Where in the World?

• What features in your surroundings would be the most useful in describing your position to the authorities? The features I would point out first would be the features that are not normally found in whatever area you are in. For example, if I was in the forest, but there was a huge clearing with a lake and a very old building, then I would report that.
• How could you know your approximate lattitude and biome using the local biotic (living) and abiotic (nonlivng) features even if you did not know the name of andy of the species around you? You could know the biome because each biome has a distint set of plants and animals that normally live there. So if you are in a very cold area covered in snow, and all of the animals seem to have white fur/feathers, then you would assume you were in a tundra, and if vereything were green and there seemed to be a million different types of animals, and it was very warm, you would assume you were in a rainforest. You could estimate your latitude because different biomes are located at different latitudes. For example, tundras are only found at higher latitudes, which are closer to the poles, and rainforests tend to be at lower latitudes, which are closer to the equator.
• How could you use the stars to determine your exact position on Earth? Polaris, or the north star can be used to determine which way is north, and assuming you are in the northern hemisphere, if you measure the angle Polaris is above the horizon, and that is equal to your latitude.

If I was stuck in the middle of nowhere I would probably first describe any oddities out my surroundings to the authorities. If I could find any thing written, like a street sign, or something inscribed on an old building, then I would most definitely describe that, because the language it was in could give then a good idea of my general location. I would then describe the biome I was in. Lastly, I would describe the sun's position above me if it was daytime, and my relationship to Polaris if it was night. All of that put together would give the authorities a decent idea of where I was.