The Loneliest Road in America “It’s totally empty. There are no points of interest. We don’t recommend it. We warn all motorists not to drive there unless they’re confident of their survival skills.” — Unnamed AAA Representative U.S. Route 50 stretches over 3,000 miles across the nation, from Sacramento, California, to Ocean City, Maryland. In July […]
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The Great Basin Most Americans, at some point during primary schooling, learn about an important hydrological boundary known as the Continental Divide. This imaginary line follows the mountains from Alaska, through Canada, down the Rockies, and into Mexico. Technically, the divide does not stop at the edge of North America but splits South America, too. We
Sin City You pulled off something unthinkable. You robbed a casino in Las Vegas and made it out the door. The heat hits you in the face. It’s a dry heat, sure, but it’s still 110 degrees Fahrenheit. As you ponder the getaway plan, which involves walking nonchalantly down the Strip, trying to blend in like a
The Snowy Desert Between 14,800 and 10,500 years ago, the oldest petroglyphs in North America appeared in limestone at Winnemucca Lake. Today, the lake is a dry bed, but this spot was likely an oasis to some of the continent’s earliest inhabitants. They inscribed the rock with figures that might be trees, flowers, leaves, clouds, or
Adam’s Bridge One of the gorgeous macro-elements of the globe is the island of Sri Lanka, which seems to fall like a teardrop from the southern tip of India. About the size of West Virginia and home to 22 million people, Sri Lanka features interesting tectonics and geography. Madagascar, for the sake of comparison, sits somewhat
The Ring of Fire Close your eyes and picture a real-world volcano. Where are you on the globe? You might be at one of Italy’s famous spewers, Etna or Vesuvius. You might be in Hawaii on Mauna Kea or Mauna Loa. Maybe you went to Africa’s High Point, Kilimanjaro. Or, likely, you’re in one of many spots where continental
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Dalmatia Make a list of the world’s 101 Most Recognizable Dog Breeds and one type of canine will likely top it. Photo by Bradlien Photo by Carlos Estrada Disney’s 101 Dalmatians A white coat punctuated by black dots can mean only one type of pupper. Adored by firefighters and bizarrely coveted by Disney villains, the Dalmatian is
The Pillars of Hercules The Mediterranean Sea stood at the center of the world for many archaic cultures of Europe, Asia, and Africa. To the Greeks, Etruscans, Romans, and all but the most intrepid Phoenician Sailors, the western reaches of the great sea represented the end of the world. This area reportedly bore the slogan Ne
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The Atlantic Fall Line The United Nations estimate that approximately 40% of the world’s population lives within 100 kilometers of an ocean. A Reddit user named gnfnrf performed some back-of-the-napkin calculations and determined this area accounts for somewhere between 1.5% and 12.15% of Earth’s total landmass (measurements of coastline are notoriously difficult to determine), meaning people pack
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The Wallace Line & Biogeography When the age of exploration yielded to a period not simply of unlocking new areas of the globe, but of serious, timely examinations of those areas, the study of Earth’s biology began in earnest. In the middle of the 18th century, Carl Linnaeus noticed patterns in the similarities and differences
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