Geography — Page 7
Wonders of our planet
220 facts
The shortest river in the world is the Roe River in Montana, measuring only two hundred feet.
This small watercourse connects Giant Springs Lake to the Missouri River and holds the official Guinness record as…
There is a lake in Australia, Lake Hillier, that is permanently bubblegum pink.
The vibrant pink color of this lake is due to the presence of microalgae and halophilic bacteria that produce…
The border between Belgium and the Netherlands runs directly through a local bar, making it an international pub.
The Baarle-Hertog bar is situated in such a way that the border line cuts through its interior, meaning patrons can…
The Sargasso Sea is the only sea in the world without a land boundary.
Located in the North Atlantic Ocean, this sea is defined by the ocean currents that surround it and the dense…
The Amazon River carries more water than the next seven largest rivers combined.
Its average discharge is so massive that it accounts for about twenty percent of all freshwater flowing into the…
There is a locality in Norway called Hell that freezes over regularly in the winter.
The village of Hell in Norway has a name that means inferno in English. Due to its cold climate and location in the…
Mount Chimborazo in Ecuador is the point on Earth's surface closest to space.
Due to the Earth's equatorial bulge, the summit of Mount Chimborazo is farther from the planet's center than Mount…
The Dead Sea is technically not a sea, but a salt lake, and it is the lowest land elevation point on Earth.
Located on the border between Jordan and Israel, the Dead Sea is an endorheic lake with extreme salinity, and its…
The Sahara Desert was not always an arid wasteland, having been a lush, green landscape with lakes thousands of years ago.
Changes in the Earth's orbit altered monsoon patterns in North Africa, transforming this once-fertile region into the…
In Longyearbyen, Norway, it is technically illegal to die.
The ground is permanently frozen, which prevents the decomposition of bodies and could preserve deadly viruses…
The shortest commercial flight in the world takes about two minutes and occurs in Scotland.
The route between the islands of Westray and Papa Westray is only two and a half kilometers long. Under ideal…
There is a desert in Antarctica that has not seen rain for nearly two million years.
The McMurdo Dry Valleys are the driest place on Earth. Katabatic winds evaporate any moisture and the mountains block…
Tristan da Cunha is the most remote inhabited archipelago in the world.
Located in the middle of the South Atlantic Ocean, this British territory is over two thousand kilometers from the…
There is a town in Norway where the sun does not set for about two and a half months during summer.
The town of Hammerfest, located above the Arctic Circle, experiences the midnight sun phenomenon, maintaining…
France has the most time zones of any country.
Due to its numerous overseas territories scattered across the globe, such as French Polynesia and French Guiana…
The Dead Sea is not technically a sea, but rather a saltwater lake.
Despite its name, the Dead Sea is an endorheic lake, meaning it has no outlet to the ocean. The water evaporates…
The Amazon River has no bridges crossing its main stem.
Despite being the second longest river in the world, the Amazon basin is predominantly composed of dense forest and…
At Point Nemo, the closest humans are often on the space station.
Point Nemo is the oceanic pole of inaccessibility, the location in the ocean farthest from any landmass. It is so…
Russia has more than eleven different time zones.
Due to its vast territorial expanse stretching from Europe to the Pacific, Russia spans eleven time zones, being the…
The driest place on Earth is in the Atacama Desert, Chile.
Some weather stations in the Atacama Desert have never recorded precipitation. The combination of cold ocean currents…
The most isolated point in the ocean, called Point Nemo, has the astronauts on the International Space Station as its closest neighbors.
Point Nemo is the oceanic pole of inaccessibility, the location in the ocean farthest from any landmass. It is about…
The shortest scheduled commercial flight in the world is between the Scottish islands of Westray and Papa Westray, lasting about forty-seven seconds.
This Loganair flight covers a distance of only 2.7 kilometers. Depending on wind direction, the journey can last…
Canada contains more lakes than all other countries in the world combined, holding over sixty percent of the global total.
Due to its vast area and glacial history, Canada has over two million lakes. This abundance of fresh water is the…
The deepest point in the ocean is deeper than Mount Everest is tall.
The Challenger Deep, in the Mariana Trench, reaches about 11,000 metres deep. Mount Everest is 8,849 metres high. If…