Is there a website that would show the world sorted by elevation? I recently enjoyed reading Plague Year, a post-apocalyptic thriller. The main conceit of this science-fiction novel is that a nanotechnology plague that kills any warm blooded animal (including humans), but the disease self-destructs at altitudes above 10,000 feet. How much territory would this be across the whole planet? [more inside]
posted by seasparrow on Oct 30, 2009 - 6 answers

Where's Cissylvania? [more inside]
posted by madcaptenor on Oct 26, 2009 - 15 answers

Satellite photos: what interesting features can be seen or measured in them (or other aerial photos), and where can I get a supply of images? [more inside]
posted by k. on Sep 30, 2009 - 12 answers

I'm making a CD for a party whose theme is "Around the World" and I need ideas. I'm looking for popular songs that would go over well at a party of 20-somethings and are about specific geographical places, preferably outside of the U.S. I know I'm missing some obvious ones. [more inside]
posted by natabat on Aug 22, 2009 - 60 answers

Why are so many contests limited to the continental United States? [more inside]
posted by yesno on Aug 13, 2009 - 7 answers

Anybody know of a way to get a map that shows neighborhoods instead of just street names? If it helps, I'm looking for the 30062 area code...
posted by richmondparker on Aug 10, 2009 - 11 answers

I am trying to remember the name of a board game I played as a child. I got it free in the mail, and it was a travel/geography game. [more inside]
posted by sandraregina on Jul 29, 2009 - 3 answers

A few years ago I had bookmarked a website that had a very plain search feature that allowed you to search names of all sorts of geographical whathaveyou and gave a table complete with longitude and latitude coordinates. I believe this site was US-centric (might have been USGS but I looked and failed) although it was possible to search for anything, world-wide. Ring any bells?
posted by AdamOddo on Jul 29, 2009 - 5 answers

I think I finally understand what I like to do. So... what would I like to do? [more inside]
posted by McBearclaw on Jul 28, 2009 - 16 answers

Awesome trivial question: How many official state languages are there in the Western Hemisphere? Give yourself a moment to think about this before you read my first guess on the inside. [more inside]
posted by math on Jul 28, 2009 - 36 answers

Help me find a series of maps with various countries superimposed on the continental US. [more inside]
posted by HumuloneRanger on Jun 28, 2009 - 10 answers

I am in need of a program that will allow me to display demographic information by county on a state map. Recommendations? [more inside]
posted by WidgetAlley on Jun 7, 2009 - 8 answers

I'm looking for suggested book(s) for backgrounding myself in map theory. Think somewhere between a history of maps and a technical textbook. I've been looking at maps for 30+ years as a non-geographer, and will be taking some GIS and mapping courses this autumn. So, plenty of text-and-classroom exposure there. What kind of semi-technical background reading would be useful over the summer?
posted by slab_lizard on Jun 6, 2009 - 6 answers

What is the name of this body of water in southeast Ohio? [more inside]
posted by UnclePlayground on Jun 2, 2009 - 6 answers

New Yorkers seem to have an incredibly detailed implicit and explicit knowledge of their city. I want to know more. [more inside]
posted by milqman on May 28, 2009 - 71 answers

Desire Paths / Lines: a term apparently coined by Gaston Bachelard in The Poetics of Space. What was the original French he used? and are there any other terms for the act and outcome of paths that emerge through routine, reflexion and the feedback of movement. [more inside]
posted by 0bvious on May 25, 2009 - 1 answer

Please pass on your favourite online mapping websites, with an emphasis on interactive applications. [more inside]
posted by micklaw on Apr 24, 2009 - 4 answers

how many Americans own 40 acres or more of land? [more inside]
posted by rzperllian on Mar 7, 2009 - 17 answers

Is there a geographical reason the NBA's Western Conference has been so much better than the East? What's the deal? [more inside]
posted by ORthey on Feb 19, 2009 - 37 answers

I'm looking for a Dashboard widget for Mac OS X that will help me get better at geography. [more inside]
posted by nosila on Feb 4, 2009 - 1 answer

Why is Sudan frequently referred to with an article, as in the Sudan?
posted by christhelongtimelurker on Jan 28, 2009 - 11 answers

What is this odd geographical feature in Long Beach, CA? [more inside]
posted by anazgnos on Dec 30, 2008 - 8 answers

Looking for Geography Bee questions online. [more inside]
posted by iconjack on Dec 28, 2008 - 4 answers

Quick, what schools should I apply to? (PhD, English-and-related-fields) [more inside]
posted by You Can't Tip a Buick on Nov 22, 2008 - 5 answers

Where can I find a freeware or shareware download for Mac OS X that will allow me to plug in numerical data (e.g., public library funding in a given year) for each U.S. State and get a map of the USA that displays color-coded states? Like the infamous red / blue states map, which also has county breakdowns. [more inside]
posted by bad grammar on Oct 28, 2008 - 5 answers

Help me re-find a cartogram-like picture of the 100 largest cities by population. [more inside]
posted by brownbat on Sep 28, 2008 - 6 answers

Can anybody tell me anything about Amiguano, Italy? [more inside]
posted by ethnomethodologist on Aug 24, 2008 - 4 answers

What is this? 60°24'37.66"N 130°48'59.78"W. View it in satellite on Google Maps or Earth. [more inside]
posted by converge on Aug 18, 2008 - 15 answers

What kind of career can I pursue that involves maps, apart from the obvious (cartography, GIS, geography teacher)? [more inside]
posted by desjardins on Aug 7, 2008 - 30 answers

I'm writing a book set in a location similar to Joshua Tree National Park, and I'd like recommendations on resources for learning more about the area. [more inside]
posted by tyrantkitty on Jul 21, 2008 - 4 answers

What are some great sci-fi novels that take place on planets with unusual climate/geography? [more inside]
posted by mamessner on Jul 12, 2008 - 42 answers

When I was a kid living in La Mesa, California, my mother got to poke around in the tailings at local tourmaline and mica mines as part of weekend classes we took at the natural history museum. Are there any kinds of similar gemstone mines anywhere near where I live now - Sacramento, California - that offer similar opportunities?
posted by luriete on Jun 30, 2008 - 7 answers

How far can you travel in a particular state (geographical, not emotional) without leaving it? I was thinking about this the other day when travelling from Asheville to Kitty Hawk, NC, and I realized that it was an amazingly long journey to take all within a relatively small (but long) Eastern state. [more inside]
posted by math on Jun 3, 2008 - 21 answers

One of those "Suicide Girls" has decorated her wall with the antique map of an island. Ignore the tattoos for a moment: which island is shown here? NSFW Link. [more inside]
posted by The Toad on Apr 29, 2008 - 3 answers

How do geographers calculate the area of a landmass, given crinkly coastlines? Or to put it another way, if I have a map of a large island X, how do I calculate its area in square kilometres?
posted by Hogshead on Apr 8, 2008 - 22 answers

What's the easiest way of generating a map similar to this? I have several state-level data series I want to display on maps of India. [more inside]
posted by matthewr on Mar 23, 2008 - 6 answers

What about London should I map? [more inside]
posted by viewofdelft on Feb 21, 2008 - 21 answers

What is the "bad part of town" for your nearest metropolitan area... and what's the name of the most notoriously "bad" neighborhood(s) in that part of town? [more inside]
posted by jjjjjjjijjjjjjj on Feb 14, 2008 - 174 answers

World Geography Quiz? (?seen on mefi in the last 5 weeks?) - Involves putting flags close to locations [more inside]
posted by you're only jung once on Jan 26, 2008 - 9 answers

I'm looking for books that will help me improve my basic knowledge of geography, other countries and cultures. [more inside]
posted by shirobara on Dec 17, 2007 - 5 answers

I want to build a website centered around maps, mapping, geography, GIS, etc., but I need help narrowing down my focus. [more inside]
posted by desjardins on Dec 13, 2007 - 8 answers

What are the best essays, books, or scholarly articles regarding the social role of maps? Both pre- and post- web 2.0, google earth mash ups, and the like. I'm familiar with the Situationalist critique, but wonder where else to begin reading. [more inside]
posted by pinto on Nov 25, 2007 - 5 answers

Is topography, relief, or physical terrain taken into consideration when assessing a country's size, or area? [more inside]
posted by takeyourmedicine on Nov 19, 2007 - 4 answers

Human rights violations around the world. What are countries with histories of major modern human rights violations that I may not think of? [more inside]
posted by n'muakolo on Nov 1, 2007 - 38 answers

I'm looking for some fairly high-quality geographical maps of the whole planet (preferably contained in a single map, instead of being spread over several), but without any details on it whatsoever to do with places or names, not even names of mountains or rivers - no country/state borders drawn in either - the only detail should be things like the geography (high/low land, desert, mountains, forest, etc) Thanks in advance!
posted by heylight on Oct 27, 2007 - 6 answers

Where is a good place in the world to live for consistently comfortable temperatures throughout most of the year? The UK alternates between unbearably hot, and bloody freezing, and I'm sick of it.
posted by oxide on Oct 5, 2007 - 68 answers

GISFilter: Will ArcGIS run smoothly on a bootcamped MacBook? [more inside]
posted by betafilter on Sep 21, 2007 - 8 answers

Besides this, this and these, what are some other examples of buildings that straddle state or international borders? [more inside]
posted by SisterHavana on Sep 20, 2007 - 23 answers

What US city has the three tallest buildings in the United states and is this a trick question? [more inside]
posted by Soulbee on Sep 8, 2007 - 10 answers

What is the geographical center of Polk County, Florida? [more inside]
posted by ?! on Jun 16, 2007 - 7 answers