The mystery of America’s first cities

November 30, 2022
by RJ Hamster

Tuesday, November 29, 2022

In today’s newsletter, we discover what happened to five of North America’s earliest cities, find the strange reason rainbows are becoming more plentiful, chart what’s next for an erupting Hawaiian volcano … and examine why there is no scientific basis for race. Plus, our top animal photos of the year.

IMAGE COURTESY OF MAX SHEN, GETTY IMAGES

Today’s biggest cities in North America include New York, Mexico City, Los Angeles, Toronto, and Chicago.

But another five cities made up the earliest population centers on the continent. One was called Spiro Mounds. Another was powerful Teotihuacan—and its imposing Pyramid of the Sun (pictured above). Haven’t heard of them? There’s a reason.

What happened to these once mighty cities? Where did the people go? And why?

Read the full story here.

Please, consider getting our full digital report and magazine by subscribing here.

PHOTOGRAPH BY JOHN BURCHAM, THE NEW YORK TIMES/REDUX

A desert center: From the 800s into the 1200s, a stretch of northwestern New Mexico was home to more than 150 settlements, some of which had sprawling stone mansions with hundreds of rooms. The most important of the Chaco Canyon communities was Pueblo Bonito, the center of this ancient Puebloan world. Read more.

STORIES WE’RE FOLLOWING

PHOTOGRAPH BY NATALIE DELIGNE, USGS

What’s next for Hawaii’s Mauna Loa (pictured above), which is erupting for the first time in 38 years?

A ‘ring of fire’ eclipse is among stargazer highlights in 2023. Here are all the events.

Stunning: Our top travel photos of the year

Scientists are trying to resurrect mostly dead organs—here’s why

In tense, contentious Iran, a fight over the nation’s flag

You can’t always get what you want: The science behind disappointment—and why kids should experience it

Why we’ll never find Noah’s Ark

Why there is no scientific basis for race

This parasite manipulates the minds of mice—and could affect you

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

PHOTOGRAPH BY DEREK VON BRIESEN, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC IMAGE COLLECTION

A strange side effect of climate change? More rainbows (like the one above in Arizona). A recent study found that climate change will shift rainbows north, giving places near the Arctic and high elevations up to 50 more rainbow-possible days a year. But just as rainbows signify risk in many cultures, more rainbows spell trouble for the planet—like more droughts in the tropics and rain in the north, Nat Geo reports.

BAD OMENS

PHOTO OF THE DAY

PHOTOGRAPH BY ROBBIE SHONE, @SHONEPHOTO

Drop by drop: Nat Geo Explorer Robbie Shone trekked through Borneo’s Cave of the Winds and into the Secret Chamber to photograph scientists Stacy Carolinand Stein-Erik Lauritzen installing a drip logger (above from our Instagram). For the next several years, the device will collect and record every drop of water that falls from the stalactite above, which will help reveal how the stalagmite beneath it grows.

UNDER BORNEO

LAST GLIMPSE

PHOTOGRAPH BY KARINE AIGNER

Best of 2022: Nat Geo photographers hid behind shipwrecks and scoured microscopic landscapes to create this year’s best images of animals around the globe. From a polar bear slumbering in field of violet fireweed to a songbird snatching seeds from its handler’s tongue (above), see our top 21 animal photos of 2022 here.

2022’S STELLAR ANIMAL PICTURES

We hope you liked today’s newsletter. This was edited and curated by David Beard, Jen Tse, and Sydney Combs. Have an idea or a link for us? Write david.beard@natgeo.com. Happy trails!

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The mystery of America’s first cities

The mystery of America’s first cities

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