Mastodawn

RE: https://avgeek.social/@ikluft/116574277881307412

How many US populated places (not necessarily cities) besides Melbourne, Florida duplicate Australian city names? With common English influence, it's no surprise there's some overlap. With a quick search of the USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) database, I found...
Sydney: FL ND
Melbourne: AR CA FL IA KY MO TN WA
Brisbane: CA IL ND
Adelaide: CO GA ID PA WA
Perth: DE IN KS MN MS ND NV NY VA
Darwin: CA IL MN NV OH OK TN VA
Alice Springs: none
#mapgeek #geography #Australia #USA

Ian Kluft ✅✈️🎈🌋Mar 24

Great Circle Mapper's featured map for 24 March 2026: "US Airports Without TSA" - 20 US airports opted to hire private security screening rather than use the Department of Homeland Security's Transportation Security Administration #TSA screeners since the time TSA was established in 2001. Those airports are not affected by the current TSA funding stalemate and worker shortage. http://www.gcmap.com/featured/20260324 #aviation #travel #avgeek #mapgeek

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Ian Kluft ✅✈️🎈🌋Feb 15

@techlifeweb At the time you were over the very southern end of the San Joaquin Valley. The San Andreas Fault Rift Valley is recognizable in the picture splitting the Transverse Ranges. It looks like the picture spans the rift valley between the towns of Lake of the Woods (left) and Pine Mountain Club (right). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pine_Mountain_Club,_California #aviation #avgeek #mapgeek

Pine Mountain Club, California - Wikipedia

Ian Kluft ✅✈️🎈🌋Feb 14

"Bad Map Projection: Zero Declination" by XKCD comic (Fediverse mirrors: @xkcd @xkcdbot ) - If the rotation of the Earth didn't matter, and if we were still in a past age where they only navigated by compass, then one might have considered the magnetic poles for map orientation. That's a lot of if's to ask. https://xkcd.com/3207/ #mapgeek🗺 #geography🌐 #WTF😲 #facepalm🤦 #humor😀

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Ian Kluft ✅✈️🎈🌋Feb 5

The 757 charter originated in Reykjavik. It obviously wasn't using Portland as a fuel stop on the way to Anchorage because it would have been shorter to just fly direct. But you have to go to the great circle route to see that - almost all polar routes are cases where flat-projection maps will fail you. So whatever the plane full of wealthy Europeans was doing, Portland had to be a planned tour stop. In the direction they're headed, I guess Japan could be next. #aviation #travel #avgeek #mapgeek

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Ian Kluft ✅✈️🎈🌋Feb 4

I entered the coordinates from the #NOAA #N49RF flight plan into Great Circle Mapper and got a map of today's #NOAA49 flight, currently in progress. http://www.gcmap.com/mapui?P=KPDX-HEMLO-38.42+N+130.00+W-38.18+N+131.18+W-37.54+N+132.36+W-37.30+N+133.54+W-37.06+N+135.12+W-36.36+N+136.24+W-36.12+N+137.42+W-35.42+N+138.54+W-35.12+N+140.06+W-34.42+N+141.18+W-34.12+N+142.30+W-35.18+N+143.00+W-36.18+N+143.30+W-37.18+N+144.06+W-38.24+N+144.36+W-39.24+N+145.12+W-40.24+N+145.48+W-41.30+N+146.24+W-42.30+N+147.00+W-42.48+N+145.30+W-43.06+N+143.54+W-43.24+N+142.24+W-43.42+N+140.48+W-44.00+N+139.12+W-44.12+N+137.36+W-44.24+N+136.00+W-44.36+N+134.18+W-44.42+N+132.42+W-44.54+N+131.06+W-45.00+N+129.24+W-SEDAR-KEIKO-45.75+N+122.59+W-KPDX #aviation #avgeek #mapgeek #weather

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Ian Kluft ✅✈️🎈🌋Feb 2

I entered the coordinates from the #NOAA #N49RF flight plan into Great Circle Mapper and got a map of the planned flight. http://www.gcmap.com/mapui?P=KPDX-40.36+N+132.18+W-40.48+N+133.42W-40.54+N+135.12W-41.00+N+136.42W-41.00+N+138.12W-41.06+N+139.42W-41.06+N+141.12W-41.06+N+142.36W-41.06+N+144.06W-41.06+N+145.36W-41.06+N+147.06W-41.00+N+148.36W-40.54+N+150.06W-42.12+N+150.00W-43.24+N+150.00W-44.42+N+150.00W-46.00+N+149.54W-47.12+N+149.54W-48.30+N+149.48W-48.30+N+148.12W-48.30+N+146.30W-48.30+N+144.48W-48.24+N+143.06W-48.18+N+141.30W-48.12+N+139.48W-48.06+N+138.06W-47.54+N+136.30W-47.42+N+134.54W-47.30+N+133.12W-47.18+N+131.36W-KPDX #aviation #avgeek #mapgeek #weather

Ian Kluft ✅✈️🎈🌋Jan 10

@elaterite It looks like an unexpectedly modern sign for being from one Gold Rush ghost town to another and then warning of a rough road to a town that still exists. #mapgeek

Ian Kluft ✅✈️🎈🌋Jan 8

"How large is Greenland, really? Your map may be deceiving you" by @npr - Politics over POTUS talk about Greenland has people looking it up on a map. Due to projection of spherical globe onto flat maps, it can appear stretched-out much larger than it actually is due to its high latitude. It's an autonomous territory of Denmark. The name Greenland is a 1040-year-old scam by Erik the Red to attract followers when he was exiled from Iceland. https://www.npr.org/2026/01/07/nx-s1-5668482/greenland-mercator-map-size-distortion #politics #maps #mapgeek #math

J.P.Aug 14, 2025

Spotted.

I was using Google Earth to look at some of the places I’ve visited during my storm chasing adventures. Western Kansas, Western Oklahoma, and neighboring places are some of my favorites areas in the United States. Looking at these places from a remote location reawakens my sense of adventure and brings a smile to my face.

I was looking at Cimarron, Kansas, which is situated between Garden City and Dodge City along US Route 50. I spotted this town from the air when flying from Tucson to Chicago earlier this year. It’s kind of nifty being able to spot familiar places from an airliner. I realize my fortunate in visiting so much of the United States.

When taking a gander at Cimarron on Google Earth, I spotted something I don’t usually see: an airliner passing over the town when the photo was snapped from a satellite.

Now that’s extra nifty.

#mapgeek