The Social Giraffe Network

The Social Giraffe Network Apparently, for many moons, in the scientific realm, zoologists have considered giraffes to be solitary and aloof.  A 1991 publication on the behavior of African mammals described giraffes as “forming no lasting bonds with its fellows and associating in the most casual way.” Unlike elephants and apes, which display broad social constructs, […]

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Sprites, Elves, Trolls, Pixies, Ghosts, Gnomes, and Blue Jets

Sprites, Elves, Trolls, Pixies, Ghosts, Gnomes, and Blue Jets   No, we’re not traveling today to Middle-earth or into the belly of a dungeon crawler. Instead, we’ll take to the skies. All the fantastical characters of today’s title are real phenomena in the upper atmosphere! Lightning strikes – photo by Mircea Madau Most of us

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The Yellowstone Supervolcano

The Yellowstone Supervolcano Some National Parks prominently feature or owe their existence to volcanoes. Mount Rainier is a stratovolcano. Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park certainly contains fiery mountains. Crater Lake National Park is the remnant of an extinct volcano. Less prominent parks, including Lassen Volcanic in California and Katmai in Alaska, highlight combustible histories. But, the largest

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The website logo, featuring a string of black mountains, capped in snow, with a setting sun behind the range. The title "The Mountains Are Calling" across the bottom.

Yellowstone

Yellowstone   In 1872, President Ulysses S. Grant, the great Civil War general from Ohio, signed The Act of Dedication. His penstroke created the country’s and world’s first National Park. The preserved land sat mostly in the northwest corner of Wyoming, with parts sneaking into Montana and Idaho. Today, the park we know as Yellowstone continues to

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Mount Fuji

Mount Fuji   One of the world’s most recognizable mountains, Mount Fuji is nearly synonymous with Japan. Rising 12,389 feet above sea level, Fuji is also the High Point of the nation. Situated on the island of Honshu, the peak is a mere 62 miles southwest of Tokyo. On clear days, the mountain starkly dominates the capital and largest

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National Parks vs. National Monuments

National Parks vs. National Monuments I think the question I’ve been asked the most when discussing National Parks in the United States relates to today’s article title. What’s the difference between a National Park and a National Monument? The National Parks Service – the agency that oversees the National Parks System – doesn’t exactly make it easy on us (although, it’s also

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Roy G. Biv

Roy G. Biv   Many students learn the mnemonic Roy G. Biv to recall the visible colors: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet. It’s a handy way to quickly remember the order of a rainbow spectrum. Have you ever asked yourself, “what exactly is indigo?” Is it near blue? Near violet? A mixture of the two? If

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