Spokane, Washington, USA

The Great Northern Clock Tower is an early 20th century landmark, an authentic reminder of the role played by rail connections in turning a frontier outpost into the cardinal place of eastern Washington. Rising high above the city, this was the clock that established the rhythms of each day. It displayed the time of record despite what other clocks said. [2019]

Louisville, Kentucky, USA

While you are seeking shade to ameliorate the heat, turtles are seeking sunshine to maximize every degree. That's because you are warm-blooded, and they are cold-blooded. The way these turtles are competing for space on that log reminds us, though, how much we have in common. We all want to be in the same places. Their log is our Manhattan Island. [2022]

Port Royal, South Carolina, USA

Welcome to Lowcountry, the southernmost part of South Carolina. It's a region where the boundary between water and land is masked by marshes, where Spanish Moss creates one of the nation's most distinctive geographies, and where the pressure to gentrify has overcome the tendency of the natural environment to isolate. [2007]

Red Wing, Minnesota, USA

Silos like these punctuate the American wheat belt, and Red Wing early evolved as one of the centers of wheat production. Why? The Mississippi River tells the story. Not only was the land and climate ideal for cereals, but the river was ideal for getting grain to market. Then came the railroads, and the river lost some of its significance as a highway. [2021]

New York, New York, USA

Anchor Cities of Megalopolis: New York. It's recognized as a "jacks of all trades" around the world. Get it? If Megalopolis had a capital, New York would be it. Why? Because it's the city all other cities look up to. Only London is on par. To you, NYC sends hugs (O) and kisses (X). Again, get it? [2022]

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Urban textures: Here's the feel of vertigo and unorthodoxy, the feel of the city known to "the creative class." Everything is relative and can be seen from multiple perspectives. As cities started to exist outside the box, right angles were replaced by obliques and curves, and windows by reflective surfaces. [2021]

Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Urban textures: Here's the feel of order and organization, the feel of the city known to "the organization man." Everything in a box of its own. For the suits of the 1950s, every aspect of work and personal life was compartmentalized. Then, our cities got the message: Think outside the box. [2008]

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

The name of the ferry tells you where it goes. The Spirit of Tasmania crosses the Bass Strait connecting Melbourne with Devonport on the island of Tasmania. To truly appreciate an island, you cannot fly in. You must take a boat, you must watch the mainland disappear beyond the horizon, and you must watch the island slowly take form across the open seas. [2011]

Hastings, Minnesota, USA

What does your town have to make it proud? Perhaps something unique like a new bridge. Across the mighty Mississippi, no less. Yes, things that are new can be as unique as things that are old: if they are built with an eye toward aesthetics. In Hastings, the arches, geometry, colors, and landscape architecture make the newest span a sunny delight. [2021]

Växjö, Sweden

When the international border between Sweden and Denmark was here, Kronoberg Castle was necessary for Sweden to guard its frontier. Lots of resources went into fortification, expansion, and upkeep. When the international border was moved to the Øresund, Växjö lost its strategic significance and the castle declined. Today, only ruins remain. [1984]

THE BACKSTORY ~ Posted on the 11^th Anniversary of Geographically Yours, 4 August 2021: From my travel log on the two days a friend and I spent in Växjö, Sweden, in the summer of 1984. “We headed inland and got off at Alvesta, then caught another train to Växjö. In Växjö we stopped at an outdoor museum (closed), saw a windmill, and a few folk barns, stopped to see the cathedral, and fortunately bought a few things for supper at the grocery store. Växjö was dead though. It was Saturday afternoon and almost everything was closed.”

The next day we rented an Opal Corsa for a single day and drove out into the countryside from which so many Swedish immigrants to the United States had come. My friend was a descendent of one of those immigrant families. “We  drove back to Växjö, after eating in the car, on a very rural road that wound its way through the woods and among the lakes of Kronoberg. It rained the whole day and prevented a lot of picture taking. In Växjö we rushed to the Emigrant House Museum, which is undergoing considerable expansion. It was located next to the Smaland Museum where they have some buildings moved in from around Sweden. Nobody in the museum knew anything about the outbuildings and didn’t have anything in writing about them either. The Emigrant House Museum was very nice. It had both English and Swedish descriptions which made it more meaningful for us."

“One more stop we made before returning to the hostel. We went to see the ruins of Kronoburg castle, the best castle we have yet seen. It is situated on a point of land which juts into Helgasjön Lake. The ruins were restored with a few bricks to support the arches and a few new stairways made of wood.  The castle is open to the weather, however. The only contrived aspect was the wooden stage and simple benches which were set up in the central courtyard and some passageways that were blocked off. We had the whole castle to ourselves. The castle is on the site  of a medieval bishop’s castles (Bishop of Växjö). The present castle was built in Gustavus Vasa’s time and was added to in the 1550s.” The next morning, we boarded the train to Stockholm. D.J.Z.

South Mills, North Carolina, USA

South Mills is located at the southern edge of the Great Dismal Swamp, through which passes a segment of the original Intracoastal Waterway. It connects the Albemarle Sound with the Chesapeake Bay. Today, much of the traffic is pleasure boats. They must wait for scheduled openings of the draw bridges before they can pass. [2020]

Seoul, South Korea

People of Seoul: Why do people all over the world find aesthetic value in water as a component of landscape? Here on the Cheonggyecheon, photographers devise multiple opportunities to capture the spirit of place by freezing a very special urban spring. They do it by adjusting lenses rather than regulating temperatures. [2012]

Burrillville, Rhode Island, USA

Even a gloomy day can't mute the forsythias, and they provide twice as much inspiration when they are duplicated in the still water of a Rhode Island reservoir. [2019]

Lady's Island, South Carolina, USA

Lady's Island is centuplicated along the coast of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida: It's a distinctive region we know as the Sea Islands. Thanks to sprawling residential development, however, so much of the region no longer looks like this. Today is Earth Day! So, find your own Sam's Point somewhere close to home and pledge to preserve it. [2008]

The Everglades, Florida, USA

Why should you visit the Everglades in winter? Third, it's as good a season as any to see the Great Egret, but hurry. The number of breeding pairs in the Everglades has been declining. What's first? What's second? [2018]

The Everglades, Florida, USA

Why should you visit the Everglades in winter? Second, it's the perfect season to spot a little blue heron. That's because so many return from the north to over-winter here. What's first? [2018]

Northfield Falls, Vermont, USA

Labor Day is not for laboring. It's for taking a break and enjoying the last days of summer. Fall comes to Northfield Falls and the Green Mountains early, so this may be the season's last chance to bag some rays, imbibe some brews, and bathe some booty in the cool waters of the Dog River. [2018]

Celebration, Florida, USA

Forty-five years ago, Celebration wasn't even a gleam in the Disney Company's eye. On the other hand, forty-five years ago, there was a gleam in a certain groom's eye in the college town of Grantham. What a celebration it was! [2017]

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, USA

If you're off work this morning, go fishing. Certainly, there must be a stream like Marsh Creek near you. Or, sit down at your PlayStation and cast a few from Fishing Planet. Time to vote: Which one sounds like more fun? [2018]

Atlanta, Georgia, USA

There are two realms of flamingos in the Western Hemisphere. One centers on the Caribbean and one on Chile. These are Chilean Flamingos, but they are not in South America. They are catching eyes at Zoo Atlanta. The Chileans aren't as pink as their cousins to the north. [2014]