Vega Archipelago

Hundreds of native Norwegians fish and collect eider ducks' fluffy down on hundreds of native islands off the Norwegian Sea coast — and among fascinating fjords and the Kilværfjorden marine channel — in Central NORWAY. These people live on islands in the Vega Archipelago (Norwegian: Vegaøyan), and their centuries-old way of life is even celebrated by the UNESCO World Heritage Convention. The whole archipelago is designated a « UNESCO World Heritage Site », inscribed in 2004. Based on archaeological evidence, it is believed that people have lived on these islands since the Stone Age (8,700-2,000 BC). Some inhabited islands feature beacons and lighthouses, warehouses, fishing villages, and eider houses for ducks to nest in. Some islands and islets in the Vega Archipelago include Bremsteinvær, Heimøya, Hysvær, Igerøya, Islandsøya, Skjervær, Søla, Steinan, Vega (of course!), and Ytter-Flesa (Ytre Flesan).

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New Map, Updated Posts

The San Marino post is updated with a new map. Click Here to see the GeoFact of the Day Blog's latest map! Also, two African country posts have been updated: SOUTH SUDAN and ZAMBIA. Thanks for visiting the GeoFact of the Day Blog today and always!

New Allen County Tornado Warning - 5:17 P.M.

Northeastern Allen county in Indiana is under a Tornado Warning that is expected to last until 5:45 P.M. Eastern time. This warning is immediately northeast of Fort Wayne. Communities impacted by this Tornado Warning include Cuba, Harlan, Georgetown, Grabill, and Leo-Cedarville. This warning is expected to move into Defiance and Paulding counties in Ohio.

Indiana Tornado Warnings Map

This Intellicast.com radar image conveniently shows a current snapshot of Indiana's tornado warnings as of 5 P.M. on August 24th.

Indiana Tornado Warnings Update

5:00 P.M. Eastern time, August 24th

Déjà vu!!! There is now a NEW Tornado Warning for northern Indianapolis in Marion County as well as for southern Boone and northern Hendricks counties. There is a new warning for Hancock County as well. The previous Tornado Warning for Grant County now shifts eastward into northern Blackford and southwestern Wells counties. There is now a Tornado Warning for extreme southwestern Carroll and northern Montgomery counties (north of West Lafayette and south of Monticello) as well as Greene and Owen counties in southwestern Indiana — west of Bloomington. Please keep up-to-date on the latest weather conditions from your local broadcaster and the National Weather Service at weather.gov.

Funnel Cloud Near Indianapolis — Tornado Warning

3:58 P.M. Eastern Time, Wednesday 8/24

A Funnel Cloud — not quite a tornado...but could turn into one — has been reported near the Eagle Creek Reservoir in Indianapolis. A Tornado Warning is issued for northern and central Marion, southeastern Boone, southern Hamilton, western Hancock, and northeastern Hendricks counties in Indiana.

Tornado Emergency for Kokomo, Indiana

Updated 4:00 P.M. Eastern time, 8/24

A confirmed tornado radar-indicated rotation is currently near Sims and will eventually reach Gas City and Marion in western Grant County. The previous twister from this rotation caused damage in Kokomo, Indiana — enough for the National Weather Service and local officials to issue Tornado Emergencies for the city and eastern Howard County. There are reports of a Starbucks Coffee establishment being completely destroyed near the Markland Hall and roof damage. A live weather stream is currently available online from RTV6 in Indianapolis.

Countries with One Medal from Rio Olympics

Twenty-one countries earned a single medal at the 2016 (31st) Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. The countries and territory with one gold medal and no other medals are Fiji, Jordan, Kosovo, Puerto Rico, Singapore, and Tajikistan. Athletes from Burundi, Grenada, Niger, The Philippines, and Qatar won one silver medal, while athletes from Austria, the Dominican Republic, Estonia, Finland, Moldova, Morocco, Nigeria, Portugal, Trinidad and Tobago, and the United Arab Emirates each brought home the bronze.

Rio Olympics Medal Tally

Yesterday was the final day for Rio 2016 Summer Olympics festivities and events, and therefore the medal count is essentially finalized. The Top 20 countries in terms of athletes' number of medals are listed below, followed by the numbers of gold, silver, and bronze medals.

1)  UNITED STATES — 121
46 Gold          37 Silver          38 Bronze

2)  CHINA — 70
26          18          26

3)  UNITED KINGDOM (Great Britain) — 67
27          23          17

4)  RUSSIA — 56
19          18          19

5)  GERMANY — 42
17          10          15

6)  FRANCE — 42
10          18          14

7)  JAPAN — 41
12          8          21

8)  AUSTRALIA — 29
8          11          10

9)  ITALY — 28
8          12          8

10)  CANADA — 22
4          3          15

11)  (REPUBLIC of) SOUTH KOREA — 21
9          3          9

12)  The NETHERLANDS — 19
8          7          4

13)  BRAZIL — 19
7          6          6

14)  NEW ZEALAND — 18
4          9          5

15)  AZERBAIJAN — 18
1          7          10

16) SPAIN — 17
7          4          6

17)  KAZAKHSTAN — 17
3          5          9

18)  HUNGARY — 15
8          3          4

19)  DENMARK — 15
2          6          7

20)  KENYA — 13
6          6          1

Full medal tally and event results can be found on Rio's official Olympics website, Rio2016.com.

Species Named After New Zealand

About thirty species are named after NEW ZEALAND, which placed 14th in the Rio Olympics medal count. As shown in my recent Extinct Species of New Zealand post, several extinct species were named after New Zealand since they were endemic to this country. Living species are as follows: Cormandel New Zealand Frog (Archey's Frog), New Zealand Catshark, N. Z. Cedar Tree, N. Z. Dabchick, N. Z. Dolphin, N. Z. Falcon, N. Z. Fantail, N. Z. Flax Snail, N. Z. Freshwater Mussel, N. Z. Grayling, N. Z. Greater Short-Tailed Bat, N. Z. Hagfish, N. Z. Hair Sedge, N. Z. Kaka bird, N. Z. Lesser Short-Tailed Bat, N. Z. Little Bittern, N. Z. Mudsnail, N. Z. Pigeon, N. Z. Quail, N. Z. Robin, N. Z. Rockwren, N. Z. Scampi lobster, N. Z. Scaup duck, N. Z. Sea Cucumber, N. Z. Sealion, N. Z. Storm Petrel bird, N. Z. Tomtit bird, and Oliver's New Zealand Skink.

New Zealand Endangered Species

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ for NEW ZEALAND in Oceania lists 32 critically endangered species and 57 endangered species. Some of New Zealand's critically endangered species are as follows: Bartlett's Rata tree, Bignose Galaxias fish, Chatham Shag Cormorant, Cromwell Chafer Beetle, Lowland Longjaw Galaxias fish, Northland Mudfish, Orange-Fronted Parakeet, Orange Parrot, Speargrass Weevil, Three Kings Kaikomako tree. Endangered species include the Australasian Bittern, Big-Crested Penguin, Black-Fronted Tern, Blue Duck, Bunyip Egg fungus, Forbe's Parakeet, Otago Skink, South Island Takahe, Spring Eel, and Yellow-Eyed Penguin.

Extinct Species of New Zealand

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ for NEW ZEALAND in Oceania lists 28 extinct species, most of which were once endemic to New Zealand. The following species are extinct in the island nation: Adams' Mistletoe, Auckland Island Merganser duck, Chatham Island Bellbird, Chatham Island Rail bird, Chatham Islands Fernbird, Dieffenbach's Rail, Finsch's Duck, Hawkins' Rail, Hodgen's Waterhen, Huia Wattlebird, Kawekaweau Gecko (Hoplodactylus delcourti), Laughing Owl, Lepidium obtusatum plant, Logania depressa plant, Mecodema punctellum beetle, New Zealand Bush Wren, New Zealand Grayling bird, New Zealand Little Bittern, New Zealand Quail, New Zealand Thrush, North Island Piopio bird, North Island Snipe bird, North Island Takahe, South Island Snipe, Stellaria elatinoides chickweed, Stephens Island Wren, Waiautoa Forget-Me-Not flower, and Waitakere Scurvy Grass.

Netherlands Endangered Species

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ for The NETHERLANDS (Holland) in Western Europe lists one extinct species (Houting fish), eight critically endangered species, and eight endangered species. The Netherlands' critically endangered species are as follows: Balearic Shearwater bird, Baltic Sturgeon, Blue Skate, European Eel, European Mink, Slender-Billed Curlew, Sociable Plover bird, and Spengler's Freshwater Mussel. Altantic Bluefin Tuna, Common Rorqual baleen whales, Great Knot birds, Halibut fish, Steppe Eagles, Thick-Shelled River Mussels, White-Headed Ducks, and Yellow-Breasted Buntings are endangered in the Netherlands. Since the aforementioned species are listed for plenty of other countries, the IUCN may need to list more localized species that are endangered.

Nepal Endangered Species & Species Named After Nepal

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ for NEPAL in South Asia lists 15 critically endangered species and 34 endangered species. Nepal's critically endangered species are as follows: Baer's Pochard, Bengal Bustard bird, Chinese Pangolin, Gentiana kurroo flower, Gharial (Long-Nosed Crocodile), Imperial Heron, Nardostachys jatamansi flower*, Oriental White-Backed Vulture, Pink-Headed Duck, Pondicherry Vulture, Pygmy Hog, Rara Snowtrout fish, Red-Crowned Roofed Turtle, Slender-Billed Vulture, and Snowtrout. Endangered species include the Asian Buffalo, Fishing Cat, Golden Mahseer fish, Himalayan Cypripedium (Himalayan Ladyslipper) orchid, Himalayan Musk Deer, Lesser Florican (Likh) bird (featured on stamps from India), and South Asian River Dolphin.

Species named after Nepal include the Little Nepalese Horseshoe Bat, Nepal Black Cedar tree, Nepal Camellia flower, Nepal Cricket Frog, Nepal Fulvetta bird, Nepal House Martin bird, Nepal Myotis bat, Nepal Wren Babbler bird, and Nepalese Snowtrout.

* Also known as Jatamansi, Muskroot, and Spikenard, these light pink flowers are found across parts of northern Myanmar (Burma) and the Himalayas — Bhutan, southwestern China, northern India. Unfortunately, these floral wonders are overharvested for their medicinal qualities.

Nauru Endangered and Vulnerable Species

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ for NAURU lists only 3 endangered species and no critically endangered species. This fortunate lack of endangered species is not too surprising given that Nauru is the world's third-smallest country and smallest island country. Nauru's endangered species are the Black Teatfish, Sandfish, and Undulate Wrasse. While there are only three endangered species listed for Nauru, there are 83 vulnerable species — these have a lower risk level for population depletion and extinction. A vast majority of these vulnerable species are coral, including Acanthastrea bowerbanki, Acropora horrida, Cactus Coral, and Lettuce Coral. Other vulnerable species include the Bigeye Tuna, Finsch's Reed-Warbler, Harry Blackfish sea cucumber, Longfin Mako, Providence Petrel bird, Queensland Grouper (Brindle Bass) fish, Whale Shark, and White-Tipped Shark.