Big chunk of ice!

A large chunk of an Arctic ice shelf has broken free of the northern Canadian coast, scientists say.

Nearly 20 sq km (eight sq miles) of ice from the Ward Hunt shelf has split away from Ellesmere Island, according to satellite pictures.

It is thought to be the biggest piece of ice shed in the region since 60 sq km of the nearby Ayles Ice Shelf broke away in 2005.

Scientists say further splitting could occur during the Arctic summer melt.

Judge Judy Rocked

An earthquake measuring 5.4 has caused buildings to shake across a wide area of southern California in the US. One of the buildings had the set of the t.v. show Judge Judy which was in the middle of recording a new programme.

The epicentre was 29 miles (46km) south-east of central Los Angeles, near Chino Hills in San Bernardino County.

For more information look at the USGS page by following the link under the web pages.

Have you got a spare £100000?

If you have then why spend it going to the Med or the Caribbean when you could go into space?

British tycoon Richard Branson has unveiled an aircraft in the US that will be used for his project to launch tourists into space.
The high-altitude jet will act as the mothership for a spacecraft, releasing it in mid-air to take two crew and six passengers on sub-orbital flights.

250 people have already paid the £100000 to experience space travel so why don't you get on the waiting list?

Japan Tremor

A powerful earthquake has struck off the eastern coast of Japan, with officials warning that some regions could be hit by a small tsunami.

Japan's Meteorological Agency measured the 6.6-magnitude quake just before noon off Fukushima prefecture.

The agency issued a tsunami warning for Fukushima and Miyagi prefectures.

Reports said buildings shook in Tokyo with the force of the quake, but there was not thought to be any serious damage or any casualties.

Japan is one of the world's most earthquake-prone countries and experiences thousands of tremors each year.

Olympics venues

The BBC have launched their map of the Olympic venues for this year's games in China.

Have a look at the aerial views of the areas be used by clicking on this link to the BBC map page.

Coral's under threat

A third of the world's reef-building coral species are facing extinction.
That is the stark conclusion from the first global study to assess the extinction risks of corals.
Writing in the journal Science, researchers say climate change, coastal development, overfishing, and pollution are the major threats.

World Population Day

Today (11 July) is the United Nations World Population day.

For more information click on this link to the UN Population Fund.

G8 Summit

Its all over the news that the G8 summit is taking place in Japan, but what is the G8?

The eight wealthiest countries in the world meet annually to debate and discuss key issues that are effecting the world. The eight countries are Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the UK and the USA. Topics for debate on this years agenda include climate change, the fuel crisis, world food supply and the international position of Zimbabwe.

For more information take a look at the G8 home page or for a more child friendly version check out the Kids page.

School's out for Summer!

Yippee the Summer hols are here, eight weeks of freedom but what are you going to do?

There is the photo competition but why not have a look at this quiz page - That quiz.org.

It is a Maths page but also has a Geography section and a languages section so why not give it a go!

Keep your eye on the blog things will be happening during the holiday.

Have fun!

More geography photography

If the snappers bug has caught hold why not check out the geograph project? Take a look at the photos of your home town or favourite place and contribute. If your summer holidays take you to a remote spot of the UK be the first to post a picture.

The Geograph British Isles project aims to collect geographically representative photographs and information for every square kilometre of Great Britain and Ireland, and you can be part of it.