Interesting history in geography. Interesting facts in geography on the topic: Interesting facts in geography. Interesting geographical facts about Russia

Let's repeat school geography today, and at the same time expand the boundaries of our knowledge. So the most interesting facts of geography.

The largest and smallest objects by population and area

So, the most populous state , of course it is China, where the population in 2016 amounted to 1 billion. 378 million people
Most populated capital of the world - Tokyo, with a population of 13,482,000 people. And in the most populous city in the world Shanghai 24,150,000 people live.

The largest city in the world by area Hulun Buir located in China and occupies 263,953 sq. km.

For the role most the ancient city of the world is claimed to be a city in Palestine or otherwise "the city of palm trees".

What about the town Derbent recognized as the oldest city in Russia.

Our country Russia- the largest country in the world in terms of territory, its area is 17,125,187 square meters. km.

The smallest state (recognized) on the planet Vatican, is located in one of the districts of Rome. This is a closed city-state with an area of only 0.44 square meters. km, with a population of about a thousand people.

The most important rivers

The question of the length of the largest rivers , Amazon and Nile, has long been controversial. Not so long ago, the African Nile was considered the champion, however, according to modern data, the Amazon, about 7000 km long, exceeds it by almost 150 km.

The coldest sea is East Siberian, belonging to the Arctic Ocean, the water temperature in it is -2 degrees Celsius. It is covered with eternal ice.
He, the Arctic Ocean - the smallest of the oceans, its area of 12 million square kilometers of floating ice, has the lowest winter temperature, -34 ° C.

Red the sea is the warmest sea on Earth, in summer the water temperature here reaches 35.6 ° C. It is also considered the most salty, since the even more salty Dead Sea belongs to the lakes. Red is considered the most lifeless sea.

deepest sea Philippine- 10540 meters. Mariana Trench with B Challenger ride 10094 meters deep - recognized as the deepest point in the ocean.

The cleanest sea on Earth is considered the sea Weddell in Antarctica.

Peculiarity Sargasso Sea that of the Atlantic Ocean is that it has no shores. Its borders are various Atlantic currents.

The hottest and coldest

most cold capital world capital of Mongolia Ulaanbaatar.

African capital is recognized as the hottest capital in the world Sudan - Khartoum.

The hottest place on earth is the desert Loot, the town of Deshte-Lut in Iran. NASA satellites have measured here the highest temperature of +70.7 degrees above zero.

In Russia Kalmykia- the hottest place in the country.

in the town Calama, located in the Chilean Atacama Desert, it never rains.

Some other geographical features

Countries that do not have a constitution at all - Israel, Lebanon, New Zealand, Oman and UK.

And the state Nauru is the only country that does not have an official capital.

The shortest geographical name is "BUT"- the name of a small village, which is located in both Sweden and Norway. Which means "river" in Scandinavian.

The most dangerous place on the planet is recognized as a small area of less than 0.5 square meters. km. brazilian island Queimada Grande, filled with 4 thousand deadly poisonous snakes. Their density is from 1 to 5 per sq. meter! The island has been banned from visiting.

That, perhaps, is all for today, so as not to overload our memory. If you know the most interesting and unique places on Earth, add them in the comments.

1. Snow in the Sahara

2. Island question

Japan has over 3,900 islands, the Philippines has 7,107 islands, and Indonesia has 17,508 islands.

3. Fixing the material

The inscription "Allah Akbar" is repeated 22 times on the flag of Iran.

4. The Magnificent Seven

Seven most big countries world (Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Russia and the USA) occupy half of the planet's land mass.

5. Only one neighbor

There are 5 states in Europe that border only one other state - Portugal, Denmark, San Marino, Vatican City and Monaco.

6. The longest eruption

The eruption of the Mexican volcano Paricutin lasted 9 years (from 1943 to 1952). During this time, the cone of the volcano rose by 2,774 meters.

7. Ukrainian trace

On the central square of the Canadian town of Glendon, which is one of the centers of the Ukrainian diaspora, stands its official symbol - a dumpling 9 meters high and weighing 2700 kg.

photo - Instagram

8. Chinese wilderness

The point farthest from all the oceans on Earth is in China.

9. Their manners

In the state of Togo, a man who compliments a woman is obliged to marry her.

10. Penguins for cleanliness

The cleanest sea on Earth is the Weddell Sea.

11. Remains of former luxury

The highest of the extinct volcanoes on Earth is Aconcagua, located in Argentina. Its height is 6960 meters.

12. Capital is not needed

Nauru is the only state in the world that does not have an official capital. But it's very beautiful there.

photo - Instagram

13. All deltas delta

The Ganges has the largest delta of all the rivers in the world.

14. American Variety

There are 3 cities in Peru and 9 more Parises in the USA.

15. Caribbean Crisis

Less than 1 percent of the Caribbean islands are inhabited and only Cuba has railroads.

16. Top of the World

Of the 25 highest peaks in the world, 19 are in the Himalayas.

17. Hole of the world

Almost until the end of the 1980s, there was not a single telephone in Bhutan.

photo - Instagram

18. Cold is not an aunt

The coldest capital in the world is Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia).

19. Blast from the past

The last eruption of Japan's Mount Fuji occurred in 1707.

20. Port city

The largest ports in the world: Rotterdam, Singapore, Kobe, New York, New Orleans.

The lowest located is the village of Ein Bokek (Israel) on the shores of the Dead Sea, located 393 m below sea level.

The northernmost city on Earth is the Russian Arctic port of Dixon, located at 73 degrees 55". The southernmost is the village of Puerto Williams, on the coast of Navarino Island in Chile, 1090 km north of Antarctica.

As scientists have established, the highest continent of our planet - Antarctica could be even higher if it were not pressed down by a powerful ice sheet with an average thickness of 700 m. This is not surprising, because the total volume of ice on the mainland is approximately 26 million cubic meters. km, that is, it is equal to the flow of all the rivers of the globe for 500 years, and its weight is 12 billion megatons. If the ice of Antarctica were melted, the level of the World Ocean would rise by more than 60 m, and its area would increase by almost 20 million square meters. km, that is, approximately on the territory of Europe and Australia.

In our time, it is impossible even to imagine a map of the surface of Eastern Europe without such uplands as the Central Russian, Valdai, Volga, Volyn and Podolsk. They appeared on geographical map only in 1890, creating the first map of the absolute heights of the surface of what was then European Russia on the basis of detailed geodetic surveys, the outstanding Russian geographer A. A. Tillo put them on the map and assigned these names to them.

In addition to the usual oceanic tides, there are invisible tides in the solid shell of our planet. Twice a day it rises towards the moon. At the equator, the height of this "sigh" earth's crust is 55 cm, and at the latitude of Moscow - 40 cm. Thus, all the inhabitants of our planet twice a day, though not much, but without noticing it, "jump" up.

Although you know from physical geography courses that there are mobile and immovable land areas (synclines and platforms) on the Earth, in reality absolutely immovable sections of the earth's crust do not exist at all. Moscow, for example, is currently descending from average speed about 3 mm per year, Kyiv "sits down" by 4 mm annually, Perm - by 5, Tomsk - by 7, polar Dudinka - by 20, and Norilsk - by 21 mm. But Yerevan annually "grows" by 4, and Stavropol by 8 mm. The whole of Fenno-Scandia is steadily rising, and with it St. Petersburg.

Caucasian mountains constantly adding in growth. So, for example, Elbrus and Kazbek - up to 3 cm per year, and in the area of the Cross Pass - only a few mm.

The highest mountain of the island of Tenerife from the Canary Islands - Pico de Taide is getting lower every year for reasons beyond the control of nature. The fact is that its peak is literally taken apart piece by piece for souvenirs by numerous tourists, who come here for about one million a year. Therefore, the height of the mountain, which is indicated on the geographical map (3718 m), no longer corresponds to reality, since it has become lower by more than 3 m. To save the mountain from further destruction, the island authorities decided to enclose the top of Taide with a fence.

Volcanic lava maintains a high temperature for such a long time that even a year after the eruption, you can cook scrambled eggs on it.

The highest active volcano in Europe - Etna on the island of Sicily (Italy) is a real natural mine. During the eruption in 1983, approximately 2.5 kg of gold and 9 kg of silver, as well as a lot of zinc, tin, and mercury, erupted daily from the depths of the volcano in the composition of rocks.

Scientists from Australia, Canada and the CIS discovered in 1990 an unusually rich deposit of gold and silver in an underwater volcano crater 75 miles east of the coast of the Republic of Papua New Guinea. Samples taken from a sea depth of 2200 m gave a fantastic result: an average of 21 g of gold and 500 g of silver per ton of rock. This is despite the fact that in the "ground" conditions of gold mining, already 5-6 g per ton is considered economically viable. But the extraction of underwater gold here is still technically impossible.

The Galeras volcano in Colombia spits out about half a kilogram of gold every day during the eruption. It ranks first in the world among the volcanoes of the "producers" of this noble metal, but it scatters gold over great distances, so the game is hardly worth the candle.

A powerful natural metallurgical plant is located on the Kuril Islands. This is the Ebeko volcano. The Yuryev River, flowing from the cleft of the volcano, carries over 35 tons of iron and 60 tons of aluminum from its depths into the ocean depths per day.

The real healer is famous volcano Elbrus. Although it belongs to the extinct ones, several powerful hot springs flow from its slopes, forming a river. But the most popular among the locals is the one that carries milky white, gassy mineral water called "white narzan". It flows out from under a giant glacier sliding down from the top of Elbrus. It turns out that this water has a great healing power. A few baths taken in this truly "living water" helps to get rid of rheumatism or sciatica. "White narzan" also has a beneficial effect on the treatment of stomach ulcers. It is also noticed that those who want to lose weight achieve amazing results in just a week. Unfortunately, the miraculous source has not yet attracted the attention of physicians.

In such an arid place on the globe as the Sahara desert, under a layer of sand at a depth of 2300 m, aquifers have recently been discovered on an area of 900 thousand square meters. km. It is believed that 100 million cubic meters can be pumped out from there every day. m of fresh water, an amount sufficient to turn most of the desert into a flowering garden in a few years.

About 160 thousand mirages are observed annually in the Sahara desert. Scientists have even compiled a map of caravan routes, which show places where deceptive oases, wells, palm groves, mountain ranges, etc. appear before travelers.

Except Iceland, New Zealand, North America and Kamchatka, geysers also operate in Central Asia, in the west of the Tibetan Plateau at an altitude of about 5000 m. Some of them gush here from the bottom of the rivers. One of these pulsating rivers is called the "river of dead fish", since at certain intervals underwater geysers form boiling whirlpools on its surface, in which all living things die.

Every second, our planet receives almost 65 billion kilowatt-hours of energy from the Sun, that is, much more than European states such as Finland, Denmark, Greece and Portugal combined today produce it in a whole year.

In three minutes, the Sun radiates as much energy as all of humanity spends in a whole year.

It is calculated that on a fine day the force of the stream solar energy, which falls on each sq. m of the Earth's surface, is about 800 watts. This is the power of an electric stove per square meter!

For 1 sq. m of the earth's surface every second receives as much solar heat as it takes to bring a glass of water to a boil, and on 1 hectare of the Earth such an amount of energy falls daily that can set in motion an electric motor with a capacity of 10 thousand kilowatts.

In the area of the Central Asian cities of Tashkent and Ashgabat in the summer at noon for each square. km accounts for the same amount of energy as the Dneproges produces it in six months.

In just three weeks, a tropical hurricane releases as much energy as a powerful power plant like Sayano-Shushinskaya can produce in 26,000 years.

According to rough estimates, the atmosphere of our planet contains at least 10 thousand billion tons of water vapor, that is, 200 tons over each hectare of its surface.

In some countries South America the dry season, which falls there during the winter months, is called "verano", which means "summer" in Spanish, and the summer months, which fall during the rainy season, are called "inverio", that is, "winter". The fact is that the authors of these names - immigrants from Spain - the local dry winter season seemed very similar to the dry summer of their homeland, and the wet summer season resembled the wet winter of Southern Europe.

In the equatorial regions of the World Ocean, a layer of water 62 m thick evaporates per year, and only 1.5 m from the surface of the Mediterranean Sea.

The western entrance to the Panama Canal is located slightly further east than the eastern one.

The Kuban River used to flow not into the Azov, but into the Black Sea. Until 1819, the Cossacks from the Staro-Tatarskaya and Temryukovskaya villages dug a canal between the Kuban and the Akhtanizovsky estuary to desalinate the salty estuaries of Azov. The river eroded and expanded its banks and carried its waters along a new channel, and the old one was overgrown with herbs and shrubs.

It turns out that the Ishim River, which now crosses the Kazakh steppes from south to north, flowed into the Aral Sea in ancient times. As scientists have established, Ishim turned north about 5 million years ago, after one of the blocks of the earth's crust was uplifted. Traces have also been found ancient valley this river, although now it is covered with a layer of sedimentary rocks.

Every year, the world's rivers carry about 43.7 thousand cubic meters into the ocean. km of water.

The Victoria Falls on the Zambezi River, located in Africa on the border between the republics of Zambia and Zimbabwe, are destroying the river bed so vigorously that in about 15-20 years it will move up the river and, leaving Zimbabwe, will completely "leave" in Zambia. And there is no such force that would stop this process.

Lake Sambar in India is salty for eight months a year and fresh for four. Its area is 160 sq. km. During a severe eight-month drought, 200 thousand tons of kitchen salt are mined from the lake. And from June to October, as a result of continuous monsoon rains, the water in the lake is desalinated.

1. The shortest place name

The shortest locality name is "Å" - the name of a small village that is located in both Sweden and Norway. In Scandinavian, "Å" means "river".

2. Most Big City in the world

The largest city in the world, based on surface area, is the city of Hulunbuir in the Inner Mongolia region of China, which covers an area of 263,953 square kilometers. km.

3. Countries completely surrounded by one country

Lesotho, Vatican City and San Marino are the only countries completely surrounded by one country. Lesotho is completely surrounded by South Africa, while the Vatican and San Marino are completely surrounded by Italy.

4. Second longest place name

The second longest place name in the world has been recognized as "Taumatawhakatangihangak oauauotamateaturipukaka pikimaungahoronukupokaiwhe nua kitanatahu", which is 84 letters long, which belongs to a hill in New Zealand and in Maori means "the place where Tamateya, a man with big knees, who slipped, got up and swallowed mountains, being known as a mountain eater, played his flute for his beloved."

It was the longest place name for some time (and remains so in the Guinness Book of Records), until it was superseded by the name "Krung thep mahanakhon bovorn ratanakosin mahintharayutthaya mahadilok pop noparatrachatathani burirom udomratchanivetmahasathan amornpiman avatarnsathit sakkathattiya visnukarmprasit", consisting of 163 letters and meaning poetic name of Bangkok in Thailand.

5. The coldest and warmest sea

The water temperature in the White Sea in Russia is the lowest and is only -2 °C. The Persian Gulf is the warmest sea. In summer, the water temperature here reaches 35.6 °C.

6. The world's oldest constitutional republic

San Marino is considered the oldest constitutional republic in the world. It was founded in 301 by a Christian stonemason who was fleeing persecution from the emperor Diocletian. The San Marino Constitution, which was adopted in 1600, is considered the oldest written constitution in the world.

The deepest hole drilled by man is the Kola ultradeep well in Russia. It reached 12,262 m and was drilled for scientific research, during which a number of unexpected discoveries were made, such as a huge hydrogen deposit, which was so massive that the mud that came out of the well literally boiled.

Due to the bulge of the Earth at the equator, the summit of the Chimborazo volcano in Ecuador, which is 6310 m high, is the most distant point from the center of the Earth, claiming the title " highest point on Earth”, despite the fact that Everest is the highest peak above sea level. Chimborazo is an extinct volcano located 1 degree south of the equator.

The Mariana Trench is the deepest part of the world's oceans with the lowest elevation of the earth's surface. To date, it is believed that its depth is 10,971 m. It is located in the western Pacific Ocean east of the Mariana Islands.

The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is the longest mountain range on Earth, at 40,000 km. It is located in the center of the Atlantic Ocean. Iceland is the only part of this mountain range that is above sea level.

The Andes form the longest surface mountain range, at 7,000 km.

10. The name of the area, consisting of only vowels

Mount Circeo on the west coast of Italy was once called Aeaea (5 consecutive vowels and no consonants). According to mythology, the sorceress Circe lived here. Two other geographic localities with only vowels in their names are Aiea in Hawaii and Eiao, one of the Marquesas Islands.

11. The most northern, eastern and western state in America

Alaska is the most northern, eastern and western state in America. It is the only state that is part of the Eastern Hemisphere, making it the easternmost and westernmost state.

12. Sea without a coast

The Sargasso Sea is an area in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean surrounded by ocean currents and is the only sea without a coast. It is bounded in the west by the Gulf Stream, in the north by the North Atlantic Current, in the east by the Canary Current and in the south by the North Equatorial Current. This system of currents forms the North Atlantic subtropical gyre.

13. Lake in an ancient impact crater formed as a result of a meteorite fall

Bosumtwi Lake, located in an ancient meteorite impact crater with a diameter of 8 km, is the only natural lake in Ghana. It is located 30 km southwest of the city of Kumasi and is a popular recreational area. Near the lake there are about 30 villages with a total population of 70,000 people.

14. Unusual river flow

There is only one river in the world that originates at the equator and flows into the temperate zone from there, and that is the Nile River. For some unknown reason, most rivers flow in the opposite direction.

15. No land at the North Pole

There is no land at the North Pole - only ice above the water surface. With 12 million square kilometers of floating ice, the Arctic Ocean has the coldest winter temperature, -34°C.

16. The territory of Hong Kong consists of one peninsula and 236 islands

17. There is a territory of eight countries beyond the Arctic Circle - Norway, Sweden, Finland, Canada, Russia, USA, Denmark and Iceland

18. The only territory south of the equator belonging to the United States is American Samoa with an area of 200 square kilometers and a population of more than 57,000 people

19. Over 90% of Egypt is desert

20. China borders on sixteen states

21. South American countries without a coastline - Bolivia and Paraguay

22. The Cape of Good Hope, contrary to popular belief, is not the southernmost point South Africa. Cape Agulhas protrudes 160 kilometers to the south.

23. Of the 700 islands that make up the Bahamas, only 30 are inhabited.

24. Hawaii is moving towards Japan at a rate of 10 centimeters per year.

25. Of the 3,000 Bahamas in the Caribbean, only 20 are inhabited.

26. The area of the Principality of Monaco is only 370 acres (less than 1.5 square kilometers).

27. More than 25 percent of the world's forests are located in Siberia.

28. The United States will fit inside African continent three and a half times.

29. The Sahara desert can be compared with Europe in area. It is about 3,565,565 sq. miles.

30. All continents except Antarctica are wider in the north than in the south.

31. Florida is not the southernmost state in the United States. Hawaii is south.

32. The city of Hamilton in Ontario, Canada, is closer to the equator than to the North Pole.

33. More than two-thirds of the earth's land is located north of the equator.

34. Israel occupies one fourth of the area of Maine.

35. Geographic center The North American continent is located in the town of Rugby, North Dakota.

36. The largest sand dune in Europe is located in Arcachon Bay, France. Its height is 350 feet (130 meters).

37. Panama is the only place in the world where you can watch the sunrise on Pacific Ocean, and the sunset is on the Atlantic.

38. For 186 days a year, the sun is not visible at the North Pole.

39. The distance between Honolulu and New York is greater than the distance between New York and Japan.

40. Saudi Arabia, which has the largest desert in the world, through which large caravans of camels wander through the centuries, is forced to import both sand and camels. A large number of river sand for structures is delivered to Arabia from Scotland; desert sand is not suitable for building purposes. And since the number of camels in Arabia is gradually decreasing, these animals are brought from North Africa.

41. The Hawaiian Islands are the protruding peaks of the world's largest mountain range. Mauna Kea is the largest mountain in the world, although it is partially submerged. This volcano rises above the water at 4205m, and more than 6000m are below sea level, so the total height of the mountain is greater than Everest.

42. Jacksonville, Florida has the largest total city area in the United States. It occupies 460 sq. miles, which is almost twice the size of Los Angeles.

43. In the Northern Hemisphere, water flows counterclockwise into the sewer, in the Southern Hemisphere - clockwise.

44. King Ranch in Texas is larger than the state of Rhode Island. It has 1.25 million acres and was the first ranch in the world to be completely fenced in. There was a time when its borders were guarded by an army patrol.

45. The highest mountain in the British Isles - Ben Nevis in western Scotland - is only 1344 meters. In many other countries, such a mountain will simply be called a big hill.

46. The state of Arizona and Hawaii have never adopted Daylight Savings Time. Like Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Samoa.

47. Of the 25 highest peaks in the world, 19 are in the Himalayas.

48. Antarctica is the only continent that does not have areas below sea level.

49. On a clear day, from the top of the Empire State Building in New York, you can see five states: New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania.

50. Until 1903, Panama was part of South America. After 1903, it became part of North America. In this year, the country gained independence from Colombia, and in order to distance itself more from it, after almost a year of deliberation, the government of Panama decided to treat North America.

51. Travelers arriving in La Paz (Bolivia) often feel unwell. The city is located at an altitude of 3700 meters above sea level. It is advisable to avoid visiting him for people with a sick heart or bronchi.

Interesting Facts from geography different countries :

The coldest capital in the world is Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia)

336 rivers flow into Lake Baikal, and only one flows out (Angara)

The Kingdom of Tonga is the only monarchy in Oceania

The Trans-Siberian Railway crosses exactly 3901 bridges

The Philippines archipelago consists of 7107 islands.

Less than 1 percent of the Caribbean islands are inhabited

Iran's flag repeats "Allah Akbar" 22 times

The 7 largest countries in the world (Russia, Canada, USA, China, Australia, Brazil and Argentina) occupy half of the planet's land

There are 5 states in Europe that border only one other state - Portugal, Denmark, San Marino, Vatican City and Monaco

The eruption of the Mexican volcano Paricutin lasted 9 years (from 1943 to 1952). During this time, the cone of the volcano rose by 2774 meters

On the central square of the Canadian town of Glendon, its official symbol rises - a dumpling 9 meters high and weighing 2700 kg

The London equivalent of New York's Wall Street is called Lombard Street.

In the state of Togo, a man who compliments a woman is obliged to marry her.

There is not a single desert in Europe. This is the only part of the world where there are no deserts.

Japan has over 3900 islands.

Of the 25 highest peaks in the world, 19 are in the Himalayas

The Ganges has the largest delta of all rivers.

In the USA, there are as many as 3 cities in Peru and 9 more in Paris

A bit more...

The smallest state - the Vatican - 44 hectares

A state that occupies an entire continent - Australia

The largest island nation is Indonesia

mainland with largest number borders - Africa-108

The longest border between neighboring states is
8963 km, between the US and Canada

The most multinational and multilingual state of India - more than 500 nationalities and tribes speak more than 800 languages and 1600 dialects

The highest birth rate in Africa

Highest death rate in Africa

The most populous capital is Tokyo - 25.8 million people

The richest monarch of our time is the Sultan of Brunei Darussalam Muda Hassanal Bolkiyah Muizzaddin Waddaulah
(in his palace - 1778 rooms)

In 1974, in Argentina, after the death of her husband, the world's first female president became
Maria Estela Martinez de Peron

The world's oldest constitution, still in force today, is the United States Bill of Rights, adopted in 1789.

Countries that have no constitution at all are Israel, Lebanon, New Zealand, Oman and the UK.

The North Pole is the only point northern hemisphere, which is not involved in daily rotation Earth around its axis. There is no change of day and night, no longitude, no east, west or north direction.

At the equator, day is always equal to night, and the Sun is at its zenith twice a year (on the day of the spring and on the day of the autumn equinox).

On the edge of the Sahara, locals build their houses underground. Here they find fresh water and a safe haven from sandstorms.

Singapore can be traveled from end to end by subway. The territory of this country is stretched from north to south for 23 km, from west to east for 42 km. The total length of metro lines is 67 km. The local subway is the most modern in the world.

White night is observed in latitudes where the midday height of the Sun above the horizon is less than 18˚, i.e. less than the height at which the end of astronomical twilight occurs. Particularly bright nights at latitudes from 59 to 66.5˚, where the midnight height of the Sun is less than 8 degrees.

450 km. north of the capital of Namibia lies Hoba, the largest meteorite on Earth. Its weight is about 50 tons.

The largest fruit in the world - the fruit of the Seychellois palm tree Coco de Mer weighs about 20 kg.

The most interesting from the world of geography

Interesting facts about geography, which few people know about.

1. San Francisco, USA and Melbourne, Australia. These two cities are known for their mild and rapidly changing climates, and they are the same distance from the equator.

2.France is almost 30% larger than the state of California, USA.

3. About 90% of the world's population lives in the northern hemisphere

4. Mongolia is largest country landlocked.

5. La Paz, Bolivia, is at 3628 meters above sea level and is the highest large city in the world.

6. Mexico City floods 16-20 cm a year because it is built on top of underground reservoirs.

7. Brazil has 13 cities with over one million inhabitants.

8. Europe is the only continent that doesn't have deserts.

9. The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest ocean. It is also the smallest ocean in the world. Its main cover is solid ice, ice floes and icebergs.