Proud of Kamala (and Tim)

I first want to mention my gratitude for veterans this Veterans Days and always. This election was quite a roller coaster, the likes of which I never experienced before. I believed Kamala Harris and her running mate, Tim Walz, had a decent chance of winning — but I knew the election results would be almost 50/50 and that the winner would not win by much. Unfortunately, the result turned out to be disappointing for me (I was confident they could win) but yet not all that surprising since Donald Trump has a strange stranglehold over much of the American people. I know Trump might have done some good things for the economy, but I and many fellow Americans wanted to give Kamala a chance; she might have given us an even better economy for all we know!

While Harris-Walz did not win the so-called “swing states,” Trump-Vance did not win those states by a landslide. All of the swing states in this election — Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin — gave Harris-Walz almost or at least 48% of the vote. To summarize, Harris-Walz and other Democrats put forth a valiant and optimistic effort that helped to bring out the best in us, in contrast to the hatred, fearmongering, and falsehoods coming from the “other side.” Harris and Walz (and other Democrats) should be very proud of their campaign. It is worthwhile to note how Harris-Walz had relatively little time to prepare (since late July 2024) compared to Trump's team. They also conceded the election with grace, class, and wisdom, whereas Trump and his people disputed the 2020 election even in 2024. I immensely believe future generations will look back at this moment in history and will appreciate the historic candidacy of Kamala Harris — and how she inspired us to be better.

GeoFact of the Day Enthusiastically Endorses Democrats

Of course, GeoFact of the Day tends to focus on topics relating to geography. However, this upcoming election in the United States has real-world implications and is important enough to write about. I respect your vote no matter who you vote for and respectfully wish to share my perspective. I cheerfully support Kamala Harris for multiple reasons including her dedication and compassion in multiple public service roles — not to mention that she likes freedom, justice, and democracy. She is forward-thinking in wanting to make sure future generations can have a comfortably inhabitable Earth. Also importantly, she can stop Trump from possibly taking the U.S. to a dark, depressing, and cruel place. Trump may distance himself from Project 2025 as much as he wants to, but he is known for being a liar and therefore we should assume that he will approve and institute the nefarious agenda. Thankfully, you can read what Project 2025 is and find out how it might impact you and your family.

You may be correct in mentioning some positive things that happened because of the Trump administration, but I cannot forget some of their truly awful decisions and occurrences. For example, Trump’s administration separated children from their parents at the southern border, and his intended mass deportation plan would only encourage more of that. Trump’s Muslim nation ban unfairly discriminated against whole countries that have many wonderful people who would have brought their skills, talent, expertise, and generosity if they were allowed to. These Muslim majority nations have scientists, researchers, doctors, etc. who might have made amazing discoveries for the world and helpful contributions to the U.S. They would have helped us address critical gaps in health care and other career sectors in desperate need of more help.

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and Black Lives Matters protests — at a time when the U.S. needed uniting and compassionate leadership like never before — Trump held political rallies all across the country and spread misinformation (and the virus) while way too many Americans were dying. Other countries were able to unite their people to mask up and take social precautions seriously which halted the virus sooner; the U.S. under Trump was not able to. If you care about the future, you likely acknowledge the impact of climate change and how it might burden future generations with more difficulties. Trump likely does not care about people in the future — only himself and maybe his family. He even tried to roll back lifesaving environmental regulations; he didn’t mind us having more lead, mercury, and other toxins in our air and water, for example. Trump also supported "socialism" in the form of a trillion dollar tax cut that mostly benefited wealthy billionaires and large corporations, some of which used the benefits for buybacks and dividends and while not investing in their employees. Trump was a sore loser and could not accept the fact that he lost the 2020 election. I could go on and on, but I think you understand the gist of my concerns.

Trump supported the construction of potentially leaky oil pipelines over large Great Plains aquifers which provide clean water for many states. Several years ago, he proposed the idea of transferring Great Lakes water to drought-stricken California which would not have provided immediate relief, would have been an outrageously expensive endeavor, and would have negatively impacted recreational and economic opportunities (and the ecosystem) in the Midwest and beyond. This did not seem to make it on the news very often (especially Fox News), but President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris made tremendously needed investments in the Great Lakes states and every other state — including the politically red ones. An influx of federal funds is now funding all sorts of projects from sea to shining sea. Some states such as Michigan are making amazing progress and are using their federal funds wisely such as for lead pipe removal, improved roads, more amenities, and home renovations.

There are so many topics that can be talked about in light of the upcoming election, which explains the length of this post! Another important topic is democracy: who will encourage democracies around the world to remain steadfast, courageous, and vibrant in the face of adversity? Who will help keep democracies and allies united — like how President Biden and Vice President Harris cordially strengthened our alliances with most of Europe and the Americas and strived to accomplish the same for Asia, Africa, etc.? Trump sowed and is STILL sowing the seeds of discord, cruelty, false propaganda, and chaos. I somehow came across a 2010-dated article on Howard Stern’s website about Trump (↗) and found an insightful and prescient quote that might describe Donald Trump to a T. He quipped, “If you get good ratings, you can be the worst human being on Earth.” Now I would like to think this is just part of his sarcasm and dark humor, but I think it could be a foreshadowing of what will happen if voters give him another term. We deserve better: a leader who will bring out the best in us, not the worst. I confidently believe that leader is Kamala Harris! Please consider voting in this truly important election before or on Tuesday, November 5th. Early voting and voting by mail are wonderful options and provide more convenience for you; I hope your state allows you plenty of days to vote early or to mail in your ballot.

P.S. I can’t believe the election is coming this soon!

2020 Presidential Election Results — Maryland to Mississippi

Here are the 2020 Presidential Results from the states of Maryland to Mississippi in alphabetical order:

Populations of Michigan's Upper Peninsula Counties

Click the map above to enlarge it in a lightbox window.

In my GeoFact of the Day Blog map above, population percentages of the 15 counties in Michigan's Upper Peninsula are mapped out. Most counties on the Upper Peninsula are sparsely populated compared to the rest of Michigan. Therefore, the percentages in the map above are based on total population of the Upper Peninsula — 302,077 in the year 2017 — and not of the whole Wolverine State. About 22% of "Yoopers" (nickname for Upper Peninsula residents) live in Marquette County, home to 66,502 people in 2017 as well as Northern Michigan University. Updated on September 19th, 2019, all population values in the table below are thanks to the Google's Public Data Explorer (↗) service with data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

County Name	Population in 2017	Population % (see map above)
Marquette	66,502	22.01%
Chippewa	37,711	12.48%
Houghton	36,305	12.02%
Delta	35,965	11.91%
Dickinson	25,415	8.41%
Menominee	23,046	7.63%
Gogebic	15,342	5.08%
Iron	11,124	3.68%
Mackinac	10,712	3.55%
Alger	9,121	3.02%
Baraga	8,441	2.79%
Schoolcraft	8,049	2.66%
Luce	6,358	2.10%
Ontonagon	5,881	1.95%
Keweenaw	2,105	0.70%

This is the Google Public Data dataset that I used for making this map. Population data might change slightly if there are data corrections from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Michigan 2020 Democrat Primary Results

Below are the results of the Michigan, UNITED STATES Democrat Presidential Primary that took place on March 10th, 2020. Former Vice President Joe Biden won in the Wolverine State.

American Towns: Atlas

At least seven unincorporated towns and villages in the UNITED STATES are named after Atlas, a Titan god. The Atlas communities shown in the Rand McNally maps (edits by GeoFact of the Day) below are found in the states of California, Illinois, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wisconsin — they all have Wikipedia pages. According to search results in the interactive Rand McNally map (↗) and some additional Wikipedia pages, other states with Atlas places include Idaho, Kansas, Missouri, and West Virginia. Populations are mostly in the double or triple digits. However, the Atlas and Atlasburg of Pennsylvania have 809 and 401 residents, respectively. Atlas, Michigan is located within Atlas Township, home to about 8,000 residents.

Atlas, California (Napa County)


Atlas, Illinois (Pike County)


Atlas, Michigan (Genesee County)


Atlas, Pennsylvania (Northumberland County)


Atlasburg, Pennsylvania (Washington County)


Atlas, Texas (Lamar County)


Atlas, Wisconsin (Polk County)

County Populations of Northern Michigan

In my map above, the populations of 30 counties in the northern part of Michigan's Lower Peninsula ("The Mitten") are mapped. 26 out of the 30 counties have populations less than 50,000. Along the coast of Saginaw Bay, Bay County has the highest population within the mapped region. According to the United States Census Bureau, the source for population data featured in Google's Public Data Explorer service, the population of Bay County is more than 100,000. With more than 8,600 residents, Oscoda County has the lowest population in the region. Listed below are the top five counties featured in the map above with the lowest and highest populations. Most of the population data is from July 2011.

5 Highest Populations
1. Bay County - 107,110
2. Grand Traverse County - 88,349
3. Midland County - 84,063
4. Isabella County - 70,622
5. Emmet County - 32,848

5 Lowest Populations
1. Oscoda County - 8,608
2. Montmorency County - 9,653
3. Alcona County - 10,800
4. Lake County - 11,539
5. Presque Isle County - 13,155

This is the Google Public Data dataset that I used for making this map.

Southeast Michigan County Population

In southeastern Michigan,11 out of the 18 counties have populations greater than 150,000. They are GENESEE, INGHAM, JACKSON, LIVINGSTON, MASON, MONROE, OAKLAND, SAGINAW, ST. CLAIR, WASHTENAW, & WAYNE counties. Consisting of Detroit, the largest city in Michigan, Wayne county has a population of almost 2 million. Three counties, LAPEER, LENAWEE, & SHIAWASSEE, have populations between 65,001 and 150,000. TUSCOLA county, whose county seat is Caro, has almost 56,000 residents. Lastly, HILLSDALE, HURON, & SANILAC counties have populations that are less than 50,000. Huron county, whose county seat is Bad Axe, is the least populated county in SE Michigan, having around 33,000 residents.

Lake Saint Clair

Lake St. Clair is a freshwater lake located in the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (more specifically, the US state of Michigan) and CANADA (more specifically, the province of Ontario). Acting as a border between the USA and Canada, two rivers flow into Lake St. Clair, one from the south (Detroit River) and one from the north (Saint Clair River). The cities of Detroit, USA, and Windsor, Canada are located near the lake. Located northeast of Detroit and south of New Baltimore (northeast Macomb County), Anchor Bay is a northern extension of Lake St. Clair.

Southwest Michigan County Population

In southwestern Michigan, 5 of the 20 counties have a population less than 50,000. These counties are Mason, Mecosta, Gratiot, Branch, & Newaygo. The counties that possess populations between 50,000 - 65,000 are Cass, Barry, Saint Joseph, Montcalm, & Ionia. The counties that have populations b/w 65,001 and 150,000 are Clinton, Van Buren, Eaton, Allegan, & Calhoun. Finally, the counties with populations greater than 150,000 are Berrien, Muskegon, Kalamazoo, Ottawa, & Kent. To view all of the counties' population statistics, visit this Google Public Data Explorer graph (link opens in new window)!

Towns with Holiday Names | Michigan

There are at least ten towns with holiday/winter names in the US state of Michigan:

* Antlers · Marquette County
* Bell · Presque Isle County
* Holly · Oakland County (on the map, Jolly is incorrect; that's where Holly is)
* North Star · Gratiot County
* Saint Nicholas · Delta County
* Shepherd · Isabella County
* Snow · Berrien County
* Spruce · Alcona and Dickinson Counties
* Star & Christmas · Alger County