I get a kick out of mapping sites. And according to the e-mails I've received, so do you. Today I have another handful of maps...
The World Sunlight Map is amazing. Based on satellite data, it shows a real-time, computer generated view of the earth. Double click to zoom in. View it at dusk wherever you are and you can see the edge of sunlight. Very nice stuff. [Thanks, Leo.]
Find the Landmark is a neat way to familiarize yourself with where famous spots are located. Start with something simple from the Change the Category pull-down menu. Countries is a good first choice, as is Mountains/Volcanoes.
Whether you're a birder or not, you might get a kick out of Geobirds, a site that will help you identify and track North American birds. Check the map here. (BTW, if you happen to see a bird and want to identify it, try the BirdBrain ID tool. It's cool.)
If you're enjoying these mapping sites, you'll get a kick out of the Strange Maps blog. The author doesn't just post a map. He or she has lots to say about each one. Fascinating. [Thanks, Judy.]
The Mental Floss Geography Challenge asks: Where is Cote D'Ivoire? How about Holy See or Azerbaijan? The challenge is to identify as many countries as possible in two minutes. Watch for the name of the country on the lower portion of the screen, then use the small map to move to the correct continent before selecting the country on the large map. Don't let the little flags confuse you like they did me - they point to small island countries. Micronesia, anyone? I struggled through the test and my score was a flat out goose egg. (The test comment was: "Well you can only go up from here". Thanks.) My wife, bless her heart, skunked me with 60%. Try it and tell me if you did any better.
I'm not through with you yet. Name the 50 States asks you to type in all 50 states in 10 minutes (which means you have to know how to spell, too). "No matter what strategy I took (Alpha vs. visual East to West)," said Susan T., the woman who told me about the game, "I still get stuck on the last two or three to complete the 50 states. (It's back to school for ME!)" Two hints: First, you needn't hit Enter after typing in the state; if you're right, the state will be accepted. If you're stuck, visualize the pull-down menus when you have to enter your state on Web forms.
