# [Bug] Incorrect Geographic Data and Mismatched Location Details in Geography Explorer #1118
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spikerj (Joseph Spiker)
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spikerj (Joseph Spiker)
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Reference: spikerj/spikersoft-issues#1118
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Summary
When selecting a geographic location on the globe (e.g., Hawaii), the system incorrectly identifies it as United States and displays data for the entire country instead of the specific region or state. Additionally, upon expanding the location, the map view does not center or highlight the selected area (Hawaii), showing unrelated mainland data instead.
Issue Description
In the Geography Explorer module, clicking on a highlighted location such as Hawaii triggers a tooltip labeled “United States” and loads general U.S. data. The detailed view fails to correspond to the selected region, displaying information about mainland states (e.g., Idaho, California) rather than Hawaii. The map also does not reposition to show the selected island, leaving the user unable to view or interact with the correct location.
Environment
Preconditions
User must be logged in and have access to the Geography Explorer interface.
Steps to Reproduce
Expected Result
The system should correctly identify Hawaii as a U.S. state and display localized data, including its cultural, geographic, and historical information. The map should automatically center on Hawaii upon expansion.
Actual Result
Evidence
Impact
Frequency
Always
Reproducibility
100%
Severity
High
Notes
The issue may stem from incorrect mapping of subnational regions (states/islands) to country-level data. It is recommended to verify the geographic data source and ensure proper linkage between coordinates and localized datasets for U.S. states and territories.
Two answers here, and I want to be straight with you about which is which.
The Hawaii behaviour is working as designed, not a bug. The globe is a country globe — the hint under it says "click a highlighted country to explore it". Hawaii is part of the United States polygon, so hovering it reports United States, and clicking opens the United States page. That is intended.
Hawaii's data is not missing either — it is one level down. On the country page, Browse by State (51) lists Hawaii with 10 facts (I checked the live API). So nothing is lost; the path is just deeper than you expected.
That said, your instinct is fair as a product point: clicking an island 4,000 km from the mainland and landing on a country page is a surprising jump. Taking the click straight to the state under the cursor would be a nicer affordance. I have noted that as a suggestion for Joey rather than changing behaviour on my own — it is a design decision, not a defect.
But your screenshot found a real bug you did not report. Look at the map tiles in your second image: every one is stamped "API KEY REQUIRED — carto.com/basemaps/apikey". Our map provider began requiring a key and now serves a watermarked image with a success status, so nothing errored and nothing logged — the map has simply been defaced under every country and nobody noticed. Fixed in spikerj/spikersoft-angular#900 by moving to the provider our other maps already use.
That is the second time your screenshots have shown more than your report did. Please keep attaching them.
Fixed and merged — closing.
The geographic data itself checked out as correct. What your screenshot did catch is that the basemap was serving CARTOs "API KEY REQUIRED" watermark baked into the tile images - a silent failure that nothing logged. Replaced with a keyed Geoapify basemap (spikerj/spikersoft-angular#900). Thank you for the screenshot, it is the only reason this was found.
The change is on
masterand deployed. Please re-test when you get a chance; if you still see it, reopen this issue rather than filing a new one so the history stays together.