Posted inGeography

Swains Island, the Paradise Atoll Owned by a Single Family Since 1856 and Disputed by the United States and Tokelau

In the middle of the Pacific Ocean, about 180 kilometers south of the Fakaofo Atoll, which belongs to Tokelau, and 300 kilometers north of Savai’i, the largest of the islands in American Samoa, is Swains (or Olohega in the Tokelauan language). It is a small atoll of 3.5 square kilometers with an inner lagoon about […]

Posted inGeography

The Taam Ja’ Blue Hole in Chetumal Bay is the Deepest in the World and Could Contain Caves and Tunnels

In 2021, the Taam Ja’ Blue Hole was discovered in Chetumal Bay in the southeastern part of the Yucatan Peninsula. Initially recognized as the second deepest blue hole in the world, with a depth of 274 meters, new explorations have shown that its depth exceeds 420 meters below sea level (mbsl), establishing it as the […]

Posted inGeography

Australia’s Highest Peak is in a Remote Place in the Indian Ocean, between Madagascar and the Antarctic

In the southernmost reaches of the Indian Ocean, nearly 2,500 nautical miles (4,700 kilometers) southwest of Perth and halfway between Madagascar and Antarctica (from which is separated by 1,550 kilometers), lies Australia’s tallest mountain. This is Mawson Peak, located not on the Australian mainland but in the Territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands, a […]

Posted inAncient Greece, Geography

Megasthenes, the 3rd Century BC Greek Geographer who Described Himalayas and Calculated the Longitude and Latitude of India

Like many lost works of antiquity, their content can be partially reconstructed through the citations of later authors. This is what happened, for example, with the Phoenician history of Sanchuniaton. And also with the work of Megasthenes titled Indica, where he recounts his journey to India in the 3rd century BC. Megasthenes was born in […]

Posted inGeography

New Satellite Images Show Construction Progress of Nusantara, Indonesia’s New Capital City in the Jungle

The jungles of eastern Borneo, one of the most biodiverse areas on the planet, have begun to rapidly transform since mid-2022 due to the construction of Nusantara, Indonesia’s ambitious new capital. The epicenter of this transformation is an area near Balikpapan Bay, in the province of East Kalimantan. The President of Indonesia made the decision […]

Posted inGeography

Kerguelen, the Remote French Archipelago with More than 300 Islands Between Africa and Antarctica where a Hundred People Live

To an archipelago being known as the “Islands of Desolation” says quite a bit. If we also add that it’s located in the subantarctic region, meaning north of Antarctica and between 46 and 60 degrees latitude, the nickname is understandable. We’re referring to Kerguelen (which is its current name as “Desolation” fell out of use), […]