Globetracker's Mission: Finding Dewey

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Teacher Edition | View the Map

Week of November 24, 2024

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Monday

Yesterday we arrived in Santiago, Chile (the capital city). Upon our arrival at the airport, an agent from the U.S. Embassy greeted us. The agent told us that Uncle GT contacted them to travel with us to Bogota, Colombia. Apparently, we misinterpreted the text message from Dewey's captors. We were supposed to travel to Colombia (since it is in both the northern hemisphere and southern hemisphere, has a capital that starts with a B - Bogota, and has the equator running through the country). So we immediately boarded a plane heading towards Bogota, Colombia. The Embassy agent traveled with us to Colombia because the country is not safe for teenagers to travel to alone. During our flight to Colombia, I read the onboard magazine and learned some cool facts about the country. Spanish is the official language of Colombia (glad Meri took 3-years of Spanish class). The country is located in South America's northwestern corner (see my map). Many countries border Colombia, including Venezuela, Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, and Panama. Two large bodies of water also border Colombia. Can you figure out what they are? Look at my map.

When we landed in Colombia, we had another mysterious text message.

The text message from the unknown caller: We R - 34 S, 64 W

We called Uncle GT immediately, and he said that the text message sounded like map coordinates that measure the exact location of an area on a map. I wonder where the captors are telling us to go? The 34 S represents the line of latitude, and the 64 W represents the line of longitude. Now we have to go back to our map and see if we can figure out what country Dewey is actually in. We are spending the night at the airport hotel in Colombia, so we can figure out where we are to go next. Uncle GT sent us a few links to help us better understand reading map coordinates. I hope these can help us figure out where to go next. Reading map coordinates is similar to reading coordinates in math class (if you have learned about the coordinate plane in math class); check out some of these simple activities and get ready to help us figure out our next destination.

- Geo

Map of South America
Can you figure out the large bodies of water that border South America?

Latitude and Longitude
Share this engaging video to learn more about latitude, longitude, and reading maps!

Tuesday

Last evening Geo and I started to decode this mysterious text message. Take a look at the map and see if you can figure out where 34 S, 64 W is located. The equator is at 0 degrees latitude. This imaginary line marks halfway between the North Pole and the South Pole. The equator runs through parts of Asia, South America, and Africa. This imaginary line also divides the world into the southern hemisphere and northern hemisphere. (Hemisphere means half of a sphere). If the mysterious location is 34 S, that must mean the location is below the line representing the equator. In South America, several countries are below the equator (Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Uruguay, and Paraguay). I see one line of latitude that is 20 S, and another that is 40 S.

So our mysterious location must be between those two lines of latitude. Which countries are between the 20 S and 40 S locations? Since the exact location is 34 S, the country must be closer to the 40 S line of latitude. Geo and I have narrowed down our possibilities to Chile, Argentina, or Uruguay. Now let's look at the lines of longitude. The text message said 64 W. This means that the location is 64 degrees west of the prime meridian. That was the line way across the Atlantic in Greenwich, England. The lines of longitude were sometimes difficult to see. Geo and I noticed three lines of longitude included on this map (80 W, 60 W, and 40 W). The country we are looking for is close to 60 W, since the exact location is 64 W. Remember, we had three possible countries (Chile, Argentina, or Uruguay). Are any of these countries near the 60 W line of longitude? Check out the map and see if you can figure out where we are heading tomorrow morning. Holy Idaho - we really need your help!

- Meri

Map of South America
Take a look at the map and see if you can figure out where 34 S, 64 W is located?

Tuesday Night

Thanks to all of you "Geographical Geniuses," we are on our way to Argentina. Since Argentina is located at 34 S, 64 W. The agent from the Embassy remained in Colombia, and Meri and I are on our own again. Did you know that soccer is really popular in Argentina? I hope I get a chance to play a game with the locals. (My team won the district finals last year).

During our flight, Meri sat next to a teenage girl from Argentina named Nora. Nora told us all about her home country of Argentina. The capital is Buenos Aires, which is the city we are flying into tonight. And similar to Brazil, Argentina is located in the southern hemisphere. Nora is on her summer break right now. (Remember, the southern hemisphere has summer during the months of December, January, and February). The official language of Argentina is Spanish. And over 90% of people in Argentina are Roman Catholic. There are 23 provinces in Argentina (pronounced provincias in Spanish). Provinces are similar to states (such as New York or Idaho). A province is a name for a secondary level of government (a smaller section of a larger country). Nora told us that her favorite hobby is to ski. We were surprised to learn that Argentina gets cold enough in the winter for skiing. Argentina actually has some of the tallest mountains in the world (the southern Andes). I was also shocked to find out Argentina experiences earthquakes, violent windstorms (in the Pampas), and extremely heavy flooding. I keep trying to think of places in the U.S. with similar landforms and climates. I also wonder what the Pampas are. Take a look at the map of Argentina. Can you find the Pampas? We are landing now. Tomorrow Nora is going to take us on a tour of Argentina.

- Geo

Map of Argentina
Take a look at the map of Argentina. Can you find the Pampas?

Wednesday

Holy Idaho! I don't know where to begin. I guess I will start at the beginning of our day with Nora. Geo wanted to learn more about the Pampas. The funniest part is that we are in Buenos Aires now - and that city is located in the Pampas. The Pampas is the fertile land in Argentina (and a few other South American countries). The Pampas of Argentina are known for their harvest of soybeans. Much of the Pampas in Buenos Aires is also used for grazing cattle. The Pampas experience heavy rainfall and flooding. In fact, Nora said that one time Buenos Aires had over 9 inches of rainfall in one month (October). That is more than double their normal rainfall amount. Holy Idaho! That is a lot of rain. Geo keeps asking me what places in the U.S. have some of the same characteristics. I'll have to think about that one. Can you think of any?

After learning about the Pampas, we headed west towards the Andes. Nora took us on a day tour that flew us southwest from Buenos Aires to the rugged Andes of western Argentina. It was a beautiful flight, and then we took a vigorous hike to the top of a mountain. When we finally reached the top, we realized the other side of this mountain was a cliff! Holy Idaho! I was ready to turn around and head back down the way we climbed up. But Geo noticed a strange brown envelope about 8 feet down on the cliff. There was part of one word visible on the envelope - DEW..., then something we couldn't quite see because the envelope was folded over. Can you believe it? We weren't sure how Claude and Phoebe Equator knew we were going to be at that cliff. We can't tell Nora about our top-secret mission. How can we get that envelope? How can we keep Nora from knowing too much? What should we do? We could use the rope in our backpacks to rig up a harness. Geo said he was willing to go down the 8-foot cliff; Nora and I would secure the rope for him. OR, do you think we should call Uncle GT and follow his instructions? OR should we just give up on the envelope and hike back down the mountain? We really need to know what is in that envelope. It could be the key to solving this mysterious case.

- Meri

The Pampas (up close)

It is a llama!

Vocabulary Terms:

equator - an imaginary line on the earth's surface that is positioned halfway between the north pole and the south pole. The equator divides the earth into the northern hemisphere and the southern hemisphere.

latitude - the lines that run across (east and west) a map. Lines of latitude measure degrees via north or south. The equator is at 0 degrees latitude.

longitude - lines that run up and down the map (north and south). These lines are used to measure degrees east or west from the prime meridian. The prime meridian is located at 0 degrees longitude.

map coordinates - numbers that provide the exact location of a specified country or other area. The coordinates provide the degrees of longitude and latitude. Coordinates help people locate specific areas on a map.

northern hemisphere - the half of the planet Earth that is north of the equator. The northern hemisphere contains 90% of the human population and most of the land on the Earth.

Pampas - the fertile land in Argentina (and a few other South American countries). The Pampas of Argentina are known for their harvest of soybeans. Much of the Pampas in Buenos Aires is also used for grazing cattle. The Pampas experience heavy rainfall and flooding.

provinces - a name for a secondary level of government (secondary to the country itself). A province is similar to a state (such as Arizona or Texas).

southern hemisphere - the half of the planet Earth that is south of the equator. The southern hemisphere contains all of Antarctica and Australia, most of South America, and part of Asia and Africa.

Additional Web Resources:

World Atlas - Columbia
Visit this website to learn more about Colombia.

Standards for this episode:

Understands the characteristics and uses of maps, globes, and other geographical tools and technologies.

Grade 3-5: Knows the basic elements of maps and globes (title, legend, cardinal, scale, grid, meridians, time zones, etc.).

Grade 3-5: Uses map grids (e.g., latitude and longitude or alphanumeric system) to plot absolute location.

Grade 6-8: Understands concepts such as axis, seasons, rotation, and revolution.

Knows the location of places, geographical features, and patterns of the environment.

Grade 3-5: Knows major physical and human features of places as they are represented on maps and globes. Knows how to read different maps: road, relief, globe, etc..

Grade 3-5: Knows the approximate location of major continents, mountain ranges, and bodies of water on Earth.

Grade 6-8: Knows the location of physical and human features on maps and globes (e.g., culture hearths such as Mesopotamia, Huang Ho, the Yucatan Peninsula, the Nile Valley; major ocean currents; wind patterns; land forms; climate regions).

Grade 6-8: Knows the relative location of, size of, and distances between places.

Understands the physical and human characteristics of a place.

Grade 6-8: Knows the human characteristics of places (e.g., cultural characteristics such as religion, language, politics, technology, family structure, gender; population characteristics; land uses; levels of development).

Grade 6-8: Knows the physical characteristics of places (soil, vegetation, wildlife, etc..).

Understands the concept of regions.

Grade 3-5: Knows the characteristics of a variety of regions (climate, housing, religion, language, etc..).

Grade 6-8: Understands criteria that give a region identity (such as Amsterdam as a transportation center or the Sunbelt's warm climate and popularity with retired people).

Knows the physical processes that shape patterns on Earth's surfaces.

Grade 3-5: Knows the physical components of Earth's atmosphere (weather and climate), lithosphere (land forms such as mountains), hydrosphere (oceans, lakes and rivers), and biosphere (vegetation and biomes).

Understands the forces of cooperation and conflict that shape the divisions of Earth's surface.

Grade 3-5: Knows how and why people divide Earth's surface into political and/or economic units (e.g., states in the United States and Mexico; provinces in Canada; countries in North and South America; countries linked in cooperative relationships, such as the European Union).

Grade 6-8: Understands the symbolic importance of capital cities (such as Canberra, a planned city, as the capital of Australia).

Understands how physical systems affect human systems.

Grade 3-5: Knows natural hazards that occur in the physical environment (floods, tornadoes, earthquakes, etc..).