Geography Atlas
Things this atlas does not know. Each entry is a question that specialists
have posed and not settled, recorded with what would actually resolve it and which
expertise the answer needs.
These are kept deliberately, rather than quietly omitted. An atlas that shows
only what it is sure of implies a confidence it has not earned, and the gaps are often where
the interesting work is. Several sit exactly where two fields fail to meet: identifying the
hyssop of the Hebrew Bible needs a botanist and a philologist of Biblical Hebrew, and neither
one settles it alone.
Grouped by the field an answer needs. A question sitting between two disciplines appears under both, which is why the group counts add up to more than the number of questions.
Showing 21 to 25 of 25 open questions, page 2 of 2.
Not Yet Classified 25
Hargeisa
In what year was Hargeisa founded?
Open Hargeisa
Why It Is Open The article gives no single founding year: an undated oral tradition credits early Isaaq clans with an original watering and trading stop, and a separate account places the founding of the religious commune by Sheikh Madar in the latter half of the 1800s.
What Would Settle It A cited source giving a specific year or decade for either the original settlement or the Sheikh Madar commune.
Expertise Needed history
Question posed in
Hargeisa (Wikipedia), Etymology and History sections.
Wau
What is the total area of Wau in square kilometers?
Open Wau
Why It Is Open The Wikipedia infobox area_total_km2 field for Wau is left blank.
What Would Settle It A cited government or geographic dataset giving the municipal or urban area of Wau.
Expertise Needed physical geography
Question posed in
Wau (Wikipedia), Infobox, area_total_km2 (blank).
Wau
In what year was Wau founded?
Open Wau
Why It Is Open The article states Wau was established by the French Marchand Mission as Fort Desaix and later used as a zariba by slave traders, without giving a specific year for either event.
What Would Settle It A cited source dating the Marchand Mission founding of Fort Desaix or the earlier zariba at the site.
Expertise Needed history
Question posed in
Wau (Wikipedia), History section.
Shymkent
In what century was Shymkent actually founded?
Open Shymkent
Why It Is Open The same Wikipedia article carries two unreconciled founding claims: the infobox established_date field states an ancient 3rd to 2nd century BC establishment, while the History section prose states the town was founded in the twelfth century AD as a caravanserai protecting the nearby Silk Road town of Sayram. content.EntityProperty.founding-year is a single Int value and cannot honestly hold both claims at once.
What Would Settle It A specialist source, such as an archaeological survey of the Shymkent site or a Kazakhstan heritage authority publication, reconciling the ancient settlement referenced in the infobox with the twelfth-century caravanserai founding given in the article prose.
Expertise Needed history
Question posed in
Shymkent (Wikipedia), History section, opening sentence, vs infobox established_date field.
Sanjay Gandhi National Park
When was Sanjay Gandhi National Park established: 1942, 1969, 1974, 1981 or 1996?
Open Sanjay Gandhi National Park
Why It Is Open Published histories disagree and none read was the Maharashtra Forest Department notification. Krishnagiri National Park is dated 1942 (Bombay National Park Act) by Mumbai Tourism and IndiaGeographies, 1950 by WorldAtlas, 1969 or 1974 for the Borivali name or expansion, 1976 by WorldAtlas, 1981 for the renaming after Sanjay Gandhi by most sources, and 1996 by WorldAtlas and Mumbai Tourism for the same renaming, with IndiaGeographies giving national park status as 1983.
What Would Settle It The Maharashtra Forest Department or Government of India notification text or the park official history page, stating which year each step (Krishnagiri National Park, Borivali National Park, Sanjay Gandhi National Park) took effect, so the page can state one establishment year and the recorded fact can match it.
Question posed in
Sanjay Gandhi National Park (Wikipedia), History section; compared with Mumbai Tourism, WorldAtlas, IndiaGeographies and Explore Maharashtra pages read 2026-10-11.