Seoul and Busan rank at the very top, while Houston sits at the bottom.

Tokyo falls somewhere in the middle—just slightly ahead of London.

England is the densely populated and one of the most crowded in Europe. Yet when you look at the country on Google Maps and Google Satellite, the country is mostly open countryside and endless fields.

In theory, shouldn't England be covered in housing, as it has a population of over 60 million alone? England feels slightly more built up than Scotland and Wales, but they both have populations lower than London's.

English cities are also very strange. They just end randomly, and some are literally just separated by countryside fields. There are a few English cities that could merge as one

There are distally large chunks of England with no development or much urban living. I am shocked because my country is densely populated, has a smaller population, but doesn't have so much open land.

Also, looking at England on Google Street view: there are much more terraced and large houses. Rows and rows of houses. How is this also possible when most of the country is open land?

According to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_England''Approximately less than 10% of England is built on. More than 70% of the land of England is cultivated using intensive and mechanised agricultural practices''

Phoenix and Barcelona

Boston and Ruhr

Detroit and Rome

Minneapolis-St. Paul and Athens

Tampa and Brussels

San Diego and Lisbon

Denver and Birmingham

Orlando and Amsterdam

San Antonio and Frankfurt

Portland, OR and Vienna

Cincinnati and Stockholm

Indianapolis and Prague

San Jose and Copenhagen

Hampton Roads and Dublin

Providence and Liverpool

Raleigh and Belgrade

Louisville and Oslo

Buffalo and Zagreb

I love examples where you cannot understand a people or a cuisine or a way of life without first understanding the land, the mountains that isolated them, the river that fed them, the coast that opened them up. I want to collect good examples. What is a place where the geography so obviously drives the culture that it is almost the whole story?

Today was devastating. First time that I've named all of the Americas, Asia, Europe, Oceania in one run, and actually I've never named all of them individually in any other run until today! Today was a good day. But unfortunately we couldn't close it out lol. I've been sitting here for the past 12 minutes trying to remember what countries these are but can't for the life of me.. Day 4 today, 5 is hopefully the one, Flags and capitals next!! exciting stuff (anyone have any good websites to learn them)

and arghhh I just checked what they were. Burkina Faso, Mauritius, and republic of the Congo it's always the ones you never miss!!

Data: Wikipedia

Welcome to the first state of this list, and why not start of strong with Alabama? These Yellowhammers have a special place in Americas hearts, there's no wonder that there is in fact, a sweet home in Alabama. Lets get into it. (Also, Why does every time i look up Alabama it gives me the frickin song!!! Also the Alabama Football Team has one of the best college football record in history! (Only behind Ohio State with 988 - 345 - 43, compared to the Ohio State's 992 - 338 - 53 (Not this is overall, W - L - T format!)

Today, we're heading to Alabama, the 22nd state to join the United States, admitted on December 14, 1819. Known as the Yellowhammer State, Alabama has roughly 5.2 million residents and a capital in Montgomery, with its biggest city: Huntsville has around 249,100 people. But here's the interesting part: believe or not, this state is both a major chapter in America's civil rights history and a center of modern rocket science.

Geography & Nature

Alabama stretches from the Appalachian foothills in the north to the white-sand beaches of the Gulf Coast in the south. Cheaha Mountain, at 2,407 feet (734 meters), is its highest point. The state features dense forests, winding rivers, wetlands, and a humid subtropical climate. Its diverse ecosystems support an impressive variety of wildlife, while Mobile Bay connects Alabama to the Gulf of Mexico.

People & Culture

Alabama's culture blends Indigenous heritage, African American traditions, and broader Southern influences. Gospel, blues, country music, college football, and community gatherings all play important roles in local life. Mobile also has a long Mardi Gras tradition, with celebrations dating back to the early eighteenth century.

History: From Civil War to Civil Rights

Indigenous nations, including the Muscogee (Creek), Cherokee, Choctaw, and Chickasaw, lived in the region long before European colonization. Alabama became a state in 1819 and joined the Confederacy in 1861. Its history is inseparable from slavery, segregation, and the struggle for equality. Montgomery became the center of the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955, while the 1965 Selma voting-rights marches helped drive national efforts to protect voting rights. Ever heard of Rosa Parks? She was born here to! Muskegee, AL where in Montgomery, Mobile and Huntsville she spoke out over the major civil rights of color, gender and equality with unity, now thats what I call a woman!

Food & Cuisine

Alabama's cuisine is Southern comfort with a personality of its own. One standout is Alabama white barbecue sauce, a tangy mayonnaise-and-vinegar sauce created by Big Bob Gibson in Decatur in 1925, traditionally served with smoked chicken. Other favorites include slow-smoked ribs, fried catfish, Gulf Coast shrimp and oysters, and Conecuh smoked sausage. For dessert, pecan pie, banana pudding, and Lane Cake deliver classic Southern sweetness. The state's food reflects generations of African American cooking traditions, Gulf Coast seafood culture, and regional family recipes. Also... Ever had Fried Catfish? Its a very good staple around here, tried it once, personally tasted like a sock breaded and fried (I think it was under cooked), I'll stay with my cod thank you very much.

The Unexpected Side: Rocket Science

Forget the stereotype that Alabama is only farmland and football. Huntsville, nicknamed Rocket City, is a major aerospace and engineering hub. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center helped develop the Saturn V rocket that carried astronauts to the Moon. Alabama also has a major automotive manufacturing industry, producing vehicles for international markets.

Tourism

Visitors can explore the US Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Montgomery's civil rights landmarks, Birmingham's museums, and the beaches of Gulf Shores and Orange Beach. Few states offer such a combination of space exploration, pivotal American history, and coastal scenery.

Final Thoughts

Alabama is a state of contrasts. It played a major role in some of America's darkest chapters, became a crucial battleground for civil rights, and now contributes to space exploration and advanced manufacturing. Understanding Alabama means looking beyond stereotypes and recognizing how its past continues to shape its present.

For anyone who wants to learn more about their state or those who want to travel here I highly recommend reading these articles and videos! Encyclopedia of Alabama and the Alabama Department of Archives and History, also... Alabama - The US Explained by That is Interesting, best to watch if you really want to,! Educate yourself and have a blessed day!

Next Time - Aland Islands! The weird child of two step parents.

Buenas! He creado Geotico, un juego gratuito de geografía con un reto diario. 🌍 ¡Me encantaría saber qué os parece!

https://geotico.com/?ref=r-geoguessr

Most popular geography content is about flags, capitals, and borders, which is fun, but I think the physical side, how rivers, mountains, and climate actually shape where people live, is the more interesting half and gets less attention. I would love more discussion of the land itself. Do you lean more toward the human and political side or the physical side, and why?

Is there a list?

i was thinking why don’t world powers or large countries just maw down some of their land to 10-50 metres below sea level but not sudden like a lake ver gradual so it’s not dangerous then flood it to lower sea level

Today’s picture of Kato Vermio in Greece

Asking as a born and raised American in my 30s, born in the early 90s.
Born and raised in Houston, Texas till 18. I moved to Pennsylvania from 18-24 for school and then went back to Texas.
I noticed the differences in my accent and most of my classmates’ accents were there, but subtle. I know I didn’t know I had an accent and pronounced words differently until they started to point it out to me.
Where I lived in Pennsylvania had many people from many states.
Most of us seemed to talk similarly and pronounced most of our words the same. And regional accents seemed to only come out on a few pronunciations.
Like I didn’t notice people in Buffalo had an accent until it came out on words with “a” in them. Like apple becoming “aaaaahhhh-pple,” then I could immediately tell.
Or many of my classmates told me I couldn’t say the “-ing” suffix correctly, they said I kept not saying the “g” sound. They said I didn’t have an accent, but if I started to quickly in slang or pronounce an “-ing” word they said they heard it. That was news to me and when they said the “-ing” suffix, it sounded foreign to me. Then, I compared it to how I heard Texas people pronounce it, I realized I didn’t know it was a different pronunciation because it was the default I always heard.
I’ve met several people from Minnesota that their accent didn’t come out until they said something like, “I’m from Minne-SOH-ta.” It sounded similar to the Canadian accent pronunciation, but for simplicity I won’t ask about Canadian vs American accents.
I’m only going off anecdotes, which could be sample bias. I’m not going off American politicians and American celebrities, it seems some may exaggerate their accents.

I feel like the regional accents I’m hearing are now almost exclusively the previous generation. Like my professor from Boston that sounded like Mark Wahlberg or the stereotypical Long Island accent on TV that I’ve also heard in real life. I’ve heard regional accents in my generation, but they seem to be very rare. Like I said, this could be sample bias.

Edit: To clarify, the regional accents exist. But I’m asking about how distinct the regional accents are from each other.

Like I’ve heard Conor McGregor vs Paddy Pimblett talk. Their accents are much more distinct from each other than mine vs a classmate from Buffalo. But the distance between the state of New York and Texas is far greater than the distance between where those 2 fighters are from. It’s 1/10 the distance as the crow flies from Ireland to England as Houston to Buffalo.

Not referencing slang terms, that’s its own can of worms and there were quite a few differences.

More than 120 fish species have already passed from the Red Sea into the Mediterranean.

The route opened with the Suez Canal more than 150 years ago. Since then, tropical fish have steadily entered a sea that once blocked their northward movement.

The next arrivals may no longer be complete surprises.

A model developed by Tel Aviv University researchers ranks Red Sea fish by their chances of invading the Mediterranean. Three species stand out: the stellate pufferfish, cinnabar goatfish, and yellowspotted trevally.

Their scientific names are Arothron stellatus, Parupeneus heptacantha, and Turrum fulvoguttatum.

Also known as the Bactria-Margiana Archeological Complex, the Oxus civilization was a major middle bronze-age culture that covered parts of Turkmenistan, northern Afghanistan, southern Uzbekistan, and western Tajikistan.

Oxus civilization sites were first excavated by Soviet archeologists starting in the late 1960s with extensive digs carried out at Gonur Depe, the biggest city, and other sites. Gonur Depe was abandoned when the Murghab River shifted course and left the town dry, leaving it remarkably well-preserved.

The Oxus people traded widely and in all directions with Mesopotamia, the Iranian Plateau, the Indus Valley, and the Eurasian Steppe. Their metal-craftsmanship was exquisite, making many miniature figurines with fine details.