Syria's Cities

SYRIA, a Middle Eastern country located east of Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea, south of Turkey, northeast of Israel, north of Jordan, and west of Iraq, has several major population centers like other countries in the Middle East and Asia. Aleppo (Ḥalab in Arabic) is the largest city with over 2 million residents. Damascus (Dimashq), located in the southern part of the country near Lebanon, is the capital and second largest city with a population of almost 2 million (as of this post). The cities with populations between 100,000 and 1 million are Ar Raqqah, Hamath (Ḥamāh), the third largest city of Homs (Ḥimṣ), and the coastal city of Latakia (Al-Lādhiqīyah). The people of Syria are still encountering extreme hardships as a result of the civil war and the Assad government which severely restricted freedoms for them. Most Syrians are Muslims.

Line of Severe Storms in Some States

Weather as of 9:40 P.M. Central Time/10:40 P.M. Eastern Time
TORNADO WARNINGS have been issued for eastern and northeast Arkansas, northeast Louisiana, eastern Missouri, and southern Illinois. TORNADO WATCHES are in effect until 1 A.M. Central Time for much of Arkansas, southern Illinois and Indiana, western Kentucky, northern Lousiana, norhwest Mississippi, southeast Missouri, MCCURTAIN County in southeast Oklahoma, western Tennessee, and eastern Texas.

Direction of Storms: The line of storms is heading mainly east, but also heading northeast. It is coming towards southern Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee.
Visit www.weather.gov for the latest updates as warnings expire and change.

Weather Update | January 26, 2013

Updated 5:45 P.M. Eastern Time

Visit Weather.gov (opens in new tab/window) for the latest United States weather.

Observing the national weather, there are Winter Storm Warnings issued in parts of southwest Colorado, northeast Iowa, southeast Minnesota, east-central Nevada, northern New Mexico, and western Wisconsin. In southern Alaska in the area of the town of Valdez, there is a Blizzard Warning until 9 A.M. Sunday. Northern New Hampshire and Maine is under a Wind Chill Advisory (the wind chill may make temperatures feel like -20 to -29 degrees in the night), while a smaller section of northern Maine is under a Wind Chill Warning (the wind chill may make temperatures feel as cold as -35). Winter Weather Advisories are found in several locations, including Indiana (complete weather update discussed in detail below).

Indiana Weather Update
These weather advisories and watches are issued almost a day in advance; they are for the weather on Sunday, not today. Twenty-four Northern Indiana counties, which are shown in blue gradients in my map, have a Winter Weather Advisory. LAKE and PORTER counties (dark blue) in Northwest Indiana have a Winter Storm Watch. BENTON, JASPER, and NEWTON counties (light blue counties under Lake and Porter counties) have a Freezing Rain Advisory. In all three weather alerts, sleet and freezing rain may cause difficult, slippery road conditions for Sunday. Western counties would be impacted beginning in the early afternoon on Sunday. Counties under the Winter Weather Advisory will be impacted starting late afternoon and into the evening.

What in the World? Country #6

First off, let me introduce you to my geographical location: I am in Eastern Europe! I am divided into two administrative divisions; I cannot tell you what one of them is because my name is part of the admin. division's name, but the other one is the Serbian Republic (Republika Srpska), which aptly borders Serbia. My capital is Sarajevo; can you guess who I am yet? I have one of the lowest urbanization rates in Europe, yet I have several cities with populations between 100,000 and 1 million. I border only three countries: Serbia as I mentioned earlier, and also Croatia and Montenegro. While I am mainly landlocked, I am fortunate to have at least a little bit of access to the Adiatric Sea. Do you know who I am? Let's find out...scroll down for the answer!















Answer: BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA!

Weather Update | Lake Effect Snow

Six counties in Northern Indiana and two counties in Southwest Michigan have advisories and warnings of lake effect snow that is falling until around 7 A.M. Eastern time, according to National Weather Service Northern Indiana. 2 to 5 inches of snow and more can fall in these counties. The Indiana counties of LAPORTE and SAINT JOSEPH and Michigan's BERRIEN county are under a Lake Effect Snow WARNING. This signifies that these counties will receive the most snow due to their proximity to Lake Michigan. In addition, winds may make visibility low and ice may form on roads to cause hazardous road conditions. The National Weather Service advises people not to travel if they don't absolutely have to. ELKHART, MARSHALL, PORTER, and STARKE counties in Indiana and CASS county in Michigan are under a Lake Effect Snow Advisory. This is less severe than the warning, but traveling may still be difficult.

***Quick National Update: Wind Chill Advisory for upper Great Plains states; Wind Chill Advisory and Wind Chill Warning for New England states; Winter Storm Watch for southern Appalachian states. This map was created from Daniel Dalet's original Indiana template @ d-maps.com.

Some Facts About Benin

Located in West Africa, BENIN is a small and vertically skinny country west of Nigeria and east of Togo, another skinny country. The capital, Porto-Novo, is located near the Atlantic Ocean coast and above a river that runs parallel to the coastline. Over 60% of the population has less than $2 per day to live off of as of 2011, according to the National Geographic atlas cited below. The population is expected to grow more than 100% by the year 2050. The percent of people living in urban areas is relatively low, but may rise as people continue to go to cities like Porto-Novo and Cotonou to find better economic opportunities. The largest sector of the economy is services. The official language is French, but Fon and Yoruba — among other languages — are present as well.

>>> Visit my Benin post to learn more!

***Credit for Statistics: National Geographic Collegiate Atlas of the World. Second Edition. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, 2011.

When and How Will Africa Reach Prosperity?

SENEGAL, a French-speaking country that surrounds almost all of Gambia in West Africa, shares with many other African countries a story of unfortunate circumstances. While Senegal is actually considered somewhat prosperous in comparison to extremely poor countries, its people are nevertheless burdened with poverty, malnourishment, and an overall lack of economic opportunities, among other things. About 1/2 of Senegal's total population is not employed, while almost 40% cannot read. LESOTHO, in Southern Africa, has a relatively high literacy rate of over 80%. Unfortunately, the Kingdom in the Sky suffers with poverty, HIV/AIDS, and soil erosion, not to mention a lack of clean water partially due to the Highlands Water Project distributing a vast water supply to South Africa's industrial and population centers. Lesotho and Senegal are far away, but share similar hopes and dreams. Bringing about improvements in the economy, food/water situation, and employment is possible if governments invest in the important causes that will truly benefit the people and non-profit organizations continue to act out their gracious service. Statues and monuments would not be part of this, but organizing government-sponsored career fairs, donating bottled water or building wells, and investing in start-up businesses would be important and great strides towards prosperity and well-being. The possibilities are endless with a little bit of organization and creativity. The government of Lesotho started a positive initiative in which patients with AIDS/HIV can receive necessary treatment/shots at little to no cost. It is enlightening to notice that the people themselves are trying to make beneficial change, and that is important. In Senegal, hip hop artists and rappers joined together in a movement called Y'en A Marre to express their concerns for their country through powerful means. They influence fellow Senegalese citizens to vote, support each other, voice their concerns, and be willing to make changes for a better future. With glimmers of hope that do indeed shine across the continent of Africa, I am optimistic that the people of Africa will one day obtain prosperity!

Some Facts About Burkina Faso

BURKINA FASO, located in West Africa, is a small country that borders six countries. It is located north of, from left to right, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, and Benin. Burkina Faso is south of Mali and west of the southwestern panhandle of Niger. Ouagadougou is the capital and was a destination for a previous season of CBS's popular The Amazing Race, hosted by Phil Keoghan. The country's population is about 18.6 million, and it achieved independence from France in the year 1960.

UNESCO-Registered Site Preserves Nature & History

The Cedars of Lebanon, also known as The Forest of the Cedars of God (Horsh Arz el-Rab in Lebanese Arabic), is a UNESCO-registered forest located in northern LEBANON, a country that borders the Mediterranean Sea and located north of Israel and west of Syria. Like many countries, Lebanon had a high deforestation rate, so much of the country lacks huge forest systems. Luckily, the Cedars of Lebanon remains and now is preserved. This site earned a UNESCO designation since 1998 for another reason besides natural preservation. According to the Forest of the Cedars of God UNESCO page (opens in new window or tab), the Lebanon Cedar (Cedrus lebani) has a biblical significance - a clue given by the long name of the forest! As the website explains, the tree has been mentioned in the Bible at least 100 times and was a valued source for wood in ancient and Biblical times. The Lebanon Cedar tree is a national symbol for Lebanon and is present on the country's flag and currency.

F Countries

The A to Z categories are based on the English language and inadvertently might not include all native country names.

There are only three countries in the world that start with the letter F. Two of them are in Europe, while the other one is in Oceania, the general name for a vast collection of island countries in the Pacific Ocean. Another country in Oceania could be considered an F country: the Federated States of MICRONESIA (FSM), also simply known as Micronesia.

FIJI: Located north of New Zealand, west of Tonga, east of Vanuatu and New Caledonia (belongs to France), and south of Tuvalu, Fiji is located in the South Pacific Ocean about 1,800 miles east of the Cape York Peninsula in northern Australia. The capital, Suva, is located on the southeastern coast of the oval-shaped Viti Levu, the largest island in Fiji.

Visit my Fiji post to learn more about Fiji!

FINLAND: One of the most northernmost countries in Europe, Finland is east of Sweden and the Gulf of Bothnia, west of Russia, and north of Estonia and the Gulf of Finland. Norway borders the northern part of Finland. Helsinki, the capital with a population greater than 1 million in the total metropolitan area, is situated along the southern coast. A web of highways connect Helsinki with cities located among thousands of lakes in Central Finland.

Visit my Finland post to learn more about Finland!

FRANCE: A well-known developed nation in Western Europe, France borders seven countries. It is north of Andorra, northeast of Spain, south/southwest of Belgium, southwest of Germany and Luxembourg, and west of Italy and Switzerland. It is separated from the United Kingdom to the north by the English Channel. Paris, the economically and financially powerful capital located in northern France, has a population greater than 2 million.

Visit my France post to learn more about France!

Suriname's Disputed Borders

SURINAME, a small country in the northern part of South America whose capital is Paramaribo, claims areas of land to the west and east of the southern portion of the country. To the west, Suriname claims a triangular piece of land that stretches less than 150 miles wide. It is currently part of Guyana and expands to the west at New River. To the east, Suriname claims part of French Guiana, an overseas region belonging to France. Gold was found in the area of land that stretches from the Litani River (current border) east to a branch of the Maroni River within French Guiana.

Guyana's Highest Mountain & Nearby Features

Located at the only point where GUYANA borders both Venezuela and Brazil, Mount Roraima is the tallest mountain in the Pakaraima Mountains. Roraima, which stands at over 9,000 feet (more than 2,700 meters), is located in the western end of the mountain range and in Western Guyana. On the Venezuelan side of the border, two important features are present immediately west of Mount Roraima: a national park (Parque Nacional Canaima) and a river (Cuquenán River) that flows to the significant Orinoco River. The Cuquenán flows to the west then north towards the horizontal Orinoco, which then disperses into a delta that connects it to the Atlantic Ocean. For reference, Mount Roraima is located east/southeast of the magnificent Angel Falls.

***The in-depth source I used for reference: Hammond World Atlas. Sixth Edition. Hammond World Atlas Corporation, 2010.

Capital of Burundi

(Post updated in 2021) Quick GeoFact: The capital of BURUNDI, a small country situated along the Great Rift Valley in Central Africa, was formerly Bujumbura. This city is in the western part of Burundi, east of the northern part of Lake Tanganyika. Located more towards the center in Burundi is Gitega, the national and legislative capital since January 2019.

I hope you are having a great start to the year 2013! If your resolution for the new year involves learning more, this is the blog to go to — at least for geography knowledge!