Author: enviro

Here’s a map of Japan that I created. It shows the mountainous area of the island nation and as indicated on the map the majority of the land is mountainous and therefore difficult for residential, industrial or agricultural uses.

It is estimated to be about 145,883 square miles in size with 70 to 80% being mountainous. The mountainous areas are usually covered in forest.

Difficulties in traveling across the country have been overcome by technological advances, as Japan is famous for its long railway tunnels that go under the hills and mountains.

Because of Japan’s location at the intersection of three tectonic plates, earthquakes are commonplace. In addition to this, 10% of the world’s active vocanos are found in Japan. The most famous of Japan’s volcanos is mount Fuji, located between Tokyo and Shizuoka, which is still considered active. In the cooler seasons, steam can be seen bellowing out of the top of Mount Fuji.

On September 2nd a large earthquake hit the southern coast of the island of Java. It was measured at an intensity of 7.3 and has left thousands of homes damaged and at least 40 people dead so far.

The town worst affected by the earthquake is Tasikmalaya, shown in the map above. Tremors could be felt as far as Jakarta in the west and Bali island in the east.

In the capital Jakarta high rise buildings swayed and suffered structural damage. People evacuated buildings and gathered in open spaces as aftershocks continued.

There were also fears of a tsunami and an alert was raised but it has been retracted.

The map above shows the approximate areas in Victoria affected by bushfire in February 2009. Authorities believe the fires were lit deliberately and are currently searching for the arsonists. The death toll in Victoria is expected to run into the hundreds. The major areas affected are located around Melbourne especially the towns of Marysville, Buxton and Narbethong. Residents have lost their houses, livestock and their livelhoods.

The Saral de Uyuni located in Bolivia is the worlds largest salt flat. It is located in the southwest of Bolivia and is about 10,582 km². The salt flat used to be part of a large prehistoric lake named Lake Minchin that existed approximately 40,000 years ago.

Annually 25,000 tons of salt is extracted from the region. Lithium reserves can also be found in the region, but so far there are no mining sites. Other important uses for the region include tourism and the breeding of South American flamingos.