I spent a good chunk of time in my formative undergraduate years in the concrete confines of Temple Hall. Partly because it had a cozy nook at the ground level which I used for various study sessions and last minute reading and also because I minored in Geography. I know, you thought that was a class you took in middle school, but apparently some people will let you get a degree in the subject. Geography allowed me to take my love of maps and topographic features to new, incredibly geeky, heights. Here's just a few pictures of some of my favorite and most interesting things on Earth.
Mount Roraima - Is part of a larger plateau that marks the converging borders of Guyana, Brazil and Venezuela. Mount Roraima is the highest elevation in that plateau chain. Mountains have shaped the history and spread of human culture for the entirety of our short history on Earth.
Merapi - A stratovolcano in Indonesia known for some nasty eruptions complete with pyroclastic flows. Beautifully deadly, the Javanese culture believe it to be the home of two spirits, Empu Rama and Empu Permadi.
Cahokia, Monk's Mound - It may look quaint (and perhaps a bit unspectacular) but Cahokia was an ancient Native American city and this mound is the third largest pyramid in the world (by volume). Cahokia serves as a reminder that cultures and civilizations use what is available to them. The Mississippian culture didn't have ready access to iron or stone which is why there was no "iron-age" and their pyramids weren't made of stone which, in turn, is one of the reasons many people thought/think their civilization so "primitive"...this is incorrect. It's population was larger than London at the time (c. 1250 CE) and the engineering that went into building the city would have rivaled anywhere else in the world.
An artist's rendering of Cahokia in it's prime, Monk's Mound being the big pyramid. You can also see "woodhenge" on the left of the rendering which is reproduced at the site of Cahokia today.
Masai Mara National Reserve - The most well-known and acclaimed African reserve, Masai Mara also carries the distinction of maintaining a functioning Masai culture in the bounds of the reserve. It's an interesting contrast to the American notion of wilderness and nature in National Parks that maintains an absence of human settlement.
Aral Sea - The Aral Sea today is less than a fifth the size it was in the 60's when the Soviet Union began damming rivers that emptied into the sea. The environmental degradation that resulted from human decisions stands as one of Earth's most poignant reminders of the ability of humans to affect this little planet.
A side by side comparison from 1977, 1989 and 2006.
Mount Washington - As mountains go, Washington isn't particularly high nor does it display any spectacularly original features. What Washington is home to, however, is some of the most erratic weather ever recorded on Earth. Temperatures have been recorded as low as -50 (that's without a wind chill) and the mountain held the record for highest surface wind speed at 231 mph from 1934 to 1996. Things can get hairy up there.
I imagine, for the majority of human beings, geography isn't the most stimulating of topics but the impact our world has on human interaction and vice versa should remind us of the power that place has on the human psyche. To this day my first drive up a mountain still stands out in my memory. It was the middle of summer in Colorado and we were able to drive high enough to find snow sitting on the ground. I had found my paradise (I love snow). Anyway, geography (and sometimes even geology...but only sometimes) is cool.
Disclaimer: Most of the images were just google searched. I was once told something about being a great writer and stealing from other people and that being okay. I'm not a great writer so please don't sue me or shut down my little blog.
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