Interactive Website for Island Finding

Have you ever wondered about the name of a particular island on a map but there isn't a label? As an avid map peruser, I dealt with this problem countless times. There were a couple of islands off the coast of mainland GUINEA-BISSAU that did not a label on multiple interactive maps. However, I turned to a trusty website that is typically useful for planning travel itineraries but also provides a meticulous level of detail. This post is not sponsored or an advertisement, but ViaMichelin (viamichelin.com) provided me the answers I was looking for! Etuntute and Mochkutuch are the islands not typically labeled. ViaMichelin comes from the same company as that big, poofy mascot known as the Michelin Man (or Bibendum, or Bib for short). If you ever looked at a map and wondered the name of an unlabeled island, give ViaMichelin a try and see if they have the island labeled.

Newest Blog Map: Rwanda

A new and detailed map of RWANDA on the GeoFact of the Day Blog provides locations of cities/towns, features, and country borders. This map is available on the Rwanda post (↗). To tell me what you think about this map, feel free to comment down below or send an email! What country, territory, place, island, etc. should be the focal point of my next map?

The Amazing Race 38, Episode 7

Season 38 Episode 7 (Wednesday, November 5th, 2025) Info: “Teams skydive through the clouds of Romania and one team is forced to play catch up after struggling during a sheep herding challenge.”

In this seventh episode of The Amazing Race Season 38 (U.S. Edition), teams travelled eastward from the southern Croatian city of Split — the second most populated city (after Zagreb) in CROATIA 🇭🇷 — to the southern Romanian city of Bucharest, the capital and the most populated city of ROMANIA 🇷🇴. Natalie and Stephanie — known as the “Yin Yang Sissies” according to Natalie — were the last team to depart from Croatia since they finished second to last in the previous episode. Teams arrived in Romania and slept overnight in bunk beds to do a thrilling and height-defying “Who’s Ready to Jump in the Race?” Roadblock. They achieved the highest skydive in Amazing Race history at 13,000 feet!

Teams flew from Croatia and arrived in Bucharest.

After landing in a grassy field and relishing the amazing experience they just had, teams went to a sheep farm to meet shepherds known locally as ciobhani. Teams were tasked with moving five sheep from one pen to another. This was occasionally difficult because the sheep had a herd mentality; teams tried to move one or two sheep without the whole herd following. Eric and Tucker successfully completed this task in relatively little time. Teams later built a floating pontoon raft by attaching empty blue water jugs to the bottom. They navigated the craft south of Bucharest through Delta Neajlovului and arrived at the Detour challenge.

For the Detour task, teams chose either “Brick Builder” or “Mask Maker” — both located northeast of the delta near the Debarcader Lebǎda canoe and kayak rental service. In “Brick Builder”, teams formed ten bricks using a mixture of water, straw, and mud manure! Teams were definitely grossed out by having to shovel manure then forming said manure into sloppy, gooey bricks. Some of the manure conveniently landed on their shirts! Taylor joked about being “Miss Congeniality” to later becoming a “manure shoveler”. In the relatively tidy “Mask Maker” challenge, teams tried to replicate a winter mask purportedly said to ward off evil. This task required precision, craftiness, and sewing abilities, but at least did not require poop!

Teams crafted a floating pontoon raft and navigated it through Delta Neajlovului located about 9 miles (14.5 kilometers) south of Bucharest and closer to the border with BULGARIA 🇧🇬.

With mixed success, teams accomplished the Detour and then arrived at the King Carol I Park (Parcul Carol) Pit Stop. The expansive 89-acre park is situated in the south side of Bucharest; use the top map above to locate Parcul Carol below the Sectorul 4 label. Amusingly, two locals were dressed in brown bear costumes and danced in homage of bears — which are rare in some European countries. For the fourth time in a row, Eric and Tucker arrived first at the Pit Stop! They won $5,000 each. Jag and Jas (with unused Express Pass) arrived second, followed by Adam and Joseph in third, Kyland and Taylor (also with unused Express Pass) in fourth, Chelsie and Jack in fifth, Izzy and Paige in sixth, and Natalie and Stephanie in last. The “Yin Yang Sissies” were eliminated from the The Amazing Race.

The Amazing Race 38, Episode 6

Season 38 Episode 6 (Wednesday, October 29th, 2025) Info: “The race intensifies in Croatia where one team reconsiders their alliance and another team’s Roadblock strategy falls apart.” 🌍

First of all, I want to express my thoughts and well wishes for everyone in JAMAICA 🇯🇲, HAITI 🇭🇹, CUBA 🇨🇺, and other places in the Caribbean dealing with Hurricane Melissa and its destructive aftermath.

In the sixth episode of The Amazing Race Season 38 (U.S. Edition), teams drove a manual stick-shift vehicle northwest from Dubrovnik, CROATIA 🇭🇷 (HRVATSKA) to the town of Trsteno. Here, they visited the Trsteno Arboretum featuring trees that are over 500 years old. 🌳 Teams found a clue near the arboretum’s Neptune statue then drove further northwest along the Adriatic Sea coastline to the partially walled town of Ston. They encountered the “Bag It Up” versus “Pull It Up” Detour challenge. In “Bag It Up”, teams filled ten bags of local raw salt — each bag weighing slightly over 20 pounds each. In “Pull It Up”, teams visited a major oyster harvesting area known as Mali Ston Bay. They rowed a boat to find buoys with oysters attached; the teams then gave those oysters to a local restaurant known as Bota Sare. 🦪

Overview map of Trsteno — a town northwest of Dubrovnik and known for its arboretum

Remaining in the town of Ston, teams visited Park Komarda for the “Who Knows Their Way Around Croatia?” Roadblock. 🚧 With the navigational help of a 3D relief map of Ston, a member of each team visited several locations throughout the town to find and remember Croatian (Hrvatskan) facts. These facts involve multiple topics: letters not featured in the Croatian alphabet (Q, W, X, and Y), one of the several mottoes of Croatia (“As long as there is heart, there is Croatia”), highest mountain in Croatia at 6,007 feet* (Dinara), famous poet in Croatia (Ivan Gundulić), original length of the Walls of Ston (22,965 feet*), the date when Parliament proclaimed independence from Yugoslavia (June 25th, 1991), first king of Croatia (King Tomislav) 👑, and Croatia’s coastline length (3,625 miles*). Amazing Race contestants arrived back at the map and were tested with three questions asked by a Croatian. Contestants who did not answer the questions correctly had to answer a different set of questions for their next attempt, so some of them went back to the locations to memorize all facts.

Overview map of Ston — the second town featured in this episode

Prapratno Cove was the Pit Stop for this episode. 🏁 Eric and Tucker arrived in first place and both won another trip — this time to various locations in EGYPT 🇪🇬 including Cairo, Alexandria, and the famous pyramids. Tucker excitedly mentioned that Egypt was always on his bucket list, so it is awesome that he can check that one off! ☑ Kristine and Rubina were the eighth and last team to arrive, so they were eliminated from The Amazing Race.

* 6,007 feet equals 1,831 meters, 22,965 feet equals 7,000 meters, and 3,625 miles equals 5,834 kilometers.

Indiana West Nile Virus 2025 Update

The Indiana Department of Health has a new Mosquito-Borne Illness Dashboard (↗) featuring two statewide maps. These maps show counties with mosquitoes and people infected by the West Nile Virus. The right-side map shows human infections. So far in 2025 as of September 5th, there were 10 people infected in the counties of Bartholomew (1), Hamilton (1), Madison (1), Marion (4), Vanderburgh (6), and Wells (1).

Almost all counties have at least one infected mosquito (based on test results) except the following ones mostly in Southern Indiana: Crawford, Dubois, Jefferson, Lawrence, Martin, Orange, Owen, Perry, Pike, Vermillion, and Washington. Union County has not tested for mosquitoes so far this year, or the test results have not been updated on the map. At first, the left map shows Hamilton County (Carmel, Fishers, Noblesville, Westfield, etc.) with the most mosquito infections at 128. However, the Collection tab and corresponding mosquito collection map shows this county tested a tremendous amount of mosquitoes (28,112) for the virus resulting in the inflated infection number. By comparison, Marion County (Indianapolis area) has 48 mosquito infections based on 9,847 tests.

GeoFact of the Day Statement Regarding Gerrymandering

GeoFact of the Day is concerned about the politicization of election maps in the United States. Gerrymandering has been an issue for many years but hasn't been properly resolved in most states. Ideally, elections should be competitive to where either party could theoretically win in a district, but fewer and fewer districts are like this as the years go on. 10 of the 11 most gerrymandered states are Republican. I feel obliged to note that Republican Party has been notorious, in my opinion, for gerrymandering (they've done this for many years and in dozens of states). Gerrymandering results in districts that look elongated and ugly on a map. Ideal districts should be relatively squarish or circular and keep together neighboring counties and communities. Some districts have a length of more than 100 miles, connecting areas that are not exactly connected culturally and socially. GeoFact of the Day encourages lawmakers to hand redistricting duties over to cartographers, demographers, and other social scientist-minded individuals who will draw districts that will help revitalize United States elections and bring forth high-quality candidates and public servants — who will try to serve the interests of all constituents in their district, not just big-moneyed special interests.

6/19/2025 Delaware, Pennsylvania Tornado Warning

This tornado warning has expired and is no longer in effect.

Tornado Warning DEC003-PAC029-045-192130- /O.NEW.KPHI.TO.W.0019.250619T2102Z-250619T2130Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED Tornado Warning National Weather Service Mount Holly NJ 502 PM EDT Thu Jun 19 2025

The National Weather Service in Mount Holly NJ has issued a

* Tornado Warning for... Northern New Castle County in northern Delaware... Southeastern Chester County in southeastern Pennsylvania... Southwestern Delaware County in southeastern Pennsylvania...

What in the World? BerryPepper

This Google Maps aerial image depicts a BerryPepper “mascot” painted on an intersection in downtown Creighton, Nebraska in Knox County. What is a BerryPepper?

A — Spice combo featuring peppercorns and strawberry flavoring
B — Frozen drink combining Dr. Pepper and Nehi Strawberry soda
C — Strawberries and cream milkshake
































































Answer:
B — Frozen drink combining Dr. Pepper and Nehi Strawberry soda. The BerryPepper mascot is also used to celebrate the annual BerryPepper Days in Creighton.

What in the World? Mystery County #2

There is a county in Missouri named for a river and a particular group of people in FRANCE who were stereotypically known for being boastful and boisterous. This county’s name is a lowercased word in the Merriam-Webster dictionary. Which county is it? Choose an option and find the answer further below!

A — Audrain County
B — Gasconade County
C — Chariton County
D — Buchanan County





















Answer:
B — Gasconade County

Happy Mother's Day on Sunday!

New Blog Map of Oman

A new and detailed map of OMAN on the GeoFact of the Day Blog provides locations of cities/towns, features, and country borders. This map is available on the Oman post (↗). To tell me what you think about this map, feel free to comment down below or send an email! What country or other place should be the focal point of my next map?

New Blog Map of Bangladesh

A new and detailed map of BANGLADESH on the GeoFact of the Day Blog provides locations of cities/towns, features, and country borders. This map is available on the Bangladesh post (↗). To tell me what you think about this map, feel free to comment down below or send an email! What country or other place should be the focal point of my next map?

Box Ankle, Georgia

Box Ankle is an interestingly named community in Monroe County in the state of Georgia! Plenty of details on the naming of Box Ankle are provided by Georgia Public Broadcasting (↗). Surrounding communities include Collier, Forsyth (county seat of Monroe County), Goggins, and High Falls.

Summer Shade, Kentucky

While the hot season of summer is winding down, a town in Metcalfe County in the state of Kentucky has a name evoking the relief of finding shelter from the blistering sun. A census-designated place with the name of Summer Shade seems to have summer all year long — but in name only! The all-seasons community of Summer Shade is nestled near the southwestern corner of Metcalfe County near Barren and Monroe counties. Surrounding communities include Cedar Flats, Curtis, Cyclone, Dubre, Edmonton (county seat of Metcalfe County), Goodluck, Kino, Randolph, and of course Willow Shade.

New Blog Map of Nauru

A new and detailed map of NAURU on the GeoFact of the Day Blog provides locations of cities/towns, features, and country borders. This map is available on the Nauru post (↗). To tell me what you think about this map, feel free to comment down below or send an email! What country or other place should be the focal point of my next map?

New Blog Map of Zimbabwe

A new and detailed map of ZIMBABWE on the GeoFact of the Day Blog provides locations of cities/towns, terrain, and country borders. This map is available on the Zimbabwe post (↗). To tell me what you think about this map, feel free to comment down below or send an email! What country or other place should be the focal point of my next map?

New Blog Map of China

A new and detailed map of the People's Republic of CHINA (ZHŌNGGUÓ) on the GeoFact of the Day Blog provides locations of cities/towns, terrain, and country borders. This map is available on the China post (↗). To tell me what you think about this map, comment down below or send an email! What country or other place should be the focal point of my next map?

New Blog Map of Belgium

A new and detailed map of BELGIUM on the GeoFact of the Day Blog provides locations of cities/towns, terrain, and country borders. Visit the Belgium post (↗) to enjoy the newest addition to GeoFact of the Day's cartographic collection! To tell me what you think about this map, comment down below or send an email! What country or other place should be the focal point of my next map?

10/10/2021 Caddo and Grady Counties, OK Tornado Warning

Update: the National Weather Service canceled this Tornado Warning. To be aware of weather alerts at any time, visit Weather.gov and the National Weather Service Twitter pages linked at the top right.

Tornado Warning
National Weather Service Norman OK
653 PM CDT Sun Oct 10 2021

The National Weather Service in Norman has issued a

* Tornado Warning for...
Central Grady County in central Oklahoma...
Southeastern Caddo County in southwestern Oklahoma...

* Until 745 PM CDT.

New Blog Map of Austria

A new and detailed map of AUSTRIA on the GeoFact of the Day Blog provides locations of cities/towns, landscape features, terrain, and country borders. Visit the Austria post (↗) to enjoy the newest addition to GeoFact of the Day's cartographic collection! To tell me what you think about this map, comment down below or send an email! What country or other place should be the focal point of my next map?

9/2/2021 Nebraska Tornado Warning 2

Update: the National Weather Service canceled this Tornado Warning. To be aware of weather alerts at any time, visit Weather.gov and the National Weather Service Twitter pages linked at the top right.

Tornado Warning
National Weather Service Hastings NE
620 PM CDT Thu Sep 2 2021

The National Weather Service in Hastings has issued a

* Tornado Warning for...
Northeastern Harlan County in south central Nebraska...

* Until 645 PM CDT.