that in mind, here are a few links to some articles about states, provinces, capitals, and countries, of various regions of the world:

• How to Know the U.S. States and Capitals
• How to Know Canada's Provinces and Provincial Capitals
• How to Know China's Provinces and Provincial Capitals
• How to Know the Subdivisions of the United Kingdom and Their Capitals
• How to Know Mexico's States and Capitals
• How to Know South America's Countries and Capitals
• How to Know Central America's Countries and Capitals
• How to Know the Caribbean's Countries, Territories, and Capitals

More GeoManiaWorld Updates

Check out the latest updates and modification to the GeoManiaWorld - Geography Trivia Games and Map Quizzes website:
GeoManiaWorld - Geography Trivia Games and Map Quizzes

Test your geographic knowledge and skill - and help build and improve your geographic literacy - with a variety of fun and challenging free online geography map and trivia games. Have fun!

Why Geography?

Why Geography?

In this modern age, haven't all earth's locations been found, named, and mapped? Just about.

So, why geography?

The citizens of many of the world's countries still don't realize that ignorance of geography can affect their political stability, economic success, and environmental health. Sure, it's important to know where things are located. But even more important is learning in what ways those places are affected by their environments and their population. That, too, is geography.

Our survival is dependent on our awareness of things like where the greatest amount of carbon dioxide is being produced and where the rain forests are being destroyed. It would help us to know why terrorists want to attack. To help tsunami survivors we need to know something about the places affected. Geography is fundamental to all these things.

It's easy to see why people believe the myth that geography is only mapmaking, map reading, and knowing where everything is. For instance, TV game show contestants will be asked questions such as "what is the river that flows through Zambezi, Zambia?" In cases like this, the answer can be known by having studied a map. Knowledge of where places and events are located is important and useful. Knowing where something happened gives the event more significance.

Perhaps you've heard this story: A high school student in the United States applied to a domestic university. The admissions employee that reviewed and denied the application noted that the applicant needed to go through the foreign admissions office. The student was from New Mexico.

Geography is so much more than knowing where something is or happened. Do you know the capital of Bolivia? The answer is La Paz and Sucre -- two different places. Here's why: In 1899 Bolivia's Conservative Party was overthrown by the Liberal Party during the Federal Revolution. Tin mining, which was in the area of La Paz, had become an important industry for the country, and tin entrepreneurs supported the Liberals. So, the Liberals wanted to move the capital from Sucre to La Paz. They only partially succeeded. The constitutional capital is now Sucre and the administrative capital is La Paz. Now that you know the "why," you are much more likely to remember the "where."

A set of eighteen learning standards has been created for the science of geography. These eighteen standards are separated into six essential elements:

Physical Systems
1. The physical actions that create the patterns of earth's surface
2. The features and spatial distribution of ecosystems on earth's surface

Places and Regions
3. The material and human attributes of places
4. That people form regions to decode earth's complexity
5. How culture and experience influence people's understanding of places and regions

The World in Spatial Terms
6. How to use maps and other geographic tools and techniques to obtain, process, and describe information from a spatial viewpoint
7. How to use mental maps to organize data about people, places, and environments in a spatial context
8. How to study the spatial arrangement of people, places, and environments on earth's surface

Human Systems
9. The features, dispersion, and migration of human populations on earth's surface
10. The features, dispersion, and intricacy of earth's cultural mosaics
11. The patterns and networks of economic interdependence on earth's surface
12. The processes, patterns, and functions of human settlement
13. How the forces of cooperation and conflict among people influence the division and control of earth's surface

The Uses of Geography
14. How to apply geography to interpret the past
15. How to apply geography to interpret the present and plan for the future

Environment and Society
16. How human actions change the physical environment
17. How physical systems affect human systems
18. The changes that occur in the meaning, use, distribution, and importance of resources

Author:
by James Chartwell
J. Chartwell has developed Maps GPS Info.com which provides practical information on GPS and maps that everyone can use. The website includes product reviews and a maps/GPS glossary.
Visit http://www.maps-gps-info.com/gp.html

Terms: Articles may be reprinted provided content is not edited and links are kept live
Source: www.articledepot.co.uk

Longest Rivers in the World

Well, here's another list - this time related to the natural environment. This is a list of the longest rivers in the world. However, you'll quickly note that rivers aren't only important to the natural environment. They may be viewed as the arteries and lifelines of continents. Rivers not only drain large areas of land, but they also allow for human use by allowing transportation and the movement of people, resources, and goods across continents. Rivers also grant shipping access to and from the world's oceans. As you can see, rivers are an important environmental feature for many reasons. In this listing, I list the River name, length in miles and kilometers, and the body of water for the river's outflow. So, here is the list of the world's longest and most important rivers.

The River Nile at Aswan, Egypt

1. Nile, 4135 mi, 6650 km, Mediterranean Sea
2. Amazon, 3980 mi, 6400 km, Atlantic Ocean
3. Yangtze (Chiang Jiang), 3917 mi, 6300 km, East China Sea
4. Mississippi/Missouri, 3902 mi, 6275 km, Gulf of Mexico
5. Yenisei/Angara/Selenga, 3445 mi, 5539 km, Kara Sea
6. Yellow (Huang He), 3398 mi, 5464 km, Bohai Sea
7. Ob/Irtysh, 3364 mi, 5410 km, Gulf of Ob
8. Congo/Chambeshi, 2922 mi, 4700 km, Atlantic Ocean
9. Amur/Argun, 2763 mi, 4444 km, Sea of Okhotsk
10. Lena, 2736 mi, 4400 km, Laptev Sea
11. Mekong, 2705 mi, 4350 km, South China Sea
12. Mackenzie/Peace/Finlay, 2637 mi, 4241 km, Beaufort Sea
13. Niger, 2611 mi, 4200 km, Gulf of Guinea
14. Parana (Rio de la Plata), 2486 mi, 3998 km, Atlantic Ocean
15. Volga, 2266 mi, 3645 km, Caspian Sea

Amazon River Landscape, South America

Yangtze River (Chang Jiang), People's Republic of China

For a much longer and more detailed listing of the longest rivers in the world, see this article:
List of Rivers by Length

GeoManiaWorld Updates

Check out the latest updates and modification to the GeoManiaWorld - Geography Trivia Games and Map Quizzes website:
GeoManiaWorld - Geography Trivia Games and Map Quizzes

There is a now a random geo fact that changes with each browser refresh, and there are more links to more cool sites with free online geography games! Check it out!

Also, check back in with the blog soon as I will get back to updating it more often (I've been out of town a good bit over the past couple of weeks).

GeoManiaWorld - Geo Games and Trivia Resources

Don't forget to check out all the cool geography trivia and map game resources located at the other GeoManiaWorld site:
GeoManiaWorld - Geography Trivia Games and Map Quizzes

Start building or strengthening your geographic literacy and geographic knowledge. And have fun all at the same time!

Geography Trivia and Games

Check out the companion site to the GeoManiaWorld Blog:
GeoManiaWorld - Geography Trivia Games and Map Quizzes

Here is an example of just one of the many geography trivia and map games you will find on GeoManiaWorld:

The GeoManiaWorld companion site is designed to provide you with many fun and exciting resources in one place to help you build and maintain your geographic literacy and geographic knowledge. Check back often for more updates and to see how the site expands beyond the pages of knowledge and trivia games.