January 26, 2011

China to create world's largest mega city

From the Telegraph:

China to create largest mega city in the world with 42 million people

The proposal suggests merging all of the cities around the Pearl River Delta. The largest currently are Guangzhou (Canton) and Shenzhen the young supercity located adjacent to Hong Kong. The reason for the merger is to make it easier for citizens and businesses to navigate through bureaucracy.

January 19, 2011

Music Geography: Spanish Castle Magic

According to the lyrics of Spanish Castle Magic by The Jimi Hendrix Experience:

It's very far away
It takes about a half a day to get there
If we travel by my, dragonfly
No it's not in Spain
But all the same, you know, it's a groovy name
And the wind's just right, Hey!


So if it is not in Spain, where is it?

It was in located in the Midway area of then unincorporated King County, Washington (now Des Moines), almost exactly halfway between Seattle and Tacoma, from 1931 to 1968.


Pacific Northwest Bands: The Spanish Castle


Historylink: Spanish Castle Ballroom

Geographical Oddities: Two Ocean Pass

Located in NW Wyoming along the Continental Divide is Two Ocean Pass. The pass is notable for a creek that splits into two equal distributary branches. One flows west towards the Pacific Ocean and another flows east towards the Atlantic Ocean.

The Parting of the Waters National Landmark

Parting of the Waters (Wikipedia)


Parting of the Waters (USends.com)



(Credit: US Forest Service)

TV Geography: Hardcore Pawn

Here is the location of American Jewelry and Loan in Detroit, site of the TV show Hardcore Pawn.



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January 16, 2011

TV Geography: Ax Men - Season 4 - Rygaard Logging

Port Angeles, Washington based Rygaard Logging is logging a tract on Bigler Mountain, just west of Lake Crescent on the Olympic Peninsula.


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Back in December the Port Angeles Daily News ran an article on the Rygaard crew:

Port Angeles 'Ax Men' back in the spotlight

TV Geography: Ax Men - Season 4 - Papac Logging

This season of Ax Men features a crew from SE Alaska. Papac Alaska Logging is logging a tract on Suemez Island. Papac is based out of Klawock, which is located on the 4th largest island in the US, Prince of Wales Island.



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January 15, 2011

Random Place of the Day: Moki Dugway, Utah

Moki Dugway

Originally built to transport uranium ore, Moki Dugway is a well graded series of switchbacks that descend 1,100 feet from the rim of a mesa. It is a section of Utah State Route 261.

TV Geography: NFL Playoffs 2011 - Divisional Round

Here are all the sites of this week's playoff games:

Baltimore vs. Pittsburgh - Heinz Field (Pittsburgh, PA)

Green Bay vs. Atlanta - Georgia Dome (Atlanta, GA)

Seattle vs. Chicago - Soldier Field (Chicago, IL)

New York Jets vs. New England - Gillette Stadium (Foxboro, MA)

January 13, 2011

The growth of U.S. border airports

Over the past few years, some airports along the United States-Canada border have seen unprecedented passenger numbers. Bellingham (WA) Intl. Airport, located within 45 miles of most of the Vancouver metro area, and Plattsburgh (NY) Intl. Airport, about 60 miles south of Montreal have grown quickly by attracting Canadian passengers looking to save money and avoid customs hassles at the airport. Las Vegas based Allegiant Airlines carries a majority of passengers at both airports. Recently Alaska Airlines has increased flights out of Bellingham with a daily Honolulu route.

Other airports trying to capitalize on Canadian fliers are Grand Forks (ND) Intl. Airport and Niagara Falls (NY) Intl. Airport. Burlington Intl. Airport in Vermont had success at attracting Canadian travelers, but has lost ground to Plattsburgh, a former Air Force base turned commercial airport.

Alaska Airlines celebrates first Bellingham-Hawaii flight

Air Canada Wants U.S. Airports to Stop Snatching Canuck Passengers


Allegiant Air CEO talks to USA Today

Spirit Airlines to serve Niagara Falls airport

Losing (passengers) to North Dakota



Bellingham Intl. statistics

Plattsburgh Intl. statistics

Grand Forks Intl. statistics

TV Geography: Mantracker - Season 5 - Episode 8

In this episode Mantracker chases a pair of actors (Dylan and Travis) in British Columbia's historic Cariboo mining region. The pair spend the night and come close to capture in the historic town of Barkerville. The finish line is the sign for Wells, just east of the lake.


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Impressive photos of Mt. Etna eruption

The Daily Mail has impressive photos of the Wednesday eruption of Italy's Mt. Etna:

Red sky at night ... Mt. Etna erupts in spectacular fashion


Here is Mt. Etna's location on Sicily:


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Random Place of the Day: Cloudcroft, New Mexico

Located at an elevation 8,600 feet above sea level, Cloudcroft, New Mexico is one of the highest populated places in the United States. Located high above the deserts of south central New Mexico, Cloudcroft and the surrounding mountains have become a popular place for people to go to escape the heat.

History of Cloudcroft



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18 miles south of Cloudcroft is Sunspot, New Mexico home to many observatories including the National Solar Observatory and Apache Point Observatory. The University of Washington, one of the universities that shares the facilities at Apache Point, has more information here.