Geography — Page 2
Wonders of our planet
127 facts
The Namib Desert in Africa is the oldest desert in the world, having existed for at least 55 million years.
Its ancient dunes and extreme aridity make it one of the least hospitable places on Earth, yet it is home to uniquely…
Monaco is smaller than Central Park.
The Principality of Monaco has an area of approximately 2.08 km², making it the second smallest country in the world…
Lesotho is a country inside another country.
Lesotho is one of the few examples of a national enclave. Its entire territory is completely surrounded by South…
Vatican City is a country inside a city.
With only about 0.49 km², Vatican City is the smallest independent country on the planet. The curious fact is that it…
Indonesia is made up of over 17,000 islands.
The Indonesian archipelago is one of the largest in the world and brings together more than 17,000 islands, although…
The oldest volcano in the world is in Brazil.
The Nova Iguaçu volcano in Rio de Janeiro is about 2 billion years old and has been extinct for a long time. It is…
Istanbul is located on two continents.
The city of Istanbul in Turkey is divided by the Bosphorus Strait. The western part is in Europe and the eastern part…
Millions of years ago, the Amazon River flowed westward into the Pacific Ocean, until the rise of the Andes reversed its course.
Before the Andes mountain range formed, the massive river drained into the Pacific. As the mountains rose, the river…
Tehran, Iran, is sinking at an alarming rate.
Satellite measurements show that some parts of Tehran are sinking about 25 centimeters per year. The subsidence is…
Greenland is losing ice faster than previously thought.
Recent studies indicate that Greenland's ice sheet is melting at a rate that could contribute to a sea level rise of…
Hashima Island in Japan was abandoned and became a tourist attraction.
Hashima, also known as Gunkanjima (Battleship Island), was a thriving coal mining community that became uninhabited…
The border between Brazil and France passes through a bridge over a river.
The border between Brazil and France, in French Guiana, is one of the most curious in the world: it passes through a…
Lake Vostok is located under two kilometers of ice in Antarctica.
Lake Vostok is located under about four kilometers of ice, not two. It is one of the largest subglacial lakes in the…
The Danakil Depression in Ethiopia is one of the hottest and lowest places on Earth.
The region sits at an average of 120 metres below sea level and annual temperatures often exceed 50 degrees Celsius…
In 2025, a tsunami in an Alaskan fjord reached 481 metres high.
The tsunami of 10 August 2025 in Barry Arm fjord, Alaska, was the second-highest ever recorded. The wave reached 481…
A submerged tropical island the size of Iceland was discovered in the Atlantic.
The island would have existed about 80 million years ago, driven by a mantle plume. The remains were found about…
Point Nemo, in the Pacific, is the most isolated place on Earth and is 2,688 kilometres from any land.
Point Nemo is the oceanic pole of inaccessibility, identified in the 1990s through computer simulations. Ocean…
The Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia becomes the world's largest natural mirror when it rains.
With more than 10,000 square kilometres, the Salar de Uyuni is the largest salt flat on the planet. When a thin layer…
The Taal volcano in the Philippines contains an island within a lake, which is itself on an island.
The Taal volcano is located on the island of Luzon in the Philippines. Inside the volcano's crater, Lake Taal formed…
A lost world has been discovered beneath the Antarctic ice, with valleys and rivers that flow upwards.
A team from Durham University identified a landscape preserved beneath the East Antarctic ice, with valleys and hills…
Scientists have discovered two new hydrothermal vent fields in the Atlantic Ocean.
An expedition aboard the Schmidt Ocean Institute s Falkor (too) found two new hydrothermal vent fields in the…
A new cave with a 70-metre-wide entrance has been discovered in Vietnam.
The cave, named Thang, was found in Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park in Quang Tri Province. It is about 3 kilometres…
Ancient human DNA has been found on cave walls with rock art in Portugal.
A Portuguese team participated in the world's first discovery of ancient human DNA preserved on prehistoric cave…
In Hammerfest, Norway, the sun does not set for about 76 consecutive days in summer.
Hammerfest is above the Arctic Circle. In summer, the sun remains visible 24 hours a day for more than two months. In…
