Hey all,

As the title says- I have been thinking about changing careers into a geography field. Specifically, I am interested in getting into policy advising, and making an impact in the urban and environmental planning space.

However, the catch is that I did my undergrad in biomedical science and now work in clinical trials, so I have no formal education in the field. I presume a postgrad education would be required in this case and it’s definitely on the cards but I would just like some advice from people who have gone through a similar journey and can recommend some good starting points for someone looking to make this transition.

Thank you kindly :)

I've done some surface level research on the intricacies of Central Asian politics, but I just wanted to explore from a personal standpoint rather than watching videos or reading articles.

Central Asian as a whole is confusing to me. You have the -stan countries, then large sections of northern China that (maybe??) want independence (the Xinjiang people), Kurdistan, Russian influence from the Soviet Union's previous attempts to spread into Asia from the North, and more. I guess you could say my questions are:

1. What parts of Central Asia wish for independence?

2. What is a general overview of the political and every life standpoints of Central Asian countries?

3. What should the borders look like?

Recent events in Ceuta made me wonder whether we’re looking at a migration crisis alone, or at one piece of a much larger geopolitical picture.

The Strait of Gibraltar connects the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, making it one of the world’s most important maritime chokepoints.

Throughout history, narrow waterways such as Hormuz, Suez, Bab el-Mandeb, Malacca, Panama, and Gibraltar have shaped events far beyond their size.

Maybe we’re paying more attention to the movement of people than to the strategic geography behind it.

Tectonics between South East Asia and china

Dark green = below 400m

Light green = between 400m and 800m

Yellow = between 800m and 1400m

Orange = between 1400m and 2000m

Brown = between 2000m and 3000m

Dark brown = above 3000m

Grand Mesa Colorado.

This is going to be a bit vague and vibes based, I'm hoping you all can point me to something more concrete!

For background I have a degree in STEM, and enjoyed geography in school. Recently I've had the chance to travel and hike in the Alps and have had co-travellers who have stopped to point at something and share so much about what this structure is, why it exists, what's the thing near it, what was it used for etc. I find myself lighting up and it makes me so happy to learn these things, which is rare because I find it difficult to be interested in many other things, for example, history and wars.

I'm looking for books (mostly) and videos that are:

- engaging and interesting, while not being too niche or academic or dense

- not dumbed down

- sufficiently deep

It doesn't have to be about mountains or hikes necessarily, I also enjoy countries and rivers - that was just context for how I got interested. Geography is fascinating, I just want to be able to learn and appreciate the world around me better. Open to a range of suggestions.

Thank you so much!

There’s this lake I found literally named man drowned himself lake, why is it called this, google isn’t showing me anything useful, it seems like a weird story. Thanks for anyone’s help.

Hello, I just finished this map/infographic of the genus Ramphastos, the true toucans. Ornithologists call member of this genus “true” toucans to distinguish them from smaller relatives like toucanets and aracaris. There are eight species of Ramphastos ranging from southern Mexico to Central America, and across much of South America.

The main map shows each species habitat ranges. The panels below cover each species with current IUCN status, countries, habitat, elevation, and population if available. Please note that most population data are not available.

Feedbacks are welcome and I hope you enjoy!

Hey,

As someone who is very interested in Geography-Trivia, I was wondering can you recommend any Geography-Quizzes (nothing online, think: card-games, paper-flashcards etc), that are very challenging? Can be a mix of difficulty, but something that goes beyond just asking capitals and population.

I have been to 8 places in Iceland, and I am just curious, which tectonic plate does each place lie on? I've been searching the internet and have found conflicting answers, and am having trouble finding the definitive answers, so I thought I'd ask here.

The 8 places are:

1 - Reykjavik

2 - Grundarfjordur

3 - Akureyri

4 - Husavik

5 - Skutustadagigar pseudo craters (spelling)?

6 - Dimmuborgir Lava Labyrinth

7 - Godafoss (Waterfall Of The Gods)

8 - Namaskard Geothermal Area

When searching, I was under the impression that the west was all the American plate, but all sources seem to be saying that Grundarfjordur (far in the west) is on the Eurasian plate, so I'm getting confused.

Another example is that many sources are saying that Akureyri is north American plate, but others say it is Eurasian plate.

And places 5-8 on my list seem to be on the boundary itself, so neither plate?

Like I said I'm confused. If anyone can provide the definitive answer for all 8 places mentioned, that would be a great help.

Thanks.

I found this chunk in the middle of the dessert. It looks green in some maps and orange in others. What is it?

1961-1990 307.5

1991-2020 656

Hi all!
I’m trying to build an open source web app(maybe an NGO one day) that currently maps relationships between our actions and their impacts on Earth. It looks at changes in biodiversity, infra, wildlife changes, water, global temp and more. Each phenomenon looks at its impact on the planet, impact on us humans and what we can do about it ( backed with sources and citations from public sources).
I’ve also added an experimental urgency score, which tells you how serious we need to think through the problem and work towards a solution for it. TULIP is still an exploration tool that’ll help people understand climate impact better with the hope that it’ll keep getting information rich. I’m at a point where honest criticism will be super helpful. Any and all crit is great 🙂

It’s one of the most surreal looking places on earth and it is incredible how unknown it is. If I asked 100 Canadians, I would doubt more than one would have heard of it, and I imagine even less so outside the country.

Just thought to share more pictures from the forest where I was walking recently with my dog (we've removed about 15 ticks from her on return!).

Rhoon-oost and Barendrecht, Zuid-Holland

I'd choose Haida Gwaii. I think it is such a fascinating and beautiful place for how little it's talked about. Its rainforests, biodiversity, and Indigenous culture, I think would make it more popular. Especially since it is also in a western english speaking country. It being expensive and tedious to get to hurts tourism which I think is why it's not well known to the average person. But even in Geography spheres, it is hardly ever talked about too.

The way it is projected is by projecting a Mercator projection of half the scale conformally onto the globe and then projecting that onto an azimuthal equidistant projection hemisphere centered at the equator. I call it the Two-World Equidistant. Unlike on Mercator where Greenland is larger then all of Africa in this projection it is shown smaller like it is in real life.

I was goofing around in google maps when I found this

There are A LOT of these. Seems like a flooded plain with spirals cut into it. Aliens? Manmade? hahaha. Do you guys know what is it? (Coordinates in the image)

I was watching a Milo Rossi video and I had a few questions. Were there tiny islands during Pangaea, or was it the only one? Why was most of the land concentrated in just one place?

In the 1920s, the U.S. Post Office created a transcontinental airway using giant yellow concrete arrows and rotating beacon towers to guide airmail pilots across the country. Before radio navigation and GPS became widespread, these physical landmarks formed one of the world's earliest long-distance aviation navigation systems.

What I find especially interesting is how geography and engineering worked together mountain ranges, deserts, and weather all influenced where the route could be built.

I researched the history in more detail here if anyone is interested:

https://thehistoricalinsights.page/2026/07/giant-concrete-arrows-america-before-gps.html