Geography Lessons

Why our planet is the way it is

Short, hands-on lessons on geography and GIS. Every lesson has something to drag, spin or break, and real numbers to back it up. No textbook required.

  1. Lesson 1

    Rain Shadows: why mountains steal the rain

    Spin a live 3D cross-section of the Sierra Nevada and the Appalachians. Watch air rise, cool, rain itself out, then sink warm and dry, and see why the West gets deserts and the East mostly does not.

    ClimateTerrainInteractive 3D
    Start the lesson →
  2. Lesson 2Coming soon

    What is a geoid, anyway?

    Earth is not a sphere, and it is not even a smooth egg. Why "sea level" is a lumpy surface shaped by gravity, and why your GPS height and your map height disagree.

    GeodesyGIS
  3. Lesson 3Coming soon

    Every map lies: projections

    You cannot flatten an orange peel without tearing it. Drag Greenland around a live map and watch it shrink to its real size.

    CartographyGIS
  4. Lesson 4Coming soon

    Why the great deserts line up

    The Sahara, the Arabian, the Sonoran and the Australian Outback all sit near 30 degrees from the equator. That is not a coincidence.

    ClimateGlobal circulation
  5. Lesson 5Coming soon

    Why cities sit where they sit

    Rivers, fall lines, harbors and mountain passes. The geography that decided where Washington, Los Angeles and Montevideo grew up.

    Urban planningHuman geography

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