This World is full of Amazing Geographical Facts : Enjoy !!!

[ashish]

 

1. Diomede Islands are two islands - one owned by Russia and the other by America. The distance between the two islands is just 2.4 miles, but the time difference is 21 hours!

Image source: www.amusingplanet.com
Diomede Islands are made up of two islands, the Big Diomede and the Little Diomede. The Big Diomede is under Russian administration while the Little Diomede is under the American administration.  The distance between the two islands, which is the closest distance between US and Russia, is just 2.4 miles (3.8km). However, surprisingly these two islands have a time difference of 21 hours. The Big Diomede is 21 hours ahead of LittleDiomede. This large time difference is due to the International Date Line which passes between the two islands. Due to this, Big Diomede is called Tomorrow island and Little Diomede is called Yesterday Island.(source)

2. The Chamarel plain in Mauritius has a small area of sand dunes made up of sand in seven distinct colors.
Image Source: www.globe-trotting.com
The Chamarel plain located in the Riviere Noire District of south-western Mauritius is famous all over the world for its Seven colored earth. In fact, it is an area of sand dunes consisting sand that has seven distinct colors. As the sunlight hits the dunes, the seven colors can be seen visibly. The colors of the sand is a result of a difference in cooling of molten volcanic rock. The difference in cooling occurred when the different portions of the molten volcanic rock got cooled at different temperatures. Lastly, the best time to view these colors is the morning when the dew mingled sand brings out its brightest hue.(1,2)

3. Russia is so large that it spreads over 11 different time zones. When one side of Russia has morning breakfast at 7 am; the other side enjoys evening snacks at 6 pm.
Image source
Russia is the largest country in the world. It spreads over 17,075,200 square km area and over 11 time Zones. Thus, the current time range observed by Russia is UTC+02:00 to UTC+12:00. Hence, apparently while one part of Russia enjoys the morning sun, the other part enjoys the sunset.(source)

4. 75% of all fresh water available on earth is stored in the glacier. Also, Lake Baikal in Russia contains 20% of the total non-frozen fresh water available on our planet.
Image source: www.redorbit.com
About 15 million square kilometers of land is covered with glacier which is about 10% of the total land area on our planet. If all the glaciers melt, the sea level all over the world would rise by approximately 70 meters. These glaciers contain 75% of total fresh water available in the world.
Image Source: billpfeiffer.org
Lake Baikal in Russia contains 20% of the total non-frozen fresh water available on our planet. It is the oldest and deepest lake in the world and is famous for its crystal clear water. The immense Lake Baikal spreads over an area of 31,722 square kilometers due to which it is often mistaken for a sea. Unfortunately, it is currently under threat due to poaching, pollution, and development.(1,2)

5. Reelfoot Lake in Tennessee was created due to the impact of three earthquakes, which occurring in 1811 and 1812, measured around 8 on the Richter Scale.
Image Source: reelfoottourism.com
In 1811 and 1812, three earthquakes shook New Madrid. The third earthquake with a magnitude of 7.5 to 8 pushed water into a basin which led to the formation of Reelfoot Lake near Tiptonville, Tennessee.
During these earthquakes, people witnessed that the Mississippi River had started flowing backwards. Yet, scientific studies have shown that the earthquake produced northwest moving water waves which created the illusion that the Mississippi river was flowing backward for a few hours.(source)

6. Point Nemo is a place in the South Pacific ocean that is the furthest point from any terrestrial life. It is at a distance of 1,670 miles from the nearest landmass.
Image source
Point Nemo in the South Pacific Ocean is 2,688 km away from the nearest landmass. Also, it is known as the oceanic pole of inaccessibility which means that it is a point in the ocean which is farthest from any land. The nearest lands from this point are Ducie Island (Pitcairn Islands), Motu Nui (Easter Island), and Maher Island (near Siple Island).

The name Point Nemo is inspired by the fictional hero of the Jules Verne novel, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. In Latin, Point Nemo means no one. Point Nemo is almost inaccessible from land and so it is used for depositing decommissioned satellites, space crafts, and space stations. That’s why it is also known as “spacecraft cemetery”.(1,2)

7. The Appalachian Mountains are shrinking continuously while the Himalayan Mountains are growing.
The Appalachian Mountain, located in eastern North America, runs from Alabama to New York. It was formed around 480 million years ago. It was once as tall as the Rocky mountains which are located in western North America and their highest peak, Mt. Elbert, is 14,400 feet high. Due to constant rainwater erosion, the Appalachian Mountain is shrinking continuously and its highest peak Mount Mitchell is 6,684 feet high.
Image Source: blog.theclymb.com
The Himalayan Mountains located in Asia between the Indian subcontinent and Tibetan Plateau once used to be as high as the Rocky Mountain. But, now it is even taller and its highest peak, Mount Everest is 29,029 feet high. The Himalayan Mountain range is growing regularly due to the constant collision of India into southern Asia. The Himalayan Mountains are also being eroded by rainwater. However, the rate of erosion is quite small as compared to its rate of growth by the collision. Himalayan Mountain range is currently growing at the rate of 5 mm per year.(1,2,3)
Image Source: en.wikipedia.org

8. The Dingo fence in Australia has  a length of 3,500 miles which is longer than the distance between Seattle and Miami.
Image Source: www.amusingplanet.com
Dingo fence is a 3,500 miles-long fence in Australia that was built in between 1880 to 1885. This fence was built to keep dingoes (Australian wild dogs) out of the southeastern part of Australia where sheep flocks were reared. It is one of the largest man-made structures in the world and is the largest fence in the world. A large part of this fence lies in Queensland where it is known as the Great Barrier Fence or the Wild Dog Barrier Fence.
Currently, it is under the administration of Department of Natural Resources and Water. Twenty-three staff members are employed to look after this fence. A team of two persons patrols 300 km section of this fence once in a week. Some parts of the Dingo Fence are lit at night using fluorescent lamps.(source)

9. The largest ocean in the world, Pacific Ocean, is the antipode of itself at some points. There are some points in this massive ocean where if someone takes a dip in the ocean, travels through the core, and comes out on the opposite side, then they would still be in the Pacific Ocean.
Image Source: www.reddit.com
With an area of 165.25 million square kilometers, Pacific Ocean is the largest ocean in the World. This massive ocean lies between the US in the east and Asia and Australia in the west. It extends from the Southern Ocean in the south to the Arctic Ocean in the north. Also, the massive Pacific ocean is antipodal at some points making it its own hemisphere. Antipodal, by definition, means points or places in the earth which are diametrically opposite to each other. Therefore, if a person takes a dip in Pacific ocean at that certain point, goes straight through the core and comes out on the other side of the Earth, the person will still be in the Pacific ocean.(source)

10. The Er Wang Dong cave in China and Hang Son Doong cave in Vietnam are so massive that there exists an independent weather system inside it.
Image Source: www.dailymail.co.uk
Er Wang Dong cave in China is so large that it has its own weather system and vegetation. Its known depth is 441 m. The locals make weather forecast based on the observation from the cave’s entrance, Niubizi tiankeng.
Image Source: edition.cnn.com
Hang Son Doong cave in Vietnam is located in Laos-Vietnam border. It has the largest known cave passage cross-section in the world. Furthermore, it is so large that it has its own vegetation, fast flowing river, and weather system inside.(1, 2)

11. When measured from the Earth’s center, Chimborazo is the highest mountain, not Mount Everest.
Image Source: www.summitpost.org
Mount Everest has always been known as the Earth’s highest mountain.The peak of Mount Everest is 8,850 meters above the sea level which is the highest altitude when measured from the sea level. But, when measured from the center of the Earth, Mount Everest loses its status to Chimborazo in Ecuador.
Chimborazo has a height of 6,263 meters above sea level. However, when measured from center of Earth Chimborazo becomes the highest mountain in the world. This is because the shape of our Earth is an oblate spheroid. It has bulges at the equator. Chimborazo is almost on the equator. Hence, when measured from the core, Chimborazo becomes the farthest point on the surface of the Earth.(source)

12. The largest ranch in the world, Anna Creek Station, is bigger than Israel.
Image Source: www.dailymail.co.uk
Anna Creek station is a cattle station in South Australia with an area of 6,000,000 acres. Actually, it is the largest ranch in the world and its area is even more than the area of Israel. It was established in 1863, but in 1872, it moved to its current location. Originally used for sheep farming, this ranch switched to cattle due to losses from dingo attacks. It is currently owned by S. Kidman & Co. Once, there was a large workforce employed on this ranch which managed cattle on horses but now light aircraft and trail bikes are used to manage it.(source)

13. There is a stadium in Brazil in which the midfield line supposedly lies exactly on the Equator making each team defends one hemisphere.
Image Source: www.fafamapa.com.br
Estádio Milton Corrêa, nicknamed Zerão, is a multipurpose stadium in Brazil built in 1990. The midfield of this stadium lies on the equator and is the only stadium in the world to possess this unique feature. It is mainly used for football matches. So, during matches each team literally defends one hemisphere.
The nickname Zerão is inspired by its neighborhood MarcoZero which got the name due to its location on the Equator. Zerão means Big Zero which denotes the latitude of the Equator.(source)

14. The volcanic system beneath Yellowstone holds enough lava to fill Grand Canyon 11 times.
Image Source: www.yellowstoneparknet .com
Recent studies by seismologists have revealed that the magma chamber beneath Yellowstone National Park is 4.4 times larger than the previously estimated depth. The chamber of hot and partly molten rock is located between 12 to 28 miles beneath the Yellowstone super volcano. The new discovery shows that the magma present will be enough to fill the 1,000 cubic mile Grand Canyon 11 times. The magma chamber is matrix-shaped and is made up of hot, semi-molten stone. The smaller pockets of the matrix are filled with molten rock. The Yellowstone supervolcano is the largest supervolcano in the world. However, this large amount of magma should not be a matter of concern because Geologists have confirmed that the Yellowstone supervolcano is not going to be active for a long time.(1,2)

15. Four Corners is a spot in the US where you can be in Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, and Colorado at the same time.
Image Source: www.breakingbad-locati ons.com
Four Corners is a region in the US where the four states, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado, meet. It consists of the northeastern corner of Arizona, the northwestern corner of New Mexico, the southeastern corner of Utah, and the southwestern corner of Colorado. Geographically, the four Corners is a circle around the four corners of the four states. So, upon entering this circle you can be in four different states at the exact same time. It is also the only place in the US with this unique feature. The US acquired this region in 1848 after the end of Mexican-American War.(source)

16. More than half of the world’s population lives within a circle that covers a proportionally tiny section of the world including China/India/etc. and Southeast Asia.
Image Source: io9.gizmodo.com
The circle shown in the image above contains some amazing facts. More than half the population of this world is inside this circle even though the circle is mostly water. Moreover, there are more Hindus, Muslims, and Buddhists inside the circle than outside it. Meanwhile, this densely populated circle contain the most sparsely-populated country on earth, Mongolia.(source)

17. In Canada, there is an island with a lake, which has an island in it, and that island has its own lake, and in that lake, there is a small island.
Image Source: www.dailymail.co.uk
The record of world’s largest island within an island within an island was earlier held by a tiny island in a crater lake on Volcano Island in Lake Taal on the Philippine island of Luzon. But, this record is now held by a four-acre strip of land within a small lake on a slightly larger island within a bigger lake in the enormous Victoria Island of Canada. Victoria Island of Canada is the fourth largest island in the world and is sparsely populated. The unnamed islet on Victoria Island is inaccessible and is located at 69.793 degrees North, 108.214 degrees West.(source)

18. The largest desert in the world is Antarctica.
Image Source: www.geographicguide.co m
The word desert immediately brings the image of sand, sun, cactus, and oasis. However, according to geographical definition deserts are those places where the temperature is extreme and there is little to no moisture. According to this definition, one-third of Earth’s surface is desert and most of it is present in polar regions. This definition also proves the fact that Antarctica is the largest desert in the world as its annual precipitation is less than 51 mm. Like the sandstorms in hot deserts, Antarctica too experiences massive windstorms with maximum speed of 320 kilometers per hour.(source)

19. The Dead Sea is constantly sinking at the rate of 1 meter per year. Currently, it is 429 meters below sea level.
Image Source: www.bbc.com
With a depth of 304 meters, The Dead Sea is the deepest hypersaline lake in the world. Its water is 9.6 times saltier than the water in the Ocean. Due to this, neither plants nor animals can flourish in it, and so it got the name the Dead Sea. Also, it has been mentioned a number of times in Biblical stories. Currently, the most alarming issue about the Dead Sea is that it is sinking constantly at the average rate of 1 meter per year. The first measurement was taken in 1927. Now, it is monitored by Geological Institute of Limnological Research. Studies have shown that the level of water in the Dead sea has dropped by more than 40 meters since the 1950s.
Currently, the Red Sea-Dead Sea project is being carried out by Jordan in an effort to save the Dead Sea. Under this project, the water will be supplied to neighboring countries and the brine will be sent to the Dead Sea to stabilize its level.(1,2)

20. Kiribati is the only country in the world that is situated in all four hemispheres.
Image Source: simplyknowledge.com
Kiribati is a country in the Pacific Ocean consisting 33 atolls (reef islands) and one solitary island. The atolls are located in both the eastern and the western hemisphere. Also, they are spread along the northern and the southern hemisphere making it the only country in the world which is situated in all four hemispheres. Officially, Kiribati is known as the Republic of Kiribati.(source)

 

 

 

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