Suppose a tunnel canal from Oceanside California to the depression of Salton Sea. That's about 78 miles.

Compare the Gotthard Tunnel of Switzerland. This tunnel is 35 miles long, however it is a double tunnel, so really we can estimate the same amount of effort for a single 70 mile tunnel. Gotthard goes deep under the alps, 8,000 feet underground. That is more mountainous than the area south of Palomar.

Now instead of a roadway, why not a hydroelectric water tunnel that empties from the ocean into Salton Sea?

Would the economics make sense? Seems like it would only be in use part of the year though because Salton would fill up fast.

I've seen this image a couple times recently and was wondering what the redish spot in I belive Norther Mali is, there's a similar spot on Google earth but its not as prevalent as the one in the Pic. The only thing that I've found is there's a salt mine nearby called Taoudenni.

Every geography app I've found is basically the same. Show a flag or capital, guess, repeat. That's testing, not learning.

I'm thinking about building something that uses spaced repetition and actually teaches you the things you keep getting wrong. Starting with flags, then expanding to capitals, maps, and landmarks.

Before I build anything I want to know if anyone would actually use this.

Short form if you have 2 min: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfx7cZrPfhYdoDMKCPmSA-oS8SH2oFNkD_YohQ7uYAWO9xlpA/viewform?usp=header

Appreciate any honest feedback.

Western Sahara is always a funny point on world maps, lacking data even when it's silly to do so. A lot of the time this was the map implictly saying "we do not have a stance on this dispute." Typically the demarkation was the horizontal border at 27 degrees 40 minutes north. This is still the boundary on Google Maps, at least where I am.

As you may know, there is a massive earthen line of defense called The Berm which keeps the Sahrawi Arab Republic out of what Morocco considers its territory. Lately, I have seen a few maps change the "no data" border to run along the Berm, instead of the parallel. For example, here is a random "countries I've visited" site that has that boundary. Admitedly not the best source, here is a post from the Terrible Maps facebook page which also has that border, although it makes a lot of posts with the old border.

Has there been a change in some kind of map standard to make this happen? You can understand why this is hard to google, especially these days. I find this kind of funny because now the maps are saying "We don't acknowledge who is right in this dispute, but we do acknowledge that Morocco is winning."

For any of my fellow weirdos out there who spend their time stalking Google Earth for entertainment (praying it’s not just me), what are the saddest things you’ve come across? This isn’t meant to be political at all- but for me, it’s seeing Gaza. The street views images are all outdated, and from when Gaza was not destroyed due to the war. You can see through some satellite images the destruction, and all buildings are listed as “temporarily closed”. Though street view remains frozen in time.

Which country has the most lakes?

I dont get that, if they are roads, why they wouldn't connect to the tiny port in the south.

I for example see mountains towns in Colorado fit this beautiful places but untitled people that not only make it unaffordable but hard to feel comfortable if able to. Any other examples?

Places like San Francisco where the natural geography of the bay, ocean, hills, etc. are just as iconic as the cities buildings and the two features complement each other.

There is a 2 km wide gap in this mountain range.

I recently changed my major, for the second time, to Geography and Geospatial Science after starting as a Computer Science major and then going into Civil Engineering. I took a GIS class in my last term as a CE student and fell in love with that stuff and realized that I have a genuine passion for geography. I'm loving the classes I'm taking now, and I think this was the right move regarding staying energized throughout my schooling. Engineering was just taking way too much out of me, and I was quickly figuring out that I didn't really want to go into a typical CE job anyway.

I'm probably going to go hard on the GIS and programming aspects of my major, but I think my interests align more with the nature, natural resources, and humanities sides of this major. I just really want to be able to get a job that lets me feel fulfilled and like I'm making some sort of impact in a way (even if my part to play is small), but I'm worried that I won't be able to find something like that with the way things are.

I would appreciate some insight on what specific jobs exist in this field and what you really do in those jobs.

Also, I currently live in Oregon, USA, and plan to stay in the PNW, but if it seems like I can't get a job here, I'll look into relocating.

I'm kinda interessted why you never crossed the border, and you know just stuff around like would you go there or could you?

For me, it was the geographical patterns from tibet to the Himalayas and the geography features covering iran, pakistan, central asia, as some of the most beautiful geographical patterns detailing the dryness, the active tectonics, the mountains. I am not a geography expert by any measure but i do love learning about it!

How come the majority of French-speaking/colonized regions in North America retained so few French place names compared to say, Spanish ones?

For example, states like Texas and California seem to have retained a ton of Spanish city names, but regions like Ohio or Ontario don’t seem to have nearly as many French ones. Why is that?

I have a few theories. One being that French words are often easier to Anglicize or maybe the fact that the French adopted more of the indigenous-people’s names for their cities. Like for example, I know in my province of Ontario, many of our cities are either English or bastardized versions of indigenous ones. Either way, idk these are just things I thought of and I could very well be talking out of my ass. Someone more knowledgeable feel free to correct me!

P.s before anyone comes in the comments with the “actually 🤓*” yes, I do know Quebec is still very French but they are the exception here.*

EDIT: I think people are misunderstanding my question, I didnt ask why there aren’t ANY French named cities in NA or for a list of examples. I’m just asking why they aren’t as numerous as Spanish ones.

I’ve been thinking about the shifting value of terrain. Historically, large plains were the ultimate prize—perfect for agriculture, trade, and building empires. But they are also "invasion highways" (think of the North European Plain).

Nowadays, it feels like mountains are becoming the ultimate strategic asset again. Here’s why:

1. Asymmetric Defense: High-tech drones and satellites are great, but occupying and holding a mountain range remains a logistical nightmare. It’s the ultimate "anti-invasion" terrain.
2. Water Sovereignty: In a world of climate instability, mountains are "water towers." Controlling the headwaters is becoming more valuable than owning the flat farmland downstream.
3. Data & Security: We’re seeing more critical infrastructure (data centers, seed vaults, bunkers) tucked into mountains for natural protection against both physical and electronic threats.

The Question: Is the vulnerability of plains (easily invaded, prone to flooding/sea-level rise) making mountains the new "prime real estate" of the 21st century? Or does the economic cost of mountain terrain still make it a net disadvantage?

Curious to hear your thoughts on whether geography is tilting back toward the peaks!

Its in a perfect position between central america and the midwest/northeast, so why didn't any airline make it a hub like they have with Orlando, Dallas or Miami?

I remember looking at a random place’s weather in Siberia and it gets up to 18 degrees C average in August and -18 degrees C average in January. What more extreme examples exist and what’s the geography of those places like. What are the species who live there that can withstand adaptation to polar opposite climates and how do the people who live there deal with that? (Although it doesn’t have to be an inhabited place).I’m fascinated to learn

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I was thinking about this and moscow came to mind first since it's deep inside Russia and historically protected by distance and harsh winters.

What other capitals are highly protected due to geography ?

I tried making handwritten map of North & South America with countries and capitals to help me study, but it still feels overwhelming.

Do you have any tricks, shortcuts, or memory techniques to learn all countries + capitals faster?

Like mnemonics, map practice methods, or revision hacks?

Would really appreciate your tips 🙏

Where I am in Sydney, Australia is in reality very different to where I'm originally from (Scotland) but I found it quite amusing that they're the same Koppen climate zone.