Indiana West Nile Update | August 28th, 2013

Ten more counties have confirmed the West Nile Virus in mosquitoes, albeit the risk of WNV is still very low in these counties. They are Bartholomew, Blackford, Boone, Clark, Floyd, Henry, Huntington, Porter, Posey, and Warrick. The Indiana State Department of Health's Arboviral Disease Map always have the latest updates.

Indiana West Nile Update | August 26th, 2013

As of Monday, August 26th, according to the Indiana State Department of Health's Arboviral Disease Map, another set of nine counties confirmed that mosquitoes sent for lab testing have the West Nile Virus. Still, the WNV is definitely not widespread — a small percentage of mosquitoes have the WNV. Likewise, Hoosiers are still at a low risk. Colored in white in the map, the nine counties are Cass, Elkhart, Howard, Johnson, Miami, Owen, Perry, Shelby, and Spencer. Cass, Howard, and Miami are the three bordering counties in North-Central Indiana. Elkhart County is in Northern Indiana and the Michiana region. Johnson, Owen, and Shelby counties are in South-Central Indiana, while Perry and Spencer counties are found along the Ohio River in Southern Indiana.

Basics About Burundi

The small Central African country of BURUNDI is located to the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, south of Rwanda, and west of Tanzania. Lake Tanganyika forms the western border of Burundi. The national capital city was Bujumbura but is now Gitega since January 2019.

Some Facts about Antigua and Barbuda

ANTIGUA and BARBUDA is a small island country in the eastern fringe of the Caribbean Sea, and the Atlantic Ocean is to the right. Antigua is the largest and southernmost island, while Barbuda is second largest and located to the north. The capital, Saint John's, is located in the northern part of Antigua.

Find out more about Antigua and Barbuda with this post!

Did you know? The highest point of the country was formerly called Boggy Peak, but has a new name: Mount Obama. Of course, the mountain was renamed when President Obama became the leader for the United States!

P Countries

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

There are nine 'P' countries scattered across five continents. The continents that the countries are located in are Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania (large territory of islands usually grouped with Australia), and South America.

Asia (2): PAKISTAN is east of Afghanistan and Iran and west of China and India in South Asia. The former Soviet republic of Tajikistan is separated from Pakistan's northern border by a thin panhandle belonging to Afghanistan. The PHILIPPINES is a country of many islands in the Pacific Ocean. It is east of the South China Sea, north of Indonesia, northeast of Malaysia, west of Palau, and south of Taiwan.

Europe (2): POLAND is west of Belarus and Ukraine, northeast of the Czech Republic, east of Germany, south of the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad (exclave of Russia), southwest of Lithuania, and north of Slovakia in Eastern Europe. PORTUGAL is east of the Atlantic Ocean and west of Spain on the Iberian Peninsula of Western Europe.

North America (1): PANAMA is west of Colombia and east of Costa Rica in Central America (C. America is part of North America). It is famous for the Panama Canal, which connects the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east.

Oceania (2): PALAU is an island country with many islands and reefs in the Pacific Ocean, located west of the Federated States of Micronesia, north of Indonesia, and east of The Philippines. PAPUA NEW GUINEA is an Oceanic country north of Australia, east of Indonesia, and west of the Solomon Islands.

South America (2): PARAGUAY is a landlocked country located north of Argentina, southeast of Bolivia, and west of the southern part of Brazil. PERU is found in the northwest area of South America, located west of Bolivia and Brazil, south of Colombia and Ecuador, and east of the Pacific Ocean.

To access full posts about these countries, go to the Countries page!

Kosrae Island

Just like the island in my previous post (about Pohnpei), Kosrae is in the Pacific Ocean and in the eastern part of the Federated States of MICRONESIA. In fact, the administrative region of Kosrae is the easternmost region in the vast Oceanic country. Kosrae is surrounded by reefs and several islands. Along the eastern shoreline west of Lelu Island, the capital of the administrative region and island is Tofol. Judging that Kosrae is an island, there is of course a fishing industry. Find out more about the Federated States of Micronesia!

Pohnpei Island

Pohnpei is a Pacific Ocean island that has a length of approximately fifteen miles. It is surrounded by many smaller islands and located in the eastern part of the Federated States of MICRONESIA country. The capital of the country, Palikir, is found inland in the northwest area of Pohnpei. Islands surrounding Pohnpei include Parem, Sokehs, Takaieu, and Temwen. Nahnalaud is a peak standing at over 770 meters and 2,500 feet in the center of the island. Find out more about the Federated States of Micronesia!

O Country - Oman

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

Unlike with the previous 14 letters in the alphabet (A through N), O has only one country with the name starting in that letter (English language). The only "O" country is OMAN, a Middle Eastern country of deserts and mountains. Part of the large Arabian Peninsula, Oman borders two major water bodies: the Gulf of Oman off the northern coast and the Arabian Sea to the east. All of the bordering countries - Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen - are west of Oman. Check out my original Oman post!

Islands of Malta

The small southern European country of MALTA has three main islands and multiple small islands that are not inhabited by people. The largest island is aptly called Malta, and this is the location of Valletta (Malta's capital). The second largest is Gozo, while the third largest is Comino (also called Kemmuna). Comino is extremely small, being only about one mile in length. Regardless of its minuscule size, it can be generally found on maps of Malta in atlases; just look between Malta and Gozo. The uninhabited islands are even smaller than Comino!

N Countries

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

There are a total of 10 culturally diverse countries with names starting with the letter N. They belong to five out of seven continents: Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, and Oceania (large territory of islands usually grouped with Australia).

Africa (3): NAMIBIA in Southern Africa and NIGER and NIGERIA in Western Africa

Asia (2): NEPAL of South-Central Asia and NORTH KOREA in East Asia
     — North Korea was also listed with South Korea in the "K" countries post (Korea, North).

Europe (2): The NETHERLANDS of Western Europe and NORWAY of Northern Europe
     — While Amsterdam is the Netherlands' dominant capital, The Hague is considered an administrative capital (seat of the government).

North America (1): NICARAGUA, a country specifically in Central America

Oceania (2): NAURU and NEW ZEALAND of the South Pacific Ocean

To access full posts about these countries, go to the Countries page!

Indiana West Nile Update | August 13th, 2013

As of Tuesday, August 12th, according to the Indiana State Department of Health's Arboviral Disease Map, nine more counties confirmed that mosquitoes sent for lab testing have the West Nile Virus. This only means that the West Nile Virus is present, but definitely not widespread - a very minute percentage of mosquitoes have the WNV. Likewise, Hoosiers are still at a low risk of contracting the West Nile Virus. So far there was only one human WNV infection, which occurred in Ripley County. The nine counties are Carroll, Daviess, Marshall, Martin, Newton, Noble, Ohio (smallest county in Indiana), Saint Joseph, and Whitley. They are colored white on the Indiana map to the left.

Algeria's National Parks

The large North Africa country of ALGERIA protects some land in the Sahara Desert and areas near the northern Mediterranean Sea coast. The largest national park is Tassili-n-Ajjer (Tassili N'Ajjer) National Park; it is located in Southeastern Algeria in the Sahara Desert. Southwest of that park is Ahaggar National Park, which also encompasses a large area. Parks in Northern Algeria include El Kala N. Park, Théniet El Had N. Park, and Tlemcen N. Park.

Atlantic Coast Parks of Angola & Namibia

The countries of ANGOLA and NAMIBIA are located along the Atlantic Ocean coast of Southern Africa, and they protect their coastal land with national parks.

Angola
Located in the southwest corner of Angola, the Iona National Park (Parque Nacional da Iona in Portuguese) is just north of the Cunene River (also called Kunene River) - the horizontal border between Angola and Namibia. Located further north, the other coastal park of Angola is Quiçama National Park (PN da Quiçama). It is south of Angola's capital, Luanda.

Namibia
Skeleton Coast Park is found along the northern half of Namibia's coastline. The Wikipedia page about this area reveals the meaning of the strange name. A whaling industry left bones from whales and seal on the coast. Also, the 'skeletons' of shipwrecks are found along the coast. Lastly, the Namib-Naukluft Park is south of the Skeleton Coast Park. Paralleling the coast, the Namib Desert is part of both parks. Looking at a complete map of Namibia, you would see that most of the country's coastline is protected!

Southern IL and Western KY Weather Alert

For the southeastern part of Pope County in Illinois and the counties of Crittenden and Livingston in Kentucky, there is a TORNADO WARNING in effect until 4:00 P.M. Central Time, according to the NWS of Paducah, KY.

Haiti's Religions

On the west side of the island Hispaniola, HAITI is a country of mostly Christian worshippers. A vast majority are Roman Catholics, and there are many Protestants as well. These two congregations alone make up almost 100% of the population! It is somewhat well known that some Haitians believe in voodoo, while there is a small population believing in other religions. There are also not many atheists.
Read my Haiti post for more information about this country!

Vanuatu's Geographic Location

A country of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, VANUATU is found east of the Coral Sea, which is east of Australia. Vanuatu is also north of New Caledonia (territory of islands belonging to France), southwest of the Solomon Islands, southwest of Tuvalu, and west of Fiji. By the way, Vanuatu is shaped like the letter Y!
Read my Vanuatu post for more information!

Reaching a Milestone

The GeoFact of the Day Blog now has more than 700 posts!
The 700th post is the Indiana West Nile Virus Update on July 30th. Thank you so much for reading my posts, whether you are a 'fanatic follower' (following the blog for years) or just came by recently to look up about Lesotho!

M Countries

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

Africa (7): MADAGASCAR, MALAWI, MALI, MAURITANIA, MAURITIUS, MOROCCO, and MOZAMBIQUE

Asia (4): MALAYSIA, The MALDIVES, MONGOLIA, and MYANMAR
     — I also listed Myanmar in the 'B' Countries post since the country is also called Burma.

Europe (5): MACEDONIA (Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia), MALTA, MOLDOVA, MONACO, and MONTENEGRO; The native name of Hungary is MAGYARORSZÁG, so that would be another legitimate 'M' country.

North America (1): MEXICO

Oceania (2): MARSHALL ISLANDS and the Federated States of MICRONESIA

To access full posts about these countries, go to the Countries page!

Capital of Comoros

The capital of the COMOROS, an African country in the Indian Ocean, is Moroni. Moroni is located on the largest and hard-to-spell island, Njazidja. Learn more about the Comoros!