2014's Most Visited Cities in the World

Forbes recently released its list of the most visited cities in the world - 2014 edition. London is the world's most visited city according to Forbes. Western Europe is a popular tourist destination claiming 8 of the top 20 most visited cities. Italy and China are the only countries to have multiple cities make the list, while the continents of Africa and Australia could not claim even one spot.

What's your favorite city to visit? Share with us below!

New Hampshire: The Granite State

• Capital: Concord
• Major Cities:
  • Portsmouth
  • Manchester
  • Nashua
• Major Geographical Features
  • White Mountains
  • Atlantic Ocean
  • Merrimack River
  • Connecticut River
  • Lake Winnipesaukee
  • Mt. Washington
• National Parks: none
• 1623: New Hampshire's first settlers settle near Portsmouth and Dover
• 1719: 1st potato grown in the United States
• 1775: New Hampshire becomes the 1st colony to declare its independence from Great Britain
• 1776: New Hampshire becomes the 1st state to vote for the Declaration of Independence
  • The two preceding facts contribute to New Hampshire's hosting of the 1st presidential primary each election year
• 1788: New Hampshire becomes the 9th state
• 1833: 1st free public library in Peterborough
• 1905: President Teddy Roosevelt organizes and end to the Russo-Japanese War in Portsmouth
  • Only state to host a formal conclusion to a foreign war
• Motto: "Live Free or Die"
• Name Meaning: Name honors the English colony of Hampshire
• Industries
  • Dairy
  • Apples
  • Maple Syrup
  • Granite
• Mt. Washington holds the world record for the highest recorded wind speeds
• 1 of 2 states without personal income and general sales tax
• Famous People
  • Franklin Pierce
  • Alan Shepard
  • Salmon P. Chase
  • Daniel Webster

Morocco

• Capital: Rabat
• Major Cities
  • Casablanca
  • Fez
  • Marrakesh
• Major Geographical Features
  • Atlantic Ocean
  • Strait of Gibraltar
  • Mediterranean Sea
  • Atlas Mountains
  • Anti-Atlas Mountains
  • Moulouya River
  • Rif Mountains
• Official Name: Kingdom of Morocco
• Religion: Muslim (98.7%)
• Languages:
  • Arabic (official)
  • Berber
  • French
• 1905-1906: First Moroccan Crisis; considered one of the causes of World War One
  • Kaiser Wilhem II visited Morocco to support its independence in order to drive France and the United Kingdom apart
  • BACKFIRE!
• Independence: 1956 from France
• Government: constitutional monarchy
• Currency: Moroccan dirham (MAD)
• Morocco is slightly larger than California
• Literacy: 52.3%
• Climate: Mediterranean
• Called the "Gateway to Africa"
• Exports
  • Clothing
  • Fruits
  • Vegetables
  • Chemicals
  • Fish
• 1 of 3 remaining kingdoms in Africa
• Sovereignty of the Western Sahara is disputed between Morocco and the Polisario Front

Will the Scottish Referendum Doom ISIS?

This week, Scottish voters rejected the opportunity to declare independence from the United Kingdom with 55.3% favoring to continue the union with the UK that has been officially been in place since 1707. Rejecting independence save Prime Minister David Cameron's authority as leader of the United Kingdom. Many analysts predicted that Cameron would be removed from his post if the Scots chose to secede and that Cameron would lose his credibility as Prime Minister. Surely, Scottish independence would have sent Cameron's administration spinning and scrambling to salvage its rule.

Such scrambling would force Cameron to become less active in talks for a global coalition to fight the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). First, Scotland houses all of the United Kingdom's nuclear submarines, and its independence would force the relocation of these, threatening the safety of the United Kingdom and NATO. Moreover, many Scottish separatists supported withdrawing from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization upon independence, weakening the group as it prepares to deal with the growing threat of ISIS as more violence appear imminent. United States President Barack Obama knew that Scottish independence would doom his plan to stop ISIS, tweeting the day before the referendum, "The UK is an extraordinary partner for America and a force for good in an unstable world. I hope it remains strong, robust and united."

Some intelligence experts postulated that ISIS was aware of the referendum's importance, too. The British professor Anthony Glees, a respected intelligence analyst, claimed that ISIS chose to execute Scottish humanitarian aid worker David Haines one week before the referendum to undermine the authority and credibility of Cameron.

The referendum comes during the same week as France's first airstrikes in Syria to combat ISIS and the Australian Federal Police's arrest of 15 ISIS-linked terrorists who allegedly planned to behead innocent civilians in highly populated areas. This was the largest counter-terrorism operation in Australia's history.

Louisiana: The Pelican State

• Alternate Nicknames:
  • Sportsman's Paradise
  • Creole State
  • Sugar State
• Capital: Baton Rouge
• Major Cities:
  • New Orleans
  • Shreveport
  • Lafayette
  • Lake Charles
• Major Geographical Features
  • Mississippi River
  • Red River
  • Sabine River
  • Atchafalaya River
  • Lake Pontchartrain
  • Gulf Coastal Plain
  • Gulf of Mexico
  • Driskill Mountains
  • Sabine Lake
  • Grand Lake
  • White Lake
  • Vermillion Bay
  • Atchafalaya Bay
  • Pearl River
  • Ouachita River
• National Parks: none
• 1803: Present-day Louisiana acquired through the Louisiana Purchase
• 1812: Louisiana becomes the 18th state
• 1815: The War of 1812's final battle takes place at New Orleans
• 1861: Louisiana secedes from the Union
• 2005: Hurricane Katrina leads to a 53% decrease in New Orleans' population
• Motto: "Union, Justice, and Confidence"
• Name Meaning: Honors King Louis XIV of France
• Industries
  • Cotton
  • Sugarcane
  • Petroleum
  • Minerals
  • Fishing
  • Tourism
• World's longest bridge (24 miles) crosses Lake Pontchartrain
• Bayous and marshes house alligators, muskrat, opossum, raccoon, mink and pelicans
• New Orleans holds a famous Mardi Gras celebration each year
• Louisiana is the only state with parishes instead of counties
• New Orleans is susceptible to flooding as part of the city lies below sea level
• Greatest concentration of oil, natural gas plants, and petrol-chemical facilities in the Western Hemisphere
• More than 40% of United States exports go through Louisiana
• Longest coastline (15,000 miles) in United States
• Home to 41% of nation's wetlands
• Ranks 4th in oil in the United States
• Ranks 2nd in natural gas in the United States
• New Orleans is the nation's busiest port
• Famous People
  • Louis Armstrong
  • Terry Bradshaw
  • Ellen DeGeneres
  • Clyde Drexler
  • Randy Jackson
  • Karl Malone
  • Archie Manning
  • Peyton Manning
  • Eli Manning
  • Tim McGraw
  • Bill Russell
  • Reese Witherspoon
  • The Robertson Family (Phil, Kay, Willy, Jase, Si)

America's Most Visited Cities

Forbes released its list of the most visited cities in America. Topping the list is Orlando, Florida - home to Walt Disney World and Universal Studios. Anaheim, California, home to America's other Disney park - Disney Land - also scored well as America's 4th most visited city. California and Florida were the only states to have more than one of their cities crack the top 10 (Anaheim and San Diego and Orlando and Miami). What is your favorite city to visit? Share with us below!

Bangladesh

• Capital: Dhaka
• Major Cities
  • Chittagong
  • Khulna
• Major Geographical Features
  • Bay of Bengal
  • Ganges River
  • Brahmaputra River
• Official Name: People's Republic of Bangladesh
  • Formerly East Pakistan
• Religion: Muslim (83%)
• Languages:
  • Bangla or Bengali (official)
  • English
• 1947: Bangladesh becomes East Pakistan, administered by Pakistan
• 1970: Awami League wins elections, eventually leads independence movement
• 1975: Military coup
• Independence: 1971 from Pakistan
• Government: parliamentary democracy
• Currency: taka (BDT)
• Iowa is slightly larger than Bangladesh
• Literacy: 43.1%
• 7th largest nation in population (150 million people)
• Very poor nation
• The alluvial plains in Bangladesh often flood, displacing people
• The Ganges Delta is the largest river delta in the world
• 3rd largest population of Muslims
• One of the most densely populated nations
• The Tropic of Cancer passes through southern Bangladesh

New Jersey: The Garden State

• Capital: Trenton
• Major Cities:
  • Camden
  • Atlantic City
  • Jersey City
  • Newark
  • Patterson
  • Elizabeth
• Major Geographical Features
  • Kittatinny Mountains
  • Piedmont Plateau
  • Pine barrants
  • Cape May
  • Delaware Bay
  • Atlantic Ocean
  • New York Bay
  • Hudson River
  • Delaware River
• National Parks: none
• 1618: New Jersey established as a Dutch colony
• 1664: Becomes an English colony
• 1787: New Jersey becomes the 3rd state
• 1776: George Washington crosses the Delaware River to attack the British at Trenton on Christmas Day
• 1858: Modern paleontology begins in Haddonfield with an almost complete skeleton fossil
• Motto: "Liberty and Prosperity"
• Name Meaning: Named After the Chanel isle of Jersey
• Industries:
  • Chemicals
  • Phamaceuticals
    • 12% of New Jersey's jobs
  • Nursery Plants
  • Machinery
  • Oil Refinery
  • Tourism
  • Electrical Items
• Most densely populated state
• Atlantic City and Jersey City are known for gambling and casinos
• 57% forest or farms
• Famous People
  • Jon Bon Jovi
  • Frank Sinatra
  • Bruce Springsteen
  • Antonin Scalia
  • Paul Simon
  • Martha Stewart
  • Joe Theismann
  • John Travolta
  • William Carlos Williams

Top 10 Jobs in Geography

There aren't an incredible amount of jobs out there with the title "Geographer," but many universities offer degrees in geography, prompting the question "What can you do with a geography degree?" Well, there are actually plenty of jobs for geographers! Check out some of these jobs for geographers to see if any interest you!

1. Cartographer: While the need for hand-drawn maps is decreasing (though not completely unneeded!), many media outlets need cartographers to generate digital maps.
2. Emergency Management: A knowledge of geography is desirable in emergency management because of geographers' ability to understand the connection of humans and the environment.
3. Geographic Information System (GIS) Specialist: If you like engineering, computers, and geography, then this is the job for you! Government agencies are in need of GIS specialists in an increasingly technological world.
4. Climatologist: While often paired with a degree in meteorology, news outlets and the National Weather Service need climatologists with backgrounds in geography.
5. Teaching: As in any field, someone needs to teach the next generation of geographers!
6. Demographer: The United States Census Bureau is one of the only agencies with the title of "Geographer." Need we say more...
7. Foreign Service: Geopolitics plays an important role in today's ambassadorships, especially in an increasingly globalized world. Any knowledge of geography would be important to politics and foreign service.
8. Marketing: Similar to a demographer, marketers need to be able to understand their target market. Geographers are needed to understand the affects of location and culture on a target market.
9. National Park Ranger: Do you love geography and the physical world?
10. Urban Developer: Urban geography is a growing field for geography students. Naturally, location and geography are very important when planning renovations and land use.