World Geography
 

I love cartography and its sister geography.

Let's see how smart AFF is. We'll take turns asking the board tough (or fun) geography questions. Feel free to incorporate pics into your questions and answers.

I'll start.

What do the words "capitol" and "capital" refer to?

The word refers to the building where the executive and/or legislative branches of government meet.

Which word?

Capitol.

The capital is the city where the capitol building is located.

So which word do you use to define the governmental seat of a country?
What about a state seat?

Which word applies to these places?

Capital or capitol?

Looks like somebody got their June Issue of Readers Digest.... :D

I love readers digest.
capital is also funds or available funds for backing an assortment of adventures.

or capital with an a can be the political seat of a state or nation
such as the capital of Florida is Tallahassee.

What is meant by elevation above sea level?

Good one.

Facts about the Elevation above sea level

The term above mean sea level (AMSL) refers to the elevation (on the ground) or altitude (in the air) of any object, relative to the average sea level. AMSL is used extensively in radio (both in broadcasting and other telecommunications uses) by engineers to determine the coverage area a station will be able to reach. It is also used in aviation, all heights are recorded and reported with respect to AMSL (though also see flight level). Additionally, it is important in the atmospheric sciences.

http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasc...9/gen99156.htm

http://ask.yahoo.com/19980901.html

What is the traditional story behind the "Horse Latitudes?"....What are the "Doldrums"?

Horse latitudes or Subtropical High are subtropical latitudes between 30 and 35 degrees both north and south. This region is an area of variable winds mixed ...

And just where exactly is Timbuktu??????


:D

The houses of Timbuktu are huts made of clay-covered wattles with thatched roofs. In the center of the city is a temple built of stone and mortar, built by an architect named Granata, (2) and in addition there is a large palace, constructed by the same architect, where the king lives. The shops of the artisans, the merchants, and especially weavers of cotton cloth are very numerous. Fabrics are also imported from Europe to Timbuktu, borne by Berber merchants. (3)

The women of the city maintain the custom of veiling their faces, except for the slaves who sell all the foodstuffs.

The question was......where is it???

It's late. Go to bed. You will find your glasses in the morning!

That's the facts......What about a little more colorful anecdotal history - and what some call myth or legend??

Knowledge of atmospheric pressure and the prevailing wind systems close to the Earth's surface was slowly built up by navigators and explorers prior to steamships, since they had to adjust their sailing practices to use the winds favorably.

In the days of sailing vessels, according to legend, ships carrying horses from Europe to the New World would often get caught and be delayed in the belt of calm centered at about 25 degrees north and south of the equator. In order to save their limited supply of drinking water for themselves, the sailors were sometimes forced to throw the animals overboard. This is how the name "horse latitudes" is supposed to have originated.

More about the horse latitudes

Horse Latitudes: legend has it that this term originated from the days when Spanish ships, transporting horses to the West Indies, would become becalmed in mid-ocean, thus severely prolonging the voyage. As a result of fresh water shortages, the explorers would throw their horses overboard. There are two belts of latitude around our globe, where winds are light & weather is hot & dry. They are located mostly over the oceans, at about 30° latitude in each hemisphere, & have a N-S range of about 5° as they are affected by the seasonal migration of the Sun. The Horse Latitudes are associated with subtropical anti-cyclones & the large-scale descent of air from high-altitude currents moving toward the Poles. After reaching the Earth's surface, this air spreads toward the Equator as part of the prevailing Trade Winds or toward the Poles as part of the Westerlies. The belt in the Northern Hemisphere is sometimes called the “Calms” -- Tropic of Cancer, & in the Southern Hemisphere the “Calms” -- Tropic of Capricorn. Major deserts of the world, such as the Sahara & the Great Australian Desert, lie under the high pressure of the Horse Latitudes.

DOLDRUMS:

Early sailors noticed the stillness of the rising air near the Equator & gave the region the depressing name “doldrums”, usually located between 5°N & 5°S of the Equator, are also known as the Intertropical Convergence Zone or ITCZ. When the trade winds converge in the ITCZ, they produce convectional storms that bring some of the world's heaviest precipitation regions. Depending upon the season, solar energy, the pattern of land & sea & tilt of our globe, the ITCZ can vary as much as 40°–45° of latitude N or S of the Equator.

MORE ABOUT THE WINDS:

The ancient Greeks & Romans held that there were four winds --Favonius or Zephyr from the West, Notus or Auster came from the South, Boreas or Aquilo was the North Wind, & Eurus came from the East.

Each had distinct personalities. Favonius was considered warm & gentle. Boreas was the rude & blustery type, & Notus & Euros were temperamental.

Why is it warmer at the equator than other areas of the earth?BTW lattitude and doldrums moved us into my favorite subject..physical science.lol..

http://education.arm.gov/studyhall/a...ion.php?id=694

On earth, the equator receives more sunshine than do the poles. This is due to simple geometry of the earth's curvature, a given amount of sunshine in a beam falling on the equator, which points directly at the sun, has a much more intense effect than the glancing rays spread over a much larger area of the curving surface near the poles. In addition, extensive ice and snow at the poles reflects back to space some of the sun's energy that reaches the earth. Much more sunshine is absorbed to heat the earth at the equator. This means the land at the equator becomes hotter than the poles. If we had no atmosphere or oceans, the equator would become too hot for life as we know it, and the poles too cold. However, the atmosphere and oceans take some of the excess heat from the equator to the poles, making both habitable to humans. An interesting connection to make is that if the earth were heated evenly at all latitudes there would be no winds or ocean currents.

http://www.brynmawr.edu/Acads/Geo/Ge...tmosphere.html

Temperature on Earth’s surface is not uniform. It is hotter near the equator and colder at the poles.

Hot air expands and rises, cold air contracts and sinks. Overall hot air rises at the equator and moves poleward to colder regions and cold air sinks at the pole and moves toward hot regions. On its way toward the poles, hot air cools and sinks. On its way toward the equator the cold polar air warms and rises. This convection circulation is modified by the Coriolis force, which results in the path of any object moving above the surface of the solid earth being deflected to the right when viewed in the direction of its motion in the northern hemisphere (to the left in the southern hemisphere).


More intertesting facts here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/space/s...escience.shtml

Timbuktu (also known as Tombouctou) is a city located near the Niger River in the African country of Mali. Timbuktu has a population of approximately 30,000 and is a major Saharan Desert trading post.


.........Is this the same Timbuktu as in the phrase: "from here to Timbuktu or I am going to knock you from here to Timbuktu?"

:lol

Which capital is located farthest south?

Wellington, New Zealand and it is the only world capital located in the roaring 40s latitudes. It was the first world capital to welcome the new millennium.

The capital of Iceland, Reykjavik, is the northernmost capital of the

...........However,

The "Capital" is the unofficial "Capital of Antarctica" on King George Island with bases of 12 different nations on the South Shetland Islands.

Talklady has got it going on.:poloroid

What is the highest point above sea level?

The summit of Mt. Everest.

Just the question made me think of how many people have died trying to climb it.



How about the point below sea level that is a land mass?

At the Dead Sea on the border of Jordan and Israel.