Geographical articles from February 1998

Geographical archives from February 1998

Flying the flag for Britain.(Editorial)
February 1, 1998... It is encouraging to see that the spirit of the bold British bulldog is alive and well in the form of a couple of Royal Marines who are literally risking life and limb to plant the flag for their country. The hardy pair are poised to...

Going with the floe. (filming polar bears)(Interview)
February 1, 1998... Filming polar bears in the wild requires ingenuity, lots of patience and a certain amount of bravery and luck, as intrepid BBC wildlife producer Martha Holmes In the weeks running up to last Christmas, it seemed that everyone in Britain was...

In the shadow of Sputnik.
February 1, 1998... Forty years ago a Soviet earth orbiter sent Americans reaching for the stars. Bruce Dorminey explains the enormous influence of the first artificial satellite on space exploration It was an era of gyroscopes, Geiger counters and grandiose...

Partnership presents Discovery people.
February 1, 1998... A THREE-YEAR PARTNERSHIP has been agreed between the Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers) and Discovery Communications Europe, the cable and satellite television service. Discovery Communications Inc, Discovery...

Creatures of the night. (manicou crab and other wildlife of the topical forest of Tobago)
February 1, 1998... The manicou crab is an amphibious freshwater land crab with an appetite for snakes. David Maitland braved the heat and the rain of the tropical forests of Tobago for a glimpse of this extraordinary crustacean, and saw much more besides. ...

Castles of the assassins. (11th century Iran)
February 1, 1998... The achievements of the Ismailis have for centuries been obscured by the myth that they were a band of murderous brigands. Dr. Peter Willey, who has spent 40 years studying this remarkable sect, sets the record straight The year 1997 was...

Moving mountain. (Mount Kailash)
February 1, 1998... Mount Kailash, in western Tibet, attracts several thousand pilgrims every year. On the walls of the southwest corner of the famous gallery of bas-reliefs in Cambodia's Angkor Wat, a carving shows the demon-king Ravana shaking an enormous...

On his majesty's service. (explorer Wilfred Thesiger)
February 1, 1998... At the age of 23 Wilfred Thesiger became the first European to travel through the fabled Sultanate of Aussa, establishing his reputation as one of the century's greatest living explorers. Here he recalls how it all became possible I was...

Focus on Poland.
February 1, 1998... REBIRTH OF A NATION After many years of Soviet domination the Republic of Poland is learning to live and laugh again The Polish Republic and its centralised planned system, now undergoing rapid transition to a market economy was born...

Deep in the woods.(Focus on Poland)
February 1, 1998... Once hunting grounds for Polish monarchs, Bialowiezski National Park has welcomed back the European bison In Eastern Poland there is a 650-year-old oak tree. It grows straight and tall like a fir tree before its canopy bursts into life about 40...

On the wild side. (includes travel information)(Focus on Poland)
February 1, 1998... Biezczady is beautiful, sparsely-populated region of forests and open meadows in the far southeastern corner of Poland. The highest and most spectacular part is now national park It is hard to believe that the eastern part of Poland will soon...

A world apart.(Illustration)
February 1, 1998... The polar regions are the wildest, coldest and most isolated places on Earth. They are also among the most beautiful. Marzena Pogorzaly first visited Spitsbergen in 1992 as official photographer on a Polish Academy of Sciences' expedition. "I...

Tracking the snow leopard.
February 1, 1998... For South African born British wildlife ecologist Rodney Jackson, protecting the notoriously elusive snow leopard, which inhabits the mountain regions of Central Asia, has become a way of life. In less than 20 years he has become the world's...

On horseback across the moors.
February 1, 1998... Britain's first long-distance bridleway passes through one of the most economically deprived parts of England. Robin Hanbury-Tenison tried it out and was charmed by the beauty of the countryside and the friendliness of the people ...

A state is born. (Israel)
February 1, 1998... On the last day of February 1948 the daily passenger train from Cairo to Haifa, which was also carrying British soldiers, was bombed in Rehoboth, Palestine, killing 28 men. Simon Craig tells how the state of Israel was born in blood By the...