Photo and Map Collections for World Geography
(Note: When you search for a photo in the search engine at the top of the page, the options appear at the bottom of this page. Suggestion: try search for ”qanat.”)
We are building a collection of annotated photos and Esri “story maps.” In 2016, we are again soliciting annotated slide shows and story maps, especially those that can be related to specific SOLs. Authors will receive a small stipend upon acceptance of their work. See guidelines below.
World Regional Maps
Excellent sets of maps by Georgeanne Hribar have been developed using ArcGIS. Maps for World Geography, Human Geography Geoinquiries, and World History can be accessed at http://vga.maps.arcgis.com/home/index.html
The following maps were prepared for classroom use by Dr. Andrew Foy, Department of Geoscience, Radford University. Below is are first drafts of color maps of several world regions. They all appear as pdfs. Regional composition is in agreement with Virginia World Geography 2008 SOLs.
Australia and the Pacific Islands
Caribbean Islands
East Asia
Mexico and Central America
South America
South Asia
Southeast Asia
Note: Other world regional maps can found on the World History I pages.
Story maps
These are best viewed in the most recent version of your browser. To eliminate caption from the image, click the down arrow. to save photo for use in PowerPoints, right click and select “save image as.” A full resolution jpeg will download.
Currently available:
Taiwan by Don Zeigler, Old Dominion University.
South Africa by Penny Anderson, Spotsylvania County Schools.
Coming:
Germany, by Barbara Crain, Northern Virginia Community College.
Slide Collections
Slide collections for world regional geography now exist for Belarus, East Sea/Sea of Japan name controversy, Ecuador, Israel, Morocco, Moscow and Saint Petersburg (Russia), and Peru. Each appears as a separate “album,” available in the box below. You may view them as a slideshow or as a set of thumbnails, which can be enlarged by clicking on the photo. When descriptions are present, they can be seen in the slideshow version.
A separate collection, Aerial Views of Earth, contains photos from several parts of the world, including Virginia.
14 Sovetskaya
Pre-WWII brick buildings that survived that war are in single digits in Minsk. This is one such building located at 14 Sovietskaya (Soviet) Street.
Molodechno Apartments
Multi-story apartment buildings in the city of Molodechno, Minsk region.
Dzierzynski
Dzerzhinsky (Polish Dzierzynski), the founder the Soviet secret police, was born in 1877 into a Polish family in what is now Volozhyn district of Minsk region. His bust (on the picture) stands on the Independence Avenue across the street from the HQ of the Belarusian KGB. Dzerzhinsky is still a popular figure in Belarus.
Family Home, Tyurli
A detached single family home in the village of Tyurli at the outskirts of the city of Molodechno.
Dzierzynski again
Yet another bust of Dzerzhinsky not far from the place of his birth.
Independence Square, Minsk
Independence Square in Minsk – the central square of the Belarusian capital. Under the Soviets, used to be called Lenin Square.
Hotel Europe, Minsk
Hotel Europe in Minsk. Outwardly a replica of a hotel building destroyed during WWII.
Ice hockey stadium, Lida
An ice hockey stadium in the city of Lida, Grodno region. Such stadiums are located in every more or less significant town of Belarus. Ice hockey is a passion of President Lukashenka. In 2014, Minsk will host the ice hockey world championship.
Liniya Stalina
A fragment of the historical and cultural museum “Stalin`s line.” It was founded on the sixty years anniversary of the Victory in WWI which in Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine is still called the Great Patriotic war. It is the memorial of the year 1941 and the museum of the first days of the Great Patriotic war. “Stalin`s line” is the chain of defensive installations along the former USSR frontier from Karelian Isthmus to the shores of Black Sea.
Lenin statue in front of government compound, Minsk
A monument to Vladimir Lenin in front of the major government compound in Minsk.
Komarovsky Market, Minsk
Komarovsky Market is the largest farmer’s market in Minsk.
Minsk Arena
Minsk Arena, a hockey stadium where the major matches of the 2014 Ice Hockey Championship will take place.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus in Minsk.
Main Post Office, Minsk
Main Post Office in Minsk on the Independence Avenue. The banner contains a slogan: 19 December 2010 is the presidential election.
Moja Kochana Ojczyzna
A wall poster in Polish reads: My Dear Fatherland. This wall poster was photographed inside the so-called Dom Polski, literally a Polish House, the Polish community center in the city of Lida, Grodno region. Officially, ethnic Poles account for less than 4% of the population of Belarus, but Polish cultural influence is pervasive though receding in western Belarus.
ModernSculpture
A sculpture of an old-time photographer near Komarovsky Market in Minsk.
MirCastle
The newly reconstructed Mir Castle in Mir settlement, Grodno region. The original castle was built in the 16th and 17th centuries.
Opera House
The Opera House is a pre-war (1933) structure which survived the war.
Inside Niesvizh Castle
Inside Niesvizh Castle
Niesvizh Castle
Located in Niesvizh (Polish Nieswiez, Belarusian Niasvizh), Minsk region. This castle was founded in the 1500s and was expanded and rebuilt several times. Belonged to Radziwills, a Polish (in terms of identity) nobility with local (Belaryusian) roots. Reopened as a tourist object in 2012 after several years of reconstruction. A UNESCO’s World Heritage site (since 2005). The Castle is a landmark and a manifestation of Polish cultural influence on Belarus.
Red Kosciol
Catholic Church in Minsk, Saint Simon and Helena Church, popularly known as Red Kosciol.
Pentecostal Church, Molodechno
A Pentecostal Place of Worship in the City of Molodechno, Minsk region
Orthodox Church in Minsk
Holy Spirit Cathedral, and Orthodox Church in Minsk
Yama Ditch
This is a Holocaust-related monument in Minsk, popularly known as Yama (Ditch). Here, in 1942 the Nazis and their collaborators executed many Jews.
Stalinesque Empire Style
One of numerous residential buildings in Minsk built in the 1950s. This architectural style is popularly known as Stalinesque Empire.
Sovetsky Grocery
In Belarus, the Soviet period is fondly remembered. This grocery store bears the name Sovetsky meaning Soviet.
Yanka Kupala Theater
The building of Belarusian National Drama Theater named after Yanka Kupala, a national poet.
Orthodox Church, Molodechno
Russian Orthodox Church in the city of Molodechno. Most Belarusians are Orthodox Christians, and local Orthodox churches are integral to the Moscow-centered Patriarchy.
Isle of Tears
In the middle of this picture, there is a chapel standing on an artificial island in the Svisloch River in Minsk. The chapel is home to a memorial commemorating Soviet soldiers from Belarus who died in the decade-long war with Afghanistan between 1979 and 1989. The centerpiece is the chapel, with haunting figures of grieving mothers, sisters and widows at its base.
blank
Future Slide Collections: Guidelines
We are looking for annotated photos to become part of online collections of slides useful to teachers of world geography. Photos dealing with Virginia or relevant to AP Human Geography are also welcome.
If you wish to submit photos, at a minimum please identify the location of the set of photos and write a caption for each photo. Accompanying information on geographic significance is always welcome. It may prove helpful in the future if you also categorize your photos as to physical geography, cultural geography, economic geography, political geography, and so forth, and provide keywords. Keep in mind the teacher/user and think about the type of information you would want if you were to use someone else’s photos. Slideshows will likely be organized according to world region and, if possible, SOL.
Remember that accompanying maps can also be useful!
Maximum size of the largest dimension (length or width depending upon orientation) is 1024 pixels. We can make necessary adjustments if you do not have the means to do so yourself. Photos should be of sufficient resolution to be used on the web (72 dpi) and/or in PowerPoints. Recommended PowerPoint size is 768 x 512 pixels. The site cannot not accommodate files greater than 12 mb.
Plan to send individual jpegs of photos, numbered in sequence. Captions keyed to the photos should be placed in a WORD document so that they may be copied and pasted into a photo album. It would be most helpful if the photo caption also indicates the relevant SOL. (See the South Africa slideshow above as an example of best practices.)
Please send questions or submissions to Penny Anderson at panderso@hs.scs.k12.va.us.
