Tangier Island, Virginia, USA

Crabbing is a way of life on Tangier Island. And lessons learned come early. Growing up on Tangier means learning how to work the water. These two boys, plus dad, have just netted half a bushel of crabs, with three peelers singled out for special attention. See below. [2022]

DeSoto, Wisconsin, USA

The Mississippi River in Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary, 3rd ed., 1997, p. 748: "Navigable river, cen. U.S.; rises in Lake Itasca, NW Minnesota, flows . . . into the Gulf of Mexico through several mouths known locally as The Passes – Main Pass, North Pass, South Pass, Southwest Pass; 2340 mi." High water! [2019] 

Bismarck, North Dakota, USA

The Missouri River in Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary, 3rd ed., 1997, p. 750: "River; cen. and NW cen. U.S.; formed by confluence of Jefferson, Madison, and Gallatin rivers in Gallatin co., S Montana; . . . joins the Mississippi River ab. 10 mi. N of St. Louis; 2466 mi." [2021]

Leavenworth, Indiana, USA

The Ohio River in Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary, 3rd ed., 1997, p 861: "Navigable river in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois; formed by the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers at Pittsburgh . . .; empties into Mississippi River at Cairo, S extremity of Illinois; 975 mi." This is Horseshoe Bend. [2022]

Epes, Alabama, USA

The Tombigbee River in Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary, 3rd ed., 1997, p. 1190: "River; Alabama, formed by junction of E fork and W fork near Amory, Mississippi, crosses Alabama border west of Carrolton, flows S into the Alabama River to form the Mobile and Tensaw Rivers flowing into Mobile Bay at Mobile: 409 mi." See the White Cliffs of Epes? [2005]

Brunswick, Maryland, USA

The Potomac River in Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary, 3rd ed., 1997, p. 951: "River; E U.S. in West Virginia, Virginia, and Maryland; formed by the confluence of N branch and S branch; flows E and SE to form West Virginia-Maryland and Virginia-Maryland boundaries and empties into Chesapeake Bay; 287 mi." [2021]

Columbia, Pennsylvania, USA

The Susquehanna River in Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary, 3rd ed., 1997, p. 1141: "River; cen. New York, Pennsylvania, and Maryland, rises in Otsego Lake, Otsego co., cen. New York, flows S across Pennsylvania border and across E Pennsylvania and NE corner of Maryland, to empty into N Chesapeake Bay; 444 mi." [2013]

THE BACKSTORY ~ Posted on the 12^th Anniversary of Geographically Yours, 4 August 2022: Posts in late June 2022 were spent honoring some of America’s great rivers, including two of my besties: the Susquehanna (on whose banks I was born) and the Potomac (close to whose banks I lived for a while). For the photo captions, I decided to use entries from Merriam-Webster’s Geographical Dictionary, which, for decades, was a standard reference work for geographers and librarians.

It is now in its third edition, and it may be the last. Esoteric knowledge that used to be bound in books is now universally accessible digitally. The dust jacket of the revised 3rd edition is shown here. If you look at it closely, you will see a yellow starburst with a quote: “This is a masterful revision.” That quote was lifted from a review I wrote for “The Geographical” (its nickname) back when it was first published. In the 1990s, I loved walking into almost any bookstore and finding my name on the cover of a book I didn’t even write. At the same time, it made me feel a little bad. That’s because not even the editor, the one who did all the work, had his name on the book cover (though it is inside, along with a nice preface). He and I were friends in graduate school at the University of Rhode Island and we continue to be friends to this day. He got his M.A. and became an editor with one of the most revered publishing houses in lexicography. His expertise is geography, but he tended to other duties, too. As he attended professional meetings, he listened to paper presentations took notes on new words that were being used or on old words used in new contexts: for the files at headquarters in Springfield, Mass. Low-key but exciting. Together, we even gave a paper at one of those meetings. It was on generic place names (geographers call them toponyms). I posted our maps on Geographically Yours. We spent a lot of time plotting all those towns with endings like -burg and -boro. We did it by hand. Now, with Geographic Information Systems, a computer can do it instantly. DJ.Z.

Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

Here is some art in the heart of Minneapolis:

In Indiana, it's not. In Minnesota, it is.

By Indiana, it is. But unique, it's not.

[2021]

Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

Here is some art in the heart of Minneapolis:

If you do not not climb and do not touch,

the cock on top will thank you very much.

If you choose to climb and choose to touch,

the cock on top will make you need a crutch.

[2021]

Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

Here is some art in the heart of Minneapolis:

A bridge to a cherry too far, 

A catapult spoon that makes passers-by swoon

And imagine cerises by Renoir.

[2021]

Quebec City, Quebec, Canada

 

These berries look a little rough, or raspy, on the surface, and that is probably how they got their name: raspberries. If you find some from Île d'Orléans for sale in Quebec, buy them! Île d'Orléans is known as the Garden of Quebec and has served in that role for centuries. It is located in what geographers would call Von Thünen's inner ring. [2018]

Tel Aviv, Israel

Watermelons were originally known as gourd apples: mēlopepon in Greek. It is doubtful, though, that they looked much like these large, richly-colored, water-engorged hybrids, which were grown in Israel. Why would a desert culture grow something so water-demanding? Because, historically, they could be put in storage and used later to slake all thirst. [2010]

Bucharest, Romania

Peaches were originally known as Persian apples. In fact, that is where the name peach comes from: Persia. Even in the Romanian language, we acknowledge one of the ancient world's greatest empires when we say piersici. Look at other languages: In French, it is pêche, in Italian pesca, in German pfirsich, and in Finnish persikka. [2014]

Platja d'Aro, Catalonia, Spain

Inventory the high-rises in your community: How do they add color to the palette of place? Beach communities like Platja d'Aro usually get a bit more license when it comes to being colorful. In this building, residents do it with curtains. But, how do they achieve such a high degree of monochromatic unity? [2005]

Singapore, Republic of Singapore

Corporate vs. Colorful: Why are corporations so colorless? Why is modern architecture so colorless? Why are the tropics so colorful? Why is traditional tropical architecture so colorful? Inventory the high-rises in your community: How do they add color to the palette of place? Or do they? [2016]

Burlington, Vermont, USA

In the context of the 1990s: Democracy was a jigsaw puzzle with some new pieces in Eastern Europe, but we had faith that the pieces would eventually fit together seamlessly. In the context of the 2020s: Democracy is still a jigsaw puzzle, but many countries are struggling to keep the pieces from falling apart. That would include the United States. [1995]

New York, New York, USA

Covid Behaviors: Get tested. In big cities, testing stations were on the street. Most of us, however, took advantage of our local drug store's drive-thru. Eventually, though, self-test kits became available at stores and on-line. How many times did you get tested or test yourself? [2021]

Pierre, South Dakota, USA

Covid Behaviors: Eat in your car (maybe alone). "We are open." How surprising! Because you were closed for months. "Drive thru only." How unprecedented! Because your indoor dining room remained closed for the duration of peak Covid. [2021]

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Covid Behaviors: Wait outside. This scene was repeated on city streets everywhere. Cramped restaurant space was used to order take-away sustenance, but people waited for their order outside, where they shared sidewalk space with cycles and routine pedestrian flows. [2021]

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Covid Behaviors: Eat in the heat (because it's still a little cold). On Randolph Street in Chicago, every friend group had a "hot house," a patch of artificial turf, and a masked-up waiter to make the Covid era a little more tolerable. Once again, automobile space was turned over to the people. [2021]

St. Paul, Minnesota, USA

Covid Behaviors: Eat on the street. So many cities and towns turned at least some of their public streets into outdoor bistros. Everybody wanted to go somewhere but no one wanted to share indoor space with anybody but family. Outside many restaurants, therefore, automobile space was turned over to the people. [2021]

Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA

Covid Behaviors: Wear your mask. . . or this could be you! Let's hope the mask era is over permanently, but these skeletons remind us that over a million Americans lost their lives to Covid. That's more than any other country in the world, including the two countries that have a larger population than we do. What did we do wrong? [2021]

Lake Charles, Louisiana, USA

Covid Behaviors: Wear your mask. Most of us are no longer wearing masks except in the most crowded of places. But, we will always remember the years of ubiquitous reminders to Mask Up. On this city bus the driver wore his mask and his passengers had to, as well. [2022]

Milton, Kentucky, USA

Early in the history of Virginia (yes, Kentucky was part of Virginia), a town was necessary in this vicinity. That's because a connection, a ferry, was needed between the two sides of the mighty Ohio, and there was a convenient set of river terraces that gave way to towns. It wasn't long, however, until natural history, caught up with settlement history. [2022]

Madison, Indiana, USA

Upstream from Madison on the Ohio River is Cincinnati. Downstream is Louisville. All three cities were founded within a decade or two of 1800. Why did Cincinnati and Louisville grow into national metropolises while Madison shrank from history (even though it was one of the 100 largest cities in the country by 1850)? Think: transportation geography. [2022]

Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

The new John Glen mural epitomizes more than 21st-century art. It reminds us of the transition from a world of black-and-white, delivered by cathode-ray tubes, to a world of living color, now popularly symbolized by(1) tessellations and (2) radiant beams. Together, these two design elements work to deliver a high-impact wall of urban entertainment. [2022]

Carmi, Illinois, USA

What's that salience? (a) a beach ball, (b) a tourist attraction, (c) a hot air balloon, (d) Old Glory's stripes draped over a sphere, (e) a baby's rattle, (f) a welcome sign, (g) an example of toponymic semiotics, (h) a branding iron, (i) a water tower. More than one answer may be correct. [2022]

Grayville, Illinois, USA

What's the message of the water tower? Grayville's not so gray! It's colorful: right down to the showy red maple nearby. If Grayville were on the coast, you might think of a beach ball. You also might think it mirrored two trends: (1) using water towers as branding irons, and (2) using tessellations (this time on a sphere) to make a statement. [2022]

New Bern, North Carolina, USA

Whether we are talking about sculpture, murals, or the Google Chrome home page, tessellations seem to be in favor right now. What's that say about society? Stay within the lines. Nothing should be blurred. Boundaries should be sharp. Voices should be bold. Meeting points should be many. Harmony should triumph despite differences. [2021]

New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Marcel Proust reminds geographers: “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” These new eyes are invigilating the edge of New Orleans' downtown. But, they are really old eyes, expressive eyes, soulful eyes, iconic eyes. They belong to native son Louis Armstrong. [2022]