Work Your Core

The other day, I was graciously given a freshman-level college geography textbook. At first glance, you might think, "I know everything in this textbook. There's nothing freshman geography can teach me." Think again. For one thing, did you know that every region has a core? It's true. Thanks to "Geography: Realms, Regions and Concepts," let's learn about some notable cores.

North America: North America's core runs from St. Louis to Milwaukee, to southern Ontario, to Boston, to DC. It turns out I live in the core. And I didn't even know it.

India: India's core is just south of Nepal. New Delhi is not in the core.

China: China's core is along the Yellow River. It does not include any notable cities.

Japan: Japan's core runs from Tokyo to Kyushu.

Nigeria's core area is all over the place. North, southwest, southeast -- whatever. Typical Nigeria.

Russia's core is huge. You know what they say; if your core is cold, you are cold, and Russia is no exception.

Most of the other regions of the world don't seem to have cores. The Middle East, Africa and South America don't seem to have them, which could account for all the chaos there. If they could just get it together, designate some cores, and focus on those, that would be a start.

Some other facts you will learn from my new textbook:

Chapter heading: "Sri Lanka: South Asian Tragedy"

"Say 'South America' and the first image most people conjure up is Sugar Loaf Mountain."

"The Republic of South Africa is the giant of Southern Africa, an African country at the center of world attention, a bright ray of hope, not only for Africa, but for all humankind."

Armenia is the size of Maryland
Tajikistan is the size of Iowa
Nepal is the size of Illinois
Japan is the size of Montana

"Southeast Asia... the very name roils American emotions."

"Of all the continents, South America has the most familiar shape."