Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
As moisture-laden air enters Galicia from the Atlantic, it rises to cross the mountains, and in doing so
cools, condenses, and forms rain. By the time this air reaches the central plain, it's low on moisture,
so rain is relatively scarce. I know it makes for poor poetry, but “The rain in Spain stays mainly on
the mountains in Galicia.” You don't have to memorize that if you do not want to. But as regards
to “The Rain in Spain Stays Mainly on the Plain”, unless you're preparing for a role in your town's
production of
My Fair Lady,
forget about it.
“Coming Out of Nowhere”
Watch a football game on TV and sooner or later somebody will “come out of nowhere.” Typically, a
quarterback drops back to pass, spots a wide receiver in the open far downfield, and heaves the ball. It
looks like a sure completion. But at the last millisecond, the cornerback or safety lunges to deflect the
pass and save the day. The crowd screams and so does the play-by-play announcer: “Wow! He came
out of nowhere to make that play!” It seems athletes have this knack for “coming out of nowhere” to
do something spectacular. And it's not just football. Hockey, baseball, and basketball players do it,
too. Usually, it involves a great play on defense, but not always.
In the years before instant replay, I wondered how somebody could be nowhere, yet come out of that
non-location to perform a feat of great athleticism. It was one of the great mysteries of geography. I
figured, maybe the person coming out of nowhere was in one of those parallel universes they keep
talking about on
Star Trek
reruns. But then along came instant replay and guess what? That defensive
back was there all along. So there was no great mystery of geography after all. But that did create a
new mystery — why do TV networks give fat contracts to blind play-by-play announcers? I'm still
searching for an answer to that question.
Land of the Midnight Sun
Alaska is called the “Land of the Midnight Sun.” The future forty-ninth state became a U.S. territory
in 1867 when, in the greatest real estate deal since Jefferson purchased the Louisiana Territory from
Napoleon, Secretary of State William H. Seward negotiated its purchase from the Russian govern-
ment for $7.2 million. People thought Alaska was worthless and Seward was nuts, so they called
Alaska “Seward's Folly” and “Seward's Ice Box.” Either might have become the moniker, so you got
to admit “Land of the Midnight Sun” sounds pretty good. But as far as truth-in-geography is con-
sidered, that's another story.
For part of the year the sun does indeed shine at midnight north of the Arctic Circle. But only about
25 percent of Alaska is within that realm, and likewise only about 1 percent of Alaskans. Thus, if
