Spofford Pond School, Boxford -- Dec 2

42°41'46"N 

71°01'02"W
(Visit more about Lat/Long for ideas that combine math and geography learning. This is our second visit to Spofford Pond, and it remains the farthest north we have taken EarthView.) 

The town of Boxford is currently involved in an interesting project that will eventually benefit the entire region. According to a recent article in The Tri-Town Transcript (a great name for a local paper!), many people from Boxford turned out for a recent meeting to learn about the section of the Border to Boston Trail that is planned for the eastern portion of the town.

Because team member Dr. Hayes-Bohanan has a lot of friends and former students in South America, the first he heard of the current volcanic activity in Ecuador was in Portuguese! (What country was this former student writing from?)

According to BBC News, the Tungurahua volcano is currently emitting a plume of ash nearly to the top of the troposphere, and schools have been evacuated. So far the activity has not caused any damage, but over the past dozen years, this volcano in the middle of the Andes has been quite active, so authorities are being very cautious. 

Tungurahua is not a Spanish name, by the way. It is of Quichua origin and may simply mean "crater" though the more interesting possibility is that it means "Throat of Fire." The volcano is in a province of the same name, and is located at  1°28′01″S; 78°26′30″W. How does that compare to the location of Spofford Pond School? What is the nearest point in North America with the same longitude as the volcano?

We encourage our Spofford Pond students to use the "Comments" link below to send us their questions or comments about geography.

Our visit takes place on December 2, the anniversary of several events with geographic significance:

1802 The British sold Suriname to the Dutch. (Because he speaks both of these languages, Dr. Domingo was successful as a Fulbright Scholar in Suriname, and is now considered a leading expert on the country.)

1823 President James Monroe Declared the Monroe Doctrine, discouraging European countries from involvement in the Western Hemisphere

1899 The United States and Germany agree to divide Samoa between them; Samoa eventually became independent, but American Samoa is still a U.S. Territory. Look for both of them on EarthView.

1933 Bertil Clason (of Detroit, Michigan) and Sigrid Carlson (of Stockholm, Sweden) married in the first transatlantic wedding officiated by telephone.

And as Spofford School students know -- December 2 is Crazy Hair Day!