Talk:Geography of Newfoundland and Labrador/GA1

GA Review
This review is transcluded from Talk:Geography of Newfoundland and Labrador/GA1. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the review.

Criterion 1: It is well written - comments below.

Lead DONE :"Labrador is an irregular shape: the western part of its border with Quebec is drainage divide for the Labrador Peninsula." Missing word after "Quebec is"? DONE :The lead does not mention the substantial Natural resources section. DONE :It does mention the main towns, but then this information is not expanded on in the Human Geography section. (See also Other facts section) DONE:Is there nothing worth expanding on later in the text about the innumerable islands e.g. possibly Landsat Island - or are they almost all just small rocks and skerries?

Geology DONE:"was once part of southwestern Europe or Northern Africa." Useful to specify when e.g. "in the Late Pre-Cambrian". DONE:"To the east is a depression (a graben) about 30 kilometers (20 miles) wide" includes two sets of brackets close together, which isn't ideal. "a graben depression about 30 kilometers" might work better. DONE:"the scouring effect of recent glaciers during the ice ages." If you mean the Pleistocene ice ages, say so. DONE:"Newfoundland's nickname, "The Rock", is at least in part due to the ice ages." Possibly better to say "the impact of the ice ages" or "the impact of glaciation".

Biosphere DONE:"This is due to the ice age, when flying insects, birds, and other mammals crossed the sea ice that formed between the island and the mainland." I think you mean that biodivdersity was reduced by the impact of the ice and the difficulty of re-colonising post ice age. It sounds a little as if the creatures crossed to the island during the glaciation. DONE:"Two animals formerly resident in Newfoundland have been de6clared" - typo. DONE:Species names are inconsistent e.g. "the great auk, a flightless seabird, and the Newfoundland Wolf". WP:MOS is pretty useless here. The system I (and a few others) have used successfully in articles that cover a wide variety of genera is to capitalise if it is a species, and use lower case for non-species descriptions i.e. Grey Wolf and wolf, Great Auk and auk. This completely ignores the contradictory systems used by the different zoologists and botanists, but provides a consistent approach. Given MOS's timidity you are effectively free to come up with your own, but it should be internally consistent. See Fauna of Scotland or Black Moshannon State Park for examples. DONE:"(Braya longii) and Fernald’s braya (B. fernaldii)" Always italicise scientific names. DONE:"The braya population". The red link is OK but it should appear the first time the word does in the earlier sentence. DONE:"The province of Newfoundland and Labrador, with many partners" If you mean the state authority, should that not have a capital 'P'?
 * "Precipitation (rain and snow) is low. The tundra is sometimes called a frozen desert. Soil a meter below ground and deeper is permanently frozen and called permafrost." Other might disagree, but I want to read about the specific subject, not be provided with a primer for basic geography. The blue links are there to help if its not clear. I'd prefer ""Precipitation is low. The underlying permafrost does not allow water to drain easily through soil, and it collects in shallow pools.". There are other examples. ("While icebergs are composed of fresh water, pack ice is frozen sea water. ") Optional for GA, required if you are looking to make FA (IMHO).

DONE:"Many birds migrate to this region in spring to lay their eggs and raise their young before escaping south to warmer areas for the winter." To be consistent you should name two or three prominent species or types. DONE:"though the deciduous white birch, trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides) and mountain ash are also present." Why does trembling aspen suddenly get a scientific name? Again, be consistent.

Climate DONE:What is "Dfb" (also in lead). DONE:"These graphs were created using data from Environment Canada. More detailed information and information for 73 communities in the province is available from this government website." The first bit isn't relevant as it appears in the references, and the second has what looks like a redundant phrase. You could be more succinct and state "(More detailed information for 73 communities in the province is available from the Environment Canada website.)" DONE:"2°C (36°F)offshore." missing space. "(2 to 5 F°)" degree wrong side of 'F'. DONE:"marking the worst Canadian marine" This may be Canadian English, but GB English would be "making this the worst". DONE:"reporting an average annual wind speeds more than 20 kilometers" & "Summer months average of 187 hours" poor syntax. DONE:"with March being worst." "with the highest frequency being in March" might be better.

Hydrography
 * "A list of notable lakes can be found here, and a list of notable rivers here." Move to a see also or use a Main article section hat.

DONE:"The average iceberg weight in the Grand Banks area is nearly one to two" one, or two? DONE:"off-shore,oil platforms" missing space DONE:Labrador Current is linked twice or more and there are several other examples. Please check them all.

Human geog. DONE:(paleoeskimos - missing bracket - not sure of the purpose of the word.

Other facts DONE:Not really necessary. The timezone is just repetition and the rest could be merged into Human Geog.

2. It is factually accurate and verifiable: YES:"at Mistaken Point, where rocks containing probably the oldest metazoan fossils in North America and the most ancient deep-water marine fossils in the world " - Big claims. Does the reference confirm this? DONE:The inline citations are generally excellent but the first para of "Natural resources" lacks one. DONE:References: Generally in good shape except no. 36, which needs wikifying. As a courtesy to users with low bandwidth and browsers that don't show the icon it is helpful to insert "(pdf)" e.g. " "Marine Casualty Report for the Ocean Ranger" (pdf) ".

3. It is broad in its coverage:
 * Yes.

4. It is neutral: it represents viewpoints fairly and without bias.
 * Yes.

5. It is stable:
 * Fine.

6. Images: They are good and -
 * a) please don't specify image sizes, unless there is a specific reason to do so - see Manual of Style.
 * DONE (images without specifying size are too small to be usefull)
 * This may be because your preferences are set to a low value. See Files: Thumbnail size.

DONE::b) link Bell Island in the image caption. DONE::c) The Polar Bear image should link to the relevant article and ideally provide the relevant scientific name in brackets i.e. Polar Bear CAN'T FIND ONE NOW, LATER?::d) A tolt image might be interesting, although it is by no means a requirement.

The article is comprehensive in coverage but there is a fair bit of tidying up to do for a pass. Ben MacDuiTalk /  Walk  16:37, 8 July 2008 (UTC)

As its been over a week with no action let's say that the changes need to be substantially complete by 23rd July. Ben MacDuiTalk /  Walk  17:03, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

All suggested actions taken. Silverchemist (talk) 18:59, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

OK - good progress.
 * 1) Pls see above comment about image sizes.
 * 2) I am not sure why you removed the sentence about bird life, which is now notable by its absence. All I think it needs is the original wording plus "Examples include flamingos, turkeys and  condors." or whatever species are commonly found.
 * 3) The species issue isn't addressed. It is inconsistent to have Great Auk and sei whale, Gray Wolf and hooded seal.
 * 4) "The average iceberg weight in the Grand Banks area is nearly one to two hundred thousand tonnes (220,000 tons)." This isn't fixed.
 * 5) There are 4 refs (28, 29, 39 and 42) without a publisher.

I found some typos etc. in the new text, which I have fixed. I'll have another quick read thru'. Ben  Mac  Dui  19:19, 22 July 2008 (UTC)


 * 1) "is mostly folded sedimentary rocks with some intrusions of igneous rock and part of southwestern Europe or Northern Africa about 400,000,000 years ago." This should probably be "is mostly folded sedimentary rocks with some intrusions of igneous rock and was once part of southwestern Europe or Northern Africa about 400 million years ago."" According to  the split occurred 225 million years ago, although that's an aside.

That's it. Ben  Mac  Dui  19:52, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

Hopefully, all the noted issues are now corrected. Silverchemist (talk) 23:57, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

I think we are there save for the following natural history issues.

I know or suspect the following may be species:
 * mink - probably not European but OK if you are not sure.
 * bladder, forked and knotted wracks
 * winged and sugar kelps
 * periwinkles, blue mussels
 * cunner - also a redirect
 * halibut (probably Atlantic)
 * balsam fir and black spruce, white birch, trembling aspen and mountain ash
 * muskrat
 * if its not clear, just leave it lower case.

The Labrador Duck, believed to have nested in Labrador, was one of the first North American bird species to recorded as become extinct - needs a period and a citation as this is a significant claim.

Also, Mink is linked twice and in the final sentence in the Biosphere section 'inhabit' appears twice and I think you mean that the falcons 'nest in' rather than inhabit steep cliffs. Finally, I only just noticed that biosphere needs a sentence or two in the revised lead. Ben  Mac  Dui  18:46, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

How about now?Silverchemist (talk) 21:07, 23 July 2008 (UTC)


 * Please check new ref 31 for a duplicate period, re-read the new sentence in the lead and attend to the trees (above). Ben   Mac  Dui  10:29, 24 July 2008 (UTC)


 * Done Silverchemist (talk) 12:45, 24 July 2008 (UTC)