Click here for a full-size version of this week’s map.

This map is a dot map of North America. (Do you need a refresher on what a dot map is? Visit our “Basics” page for a quick primer.) This map plots data from the year 2017. Obviously, many of the dots overlap, so it will be difficult for you to tell exactly how many dots there are in the areas with the most dots; still, you should be able to get a feel for the general pattern. As always, your job is to figure out what this dot map represents.

Stumped? Check back Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday for hints about where to focus your investigation. The answer will be posted on Monday, September 25. Good luck!

Tuesday’s hint: The first think you should notice about this week’s map is that all of the dots are right on the coast. Pick out a few of the dots at random and try to figure out specifically where they are. What do most of these places have in common? In particular, the question you might want to ask yourself is whether these are places you would want to visit. The answer is likely to be yes!

Wednesday’s hint: This map shows only North America. If we were to zoom out to include the entire world on this map, there would be more dots. Some of these would be scattered around in places such as Japan, Spain, Egypt, Comoros, and Indonesia. But there are two particular countries that would have notable collections of dots, just as you see in Florida, South Carolina, and the Bahamas. Those countries are Australia and South Africa.

Thursday’s hint: Tuesday’s hint alluded to the fact that many of the dots on this map are in quite pleasant places. In particular, a lot of them are at beach resorts. There is a big cluster of dots, for example, around Hilton Head in South Carolina. There are also dots for Santa Barbara, California; South Padre Island, Texas; and a whole host of beaches in Florida. The reason that so many beaches show up on this map has to do with what people do when they go to the beach.

Friday’s hint: When people go to the beach, they tend to go swimming away from the shore. Perhaps they go surfing, scuba diving, or kayaking. The farther out you go into the open ocean, the more dangerous it can be.

Answer: Click here to see an explanation of the answer to this week’s map question.

Next map: Click here to try out our newest map question.