Author: Harold Draper

Cebadillas, Islands of the Gulf of California, and El Vizcaino

June 13, 2011

Birthplace of the green revolution; marine mammals in a flooded rift valley in the Sonoran Desert, a deeper canyon than the Grand, and cliff dwellings I. Map boundaries: 20 to 30 degrees North; 108 to 117 degrees West II. Country (State): Mexico (Baja California, Baja California Sur, Chihuahua, Sinaloa, Sonora) III. Overview In the 1940s, … More Cebadillas, Islands of the Gulf of California, and El Vizcaino

Rapa

May 15, 2011

Trapped at the end of the world; an ecological collapse; a microplate with a new family of crustaceans I. Map Boundaries: 20 to 30 degrees South, 108 to 117 degrees West II. Country: Chile (Region V—Valparaiso) III. Overview More than 2,300 miles from South America and 1,400 miles from the nearest Polynesian island, nine-mile-wide Easter … More Rapa

Gan, Pearl, and Xiang Rivers

April 10, 2011

A land of living fossils; Avatar landscapes in the southeast Chinese Mountains; along the Maritime Silk Road I. Map boundaries 20 to 30 degrees North; 108 to 117 degrees East II. Countries China (Anhui, Chongqing Municipality, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi Autonomous Region, Guizhou, Hainan, Hong Kong, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Taiwan (Pratas)) and Vietnam (Quang Ninh). III. … More Gan, Pearl, and Xiang Rivers

Rowley Shoals

March 2, 2011

An eighty-mile beach, pristine reefs, and Australia’s oil field I. Map boundaries: 10 to 20 degrees South; 112 to 120 degrees East II. Countries (Provinces): Australia (Western Australia), Indonesia (East Nusa Tenggara [Southeast Islands]). III. Overview The Indian Ocean that dominates this map area marks the transition between the equatorial forests to the north and … More Rowley Shoals

Hundred Islands, Macclesfield, and Palawan

January 18, 2011

Giant clams and an underground river I. Map boundaries: 10 to 20 degrees North; 112 to 120 degrees East II. Countries: Paracel Islands and Macclesfield Bank (occupied by China), Philippines (Palawan, Pangasinan, and Zambales), and Spratley Islands (China, Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam occupy islands in this map area). III. Overview In the Lingayan Gulf off … More Hundred Islands, Macclesfield, and Palawan

Tambora and Puting Peninsula

December 31, 2010

Largest historical volcanic eruption, world’s largest lizard, and synchronous fruiting I. Map boundaries: 0 to 10 degrees South; 112 to 120 degrees East II. Country (Provinces): Indonesia (Bali, Central Kalimantan, Central Sulawesi, East Java, East Kalimantan, East Nusa Tenggara [Southeast Islands], South Kalimantan, South Sulawesi, West Kalimantan, West Southeast Islands, West Sulawesi). III. Highlights A. … More Tambora and Puting Peninsula

Kapuas, Kinabalu, Tubbataha, and Victoria

November 15, 2010

A rainforest wetland, a rainforest mountain, tropical reefs, and big pitchers A lost world: world center of plant diversity and world’s largest limestone cave system I. Map boundaries: 0 to 10 degrees North; 112 to 120 degrees East II. Countries (States, Regions, or Districts): Brunei, Abode of Peace; Indonesia (Central Kalimantan, Central Sulawesi, East Kalimantan, … More Kapuas, Kinabalu, Tubbataha, and Victoria