Obesity Rates in Britain

This map shows obesity rates in Britain as reported by health care organizations for the years 2006-2007. The map can be found on the BBC website at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7584191.stm.
On this map there are five different colors that each represent an obesity rate. Yellow areas represent the lowest obesity rates. Orange areas represent a medium rate of obesity. Red areas show the highest rate of obesity. Scotland, the northern half of the map, tends to have lower obesity rates than Wales and England. Scotland’s highest obesity levels are on the island to the northwest. England is fairly diverse in its obesity rates. The lowest obesity rates in England are in the south. Wales has the highest obesity rates and most of Wales has high and highest obesity color ratings. This map is interesting because it shows obesity rates, but the map does not explain what a low, medium, and high rate of obesity mean. By looking at the map, the reader does not know what percentage of individuals are obese or how close the obesity rates are compared to one another. On the article that accompanies the map, obesity rate percentages are listed for some cities. Another interesting feature about the map is the north and south ends of mainland Britain overall tend to have a lower rate of obesity. It would be interesting to find out why these areas tend to have lower obesity rates than the middle regions of Britain.

Ecological Regions of the U.S.-Mexico Border

This map depicts ecological regions around the United States and Mexico border. This map can be found on the USGS website at: http://borderhealth.cr.usgs.gov/maps/Ecoregions.pdf.
Six different ecological regions and eight different environmental health zones are depicted on this map. The environmental health regions are smaller than the ecological regions. The Chihuahuan Desert is the biggest ecological region on the map shown in green. The two largest environmental health areas are number five and six, which are both part of the Chihuahuan Desert. An interesting point to take away from this map is that these ecological regions are shared by both the United States and Mexico, making it essential for both countries to be aware of these areas and any areas of concern, including environmental health regions, shared between the two countries. Another interesting point of the map is that roughly half of the environmental health regions are in the United States and the other half are in Mexico. However, for the ecological regions, more of the land is in Mexico, especially the Chihuahuan Desert. The United States-Mexico border is important in terms of geography and ecology.

United States Streamflow Conditions for September 2000

This map can be found on the USGS website at:
http://water.usgs.gov/nwc/back_issues/sep00_cov.html

The map shows the streamflow conditions in the United States for Septmeber 2000. The blue regions had above normal streamflow. The red regions had below average streamflow. The white ares had normal streamflow conditions for the month. A significant number of the states had below average streamflow. Twenty-six states had at least some portion of the state below average streamflow conditions. These areas are predomintaly in the South. There are also two large patches covering Montana and Maine. This map is interesting because it shows that water supply is below average in some areas. This map is important because it can help the United States plan ahead for water shortages in these areas. I also found this map interesting because there was below average streamflow conditions in the Los Angeles area. Today we are still having water shortage issues in Los Angeles. This was the most recent map on the USGS website about streamflow conditions. It would be interesting to see if maps from 2000-present all show Los Angeles as having below average streamflow conditions and if the size of the area has increased over the past nine years.