Afghanistan

Central Asia

A world map shows the location of lapis lazuli mining in northeastern Afghanistan, marked by a blue circle with "L I."

Lapis Lazuli Mines

World

USGS

Nepal

China

East Asia

Chile

Belize

Bolivia

Guatemala

Honduras

Peru

El Salvador

Latin America

Mauritania

None

Mexico

North America

India

Pakistan

South Asia

Kuwait

Jordan

Lebanon

Qatar

Egypt

Iraq

Israel

Palestine

Saudi Arabia

Iran

Syria

Southwest Asia and North Africa

Côte d'Ivoire

Ghana

Senegal

Burkina Faso

Ethiopia

Guinea

Zimbabwe

Eritrea

Mali

Sudan

Sub-Saharan Africa

A world map highlights early cultural hearths. Major hearths in dark green are located in the Middle East, Northern India, and Pakistan. Secondary hearths in light green are found in Mesoamerica, West Africa, Zimbabwe, Sudan, Guatemala, Peru, and North Korea.

Locations of major culture hearths, areas of cultural innovation that gave rise to a particular culture region

Major Hearths

nature

Anthropogenic Biomes

Areas at Risk of Soil Degradation

Average Annual Precipitation

Biomes

Climate Zones

Global Mean Temperature, January

Global Mean Temperature, July

Global Surface Warming: Worst-Case Projections (NASA)

Insolation

Land Cover

Major Soil Orders

Prevailing Agricultural Practices

World Elevations

Lapis Lazuli Mines	Major Hearths
Lapis Lazuli Mines	Major hearth	Secondary hearth
1
	3.31%	1.87%
		26.8%
		11.1%
		30.0%
	22.1%
	30.6%
		23.8%