GeoCast

12/22/2025

From space, it looks like a fragile Christmas ornament resting on the boreal forest of Quebec. Perfectly round. Quiet. Almost decorative. But the Manicouagan Reservoir is anything but gentle.

About 214 million years ago, when early dinosaurs were just beginning to walk the Earth, a massive asteroid—roughly 5 kilometers wide—slammed into this ancient bedrock. The impact was violent enough to vaporize rock, reshape the crust, and carve out a scar 72 kilometers across. Few impact sites on Earth remain this clear, this intact. Time erased most others. This one endured.

Millions of years passed. Ice sheets came and went. Forests returned. Rivers slowly traced the broken land. In the 20th century, humans arrived with concrete and turbines, flooding the crater to create one of Quebec’s most important hydroelectric reservoirs. Water filled the ancient wound, turning destruction into power, silence into motion.

At the center sits René-Levasseur Island, the rebound peak of the impact itself—land pushed upward by unimaginable force, now surrounded by dark water like a lake within a lake. It’s geology frozen in time, history layered beneath the surface.

Manicouagan is a reminder that Earth remembers everything. Catastrophe can become landscape. Violence can become symmetry. And sometimes, the most beautiful shapes on our planet are born from moments that nearly tore it apart.

12/21/2025

If I’ve ever seen a clearer case for decentralization, this is it.

Despite Canada’s vast landmass, nearly 70% of its population is packed into just a few narrow corridors—the Quebec–Windsor corridor, Greater Vancouver, and the Calgary–Edmonton axis. The rest of the country remains sparsely populated, shaped by climate, infrastructure, jobs, and historical settlement patterns.

This concentration brings economic efficiency, but it also strains housing, transit, and public services—while enormous regions remain underdeveloped. The map is a stark reminder that geography doesn’t just shape where people live; it shapes opportunity itself.

Map credit: The World in Maps

12/20/2025

Idk why I love whales this much

We’ve updated our Humpback Whale Pacific migration graphic to include the migration and feeding grounds of the Central America Distinct Population Segment, which extends into the Southern Salish Sea.

Every year, one of the most extraordinary natural migrations takes place in the Pacific Ocean. Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) undertake a journey that spans thousands of kilometers. These marine giants, part of the North Pacific population, follow a highly seasonal migration pattern that connects the frigid, food-rich waters of the north with the warm, tropical breeding grounds of the south.

The graphic above shows the path these whales take, which can be up to 8,000 kilometers long. Read more about this journey here: https://ocean.org/blog/the-migration-of-the-north-pacific-humpback-whale/

You can help humpback whales by downloading the Ocean Wise Whale Report App and reporting your whale sightings. Each time you do, alerts are sent to authorized commercial ships in the area, prompting them to slow down or alter course, reducing the risk of ship strikes. Plus, each sighting is reviewed and added to a research database, helping scientists monitor species occurrence and distribution over time.

12/19/2025

“The world continues to grow more violent and disorderly,” warns CFR conflict prevention expert Paul B. Stares. The Preventive Priorities Survey, an annual survey of over 600 U.S. foreign policy experts directed by Stares, found that five conflict-related risks top the list of concerns for 2026 based on likelihood and impact on U.S. interests: increased clashes between Israeli security forces and Palestinians in the West Bank, renewed fighting in the Gaza Strip, intensified attacks in the Russia-Ukraine war, direct U.S. military strikes in Venezuela, and an increase in political violence and popular unrest in the United States.

Read the survey results: https://on.cfr.org/3KSEca8

Unlike other forecasting tools, the Preventive Priorities Survey aims to help U.S. policymakers prioritize competing conflict prevention and crisis mitigation demands.

“Last year’s unprecedented level of anxiety among experts about the rising risk of conflict remains undiminished,” says Stares. “The United States can and should do much more to promote peace and stability internationally.”

12/17/2025

France why you got to be that way?

12/14/2025

Global fossil fuel use in 2023, by country.

China and the United States dominate worldwide fossil fuel consumption, together accounting for a massive share of coal, oil, and natural gas use. India and Russia follow, driven by rapid industrial growth and energy-intensive economies. Meanwhile, countries like Japan, Saudi Arabia, and Germany remain heavy consumers despite efficiency gains.

12/11/2025

What’s your drink? Comment down below!!

12/09/2025

Welcome to the Ring of Fire! A massive, horseshoe-shaped belt wrapping around the Pacific Ocean, home to over 75% of the world’s active volcanoes and some of the planet’s strongest earthquakes. From the Americas up through Alaska and sweeping down Japan, Indonesia, and New Zealand — this fiery arc is where Earth never stops moving.

What fuels all this drama? Tectonic plates constantly grinding, colliding, and diving beneath one another. When one plate slips under another — a process called subduction — it builds enormous heat and pressure underground. That’s the spark behind explosive eruptions, rising mountain ranges, and the earthquakes that shake entire coastlines.

Scientists watch the Ring of Fire closely because it’s like having a window into how Earth works. Using GPS sensors, seismic networks, and satellite monitoring, they track tiny shifts deep below the surface to improve early-warning systems and understand our planet’s past and future.

For millions living along this zone, the Ring of Fire shapes everyday life. Communities prepare for quakes, tsunamis, and eruptions — but they also benefit from rich volcanic soil, geothermal power, and stunning natural landscapes born from fire.

12/06/2025

Relief Map Series – Episode 24: Antarctica (Final Episode)- Antarctica is the coldest and most mysterious continent on Earth — a massive world of ice split into two parts by the long Transantarctic Mountains. Huge ice shelves like the Ross and Ronne push out into the ocean, while the interior holds some of the thickest ice anywhere on the planet.

The continent is home to some incredible peaks: Vinson Massif, the highest in Antarctica, towers above the Ellsworth Mountains. Mount Kirkpatrick rises sharply near the Transantarctic range, and Mount Erebus stands out as one of the few active volcanoes in this frozen land. Even here, at the bottom of the world, fire and ice meet. As we reach the South Pole, this final map marks the end of our incredible journey across Earth’s landscapes. From deserts to deltas, mountains to megacities — and now the coldest, loneliest continent — this series has been an unforgettable adventure. Thank you for travelling through relief, terrain, and geography with me. Your support, curiosity, and enthusiasm made this series something truly special. If you enjoyed this journey, don’t forget to like, share, and spread the love of geography. Until the next exploration — stay curious!! Also let me know, Should I start another series?

12/04/2025

Chicken dinner!

Global chicken consumption per person has quadrupled since 1961—

In 1961, around two chickens were slaughtered per person globally each year. As many countries grew richer — and richer countries tend to eat more meat — global demand for chicken increased.

Since then, the number of chickens slaughtered per person has quadrupled. On average, 9 chickens are killed each year for every person in the world. Chickens have also become much heavier, so the amount of meat eaten in kilograms has grown even faster.

Life is short and painful for many farmed animals. Global estimates suggest that most are raised in factory farms. In the United States, around 99% of livestock comes from them.

(This Data Insight was written by Simon van Teutem.)

Explore more interactive charts and articles on animal welfare on our dedicated topic page: https://ourworldindata.org/animal-welfare

Subscribe to our newsletter to receive Data Insights directly in your inbox: https://ourworldindata.org/subscribe

12/03/2025

Relief Map Series — Episode 23: West Indies (Penultimate Episode!)

The West Indies is a sweeping arc of islands where mountains rise straight out of the Caribbean Sea, telling a story shaped by volcanoes, tectonic collisions, and centuries of human movement. From Cuba’s long limestone ridges to Jamaica’s rugged Blue Mountains, and from Hispaniola’s towering peaks to the volcanic chain of the Lesser Antilles, this region is where the Earth’s crust has folded, erupted, and lifted to create one of the most dramatic island belts on the planet. Every island has its own tale: ancient coral platforms in the Bahamas, fertile volcanic slopes in Dominica and St. Lucia, and the wind-sculpted lowlands of Barbados sitting just outside the volcanic arc.

But beyond terrain, the West Indies is a mosaic of cultures. Afro-Caribbean, Indigenous, European, South Asian, and Creole traditions blend into music, food, and languages that make the region unlike anywhere else. These islands have endured hurricanes, colonial history, and political transformations, yet they remain vibrant, warm, and endlessly welcoming. This is a place where the land and sea shape identity—and where every mountain ridge and coastline holds centuries of memory.

As we reach the penultimate episode of the Relief Map Series, thank you for the love, the shares, the comments, and the excitement you’ve carried across each map—from Asia’s giants to Africa’s escarpments, from Europe’s peninsulas to the Americas’ vast landscapes. Your support has turned this series into something truly special. If you’ve enjoyed the journey, please like, share, and help this episode travel as far as the trade winds themselves.

11/30/2025

Relief Map Series – Episode 22: New Zealand, A land of two striking halves, New Zealand’s terrain is a dramatic blend of soaring alpine ridges, volcanic plateaus, fertile plains, and rugged coastlines. The North Island rises around its volcanic heartland — peaks like Ruapehu tower over geothermal valleys, forested ranges, and deep blue lakes such as Taupō. Coastal lowlands stretch outward toward cities like Auckland, Rotorua, and Gisborne, where rolling hills meet the Pacific.

Further south, the South Island dominates with its monumental Southern Alps, crowned by Aoraki/Mt. Cook. The spine of the island is edged by glacier-carved valleys, wild fjord country, and pockets of rich plains around Canterbury and Otago. From the windswept tip of Cape Farewell to the remote calm of Stewart Island, New Zealand’s terrain reveals a compact nation packed with extremes — lush, alpine, coastal, volcanic — all layered within one breathtaking landscape.