Maps
The Average Terrain Colors of Countries Around the World
When you think about countries with an abundance of desert like Egypt, you generally think of yellow and orange sand colors. Likewise, countries with rainforests like Brazil most likely generate thoughts of deep greens. What color are the rest of the countries in the world?
Data visualization artist Erin Davis used satellite imagery from Sentinel-2 to illustrate the average color of the terrain in countries around the world.
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The graphics use a choropleth map visualization to show the average color of the terrain in each country. Some countries, like snow-covered Greenland and Antarctica, are clearly colored how one would expect. Others take on a darker or more jewel-toned hue that reflects their unique landscapes.
The artist also illustrated the average color of each county in the United States for a more granular view of the country. The visualization highlights the forest-rich regions of the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and South East as well as well as the rugged physical geography of southwestern states like Arizona and New Mexico.
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There are five major classes of land biomes in the world: forests, deserts, savannah, tundra, and grasslands. The nature of these biomes heavily impact the color of the areas picked up by satellite. These are the divisions of each biome around the world:
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- Forests (40.1%): Forest biomes are populated by various species of deciduous and evergreen trees. This type of biome also includes rainforests, one of the most important forests in the world.
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- Deserts (25.9%): Deserts are categorized as areas with very little rainfall. Daytime temperatures are typically high and nighttime temperatures are low.
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- Savannah (16.7%): Savannah is tropical grasslands that are somewhere between lush tropical rainforests and desert regions. Their rainfalls typically occur during summer months, which means it evaporates quickly. These areas are prone to drought.
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- Tundra (10.5%): The climate of the tundra is extreme cold. Temperatures in the winter often go below freezing and plant life is either nonexistent or dormant for much of the year.
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- Grasslands (6.8%): Grasslands (also known as the Prairies in North America and the Pampas in South America) are temperate regions with warm summers and cool winters.
This map from NapLab highlights the locations with the highest instances of drowsy driving. This is such an important topic to study and gather data on. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that in 2022, 693 people died in drowsy-driving-related crashes. Many people push their limits behind the wheel when they’re tired. After all, if you’re exhausted while traveling, nothing sounds more appealing than hurrying home to your warm, familiar bed. But maps like this one illustrate just how risky this decision can be.
The team at NapLab studied fatalities in drowsy driving accidents, adjusted rates by population density and then mapped out the locations that had the most accidents. Here are their findings.
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For counties with 150,000-500,000 residents:
- Bastrop County, TX: 20.72 fatalities per 100,000
- Coconino County, AZ: 13.19 fatalities per 100,000
- Midland County, TX: 20 11.63 fatalities per 100,000
- Hunt County, TX: 10.16 fatalities per 100,000
- Liberty County, TX: 9.80 fatalities per 100,000
For counties with 25,000-150,000 people:
- Gillespie, TX: 40.03 per 100,000
- Milam, TX: 1039.02 per 100,000
- Walker, AL: 2132.64 per 100,000
- Cass, TX: 931.54 per 100,000
- Sweetwater, WY: 31.44 per 100,000
For counties with populations of 5,000 to 25,000:
- Pecos, TX: 190.02 per 100,000
- Reeves, TX: 178.23 per 100,000
- Madison, TX: 157.23 per 100,000
- Refugio, TX: 150.78 per 100,000
- Winkler, TX: 150.56 per 100,000
Texas counties topped most of the of the lists, which might be due to dark, quiet rural highways lulling drivers to sleep.
It’s illegal to drive if your blood alcohol content is over .08%. Even so, every year Americans have too much to drink and choose to get behind the wheel anyway causing traffic accidents across the country that can cause injury and even death. Drunk driving is clearly an epidemic. According to Mothers Against Drunk Driving, car crashes are the leading cause of death among teenagers and 1 in 4 of those crashes involve an underage drunk driver. The facts are clear. Drunk driving is rampant and can claim lives or grievously someone no matter their age.
The team at van der Veen, Hartshorn, Levin & Lindheim created a map that highlights the severity of the drunk driving problem and examines a specific aspect: location. They used data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to calculate which cities had the highest numbers of drunk driving fatalities per 100,000 people. They created a map that shows areas where drunk driving occurs the most and may even help us reach new conclusions about why some places are more at risk of drunk driving and others. Is your city highlighted?
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The map is the best way to look at these trends, but here’s a quick list of their top ten results:
- Odessa, TX: 27.46
- San Bernardino, CA: 18.15
- Pueblo, CO: 17.94
- Corona, CA: 15.04
- Hartford, CT: 14.91
- Midland, TX: 14.13
- Dallas, TX: 13.93
- Chattanooga, TN: 13.58
- Detroit, MI: 13.22
- Charleston, SC: 13.01
Boat lovers have a new way to pick their dream destination with this chart ranking states by how desirable they are for boaters. The SI Yachts team used a detailed scoring system to rank these states. The system considers some of the major factors important to boaters like average temperatures, number of sunny and cloudy days, amount of coastline, lakes, and rivers, hurricane risk, number of boats owned in the state, and the average cost of boater’s insurance. All these factors, averaged together, created the team’s ultimate list of boating states.
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Despite the hurricane risks, Louisiana still comes out on top as the best state for boating. Miles and miles of coastline and waterways, low swampy areas, and a fishing legacy make boating a way of life in the Bayou State. As for the bottom of the list, New York was not the Empire State for boating. Expensive boater’s insurance and few days of ideal weather meant that despite this state’s abundance of lakes, rivers, and coastline, it just wasn’t an ideal place to own a boat.
Every boater has different priorities to guide where they want to set sail, but this chart is a great way to consider where you’ll find a boater’s paradise. There’s a great diversity of regions in the top states on this list so East or West, North or South, you’ll find the perfect boating destination.
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