ATLAS SHRUGGED

by Zack Butler

Solution: KENYA

From top to bottom, the pictures and clues are:

1Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka (oldest tree)F
2Hiroshima, Japan (Atomic Bomb Dome)I
3Ouzinkie, Alaska (coordinates)V
4Yekaterinburg, Russia (sister cities)E
5Magadan, Russia (Magadan-Vanino route)L
6Ashgabat, Turkmenistan (the White Wheat Museum)E
7Tucson, Arizona (Pacific Coast League and University of Arizona teams)T
8Edmonton, Alberta (West Edmonton Mall)T
9Samarkand, Uzbekistan (capital 1925-1930)E
10Orlando, Florida (factory outlet malls)R
11Nukus, Uzbekistan (capital)E
12Oranjestad, Aruba (storefronts)Q
13Walla Walla, Washington (Whitman College's Maxey Hall)U
14Ghent, Belgium (Treaty of Ghent)A
15Ogden, Utah (Golden Spike Arena)T
16Grytviken, South Georgia (Shackleton's burial place)O
17Erie, Pennsylvania (Tom Ridge Environmental Center at Presque Isle State Park)R
18Tokyo, Japan (Japanese characters for "Tokyo")I
19Turin, Italy (Neve and Gliz, 2006 Winter Olympics mascots)A
20Honiara, Solomon Islands (Guadalcanal province)L
21Easton, Pennsylvania (Crayola Crayon Factory)R
22Islamabad, Pakistan (proposed flag)E
23Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (Sugar Loaf)P
24Zillah, Washington (street map)U
25Oulu, Finland (65° N)B
26Nouméa, New Caledonia (overview)L
27Ebetsu, Japan (Glass Craft Museum)I
28Doha, Qatar (Asian Games)C
29Akita, Japan (Akita Prefecture)I
30Topo, Azores (easternmost city)N
31Al-Awja, Iraq (Saddam Hussein's birthplace)C

Their first letters spell "Ahoy mate, so now go get their zone data." Following the nautical theme, the zone data refers to the nautical time zones, each of which is assigned a letter (such as on http://www.jgiesen.de/astro/astroJS/timezone/clock/timezone.gif). The nautical time zones of each city spell "Five-letter equatorial republic in C", which in Zone C is KENYA.