Friday, June 17, 2011

15 Really Odd Geographical Facts

Our planet is filled with many wonderful geographical and geological anomalies and mysteries. So many so, that we may never truly unlock all of the secrets that nature has tucked away. This is a list of 15 of the more unusual or outright bizarre facts relating to geography, geology, and the earth.

1. Shortest Place Name
photo source
The Shortest place name is "Å" it is located in both Sweden and Norway. In Scandinavian languages, "Å" means "river". The image above is one of the newly replaces road signs for the area – they are frequently stolen for their novelty value.

2. Largest City in the World (surface area)
China with Inner Mongolia highlighted in orange and Hulunbuir city highlighted in red
The largest city in the world – based on surface area, is Hulunbuir, Inner Mongolia (China) which is 263 953 km sq (102 000 sq mi).

3. Countries Completely Surrounded by One Other Country
Lesotho    photo source

4. The Second Longest Geographical Name
photo source

5. The Coldest and Warmest Sea
Persian Gulf     photo source
The White Sea, in Russia, has the lowest temperature, only -2 degrees centigrade. The Persian Gulf is the warmest sea. In the summer its temperature reaches 35.6 degrees centigrade. 

6. World’s Oldest Constitutional Republic
San Marino   photo source

7. The Deepest Hole Ever Drilled by Man
photo source

8. Farthest Point From Earth's Center & Lowest Place on Earth Crust
Mt. Chimborazo    photo source
Due to the bulge of the earth at the equator, the peak of Ecuador's Mount Chimborazo (20,700 feet or 6,310 meters) is the point farthest from the center of the earth so the mountain claims the title of being the "highest point on earth" although Mt. Everest is still the highest point above sea level. Mt. Chimborazo is an extinct volcano and is about one degree south of the equator.
The Mariana Trench is the deepest part of the world's oceans, and the lowest elevation of the surface of the Earth's crust. It is currently estimated to be up to 10,971 m (35,994 ft) deep. It is located in the western Pacific Ocean, to the east of the Mariana Islands.

9. Longest Mountain Chain on Earth
The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is the Longest mountain chain on earth (at 40 000 kilometers or 25 000 miles ). It is located along the middle of the Atlantic. Iceland is the only part of this chain that is above water. The Andes form the longest exposed mountain range at 7 000 kilometers (4 350 miles).

10. Vowel-Only Geographic Locations
Mt. Circeo    photo source

11. The Most Northern, Eastern and Western State in All of America
Alaska is the most Northern, Eastern and Western state in all of America. It is the only state that enters the “Eastern Hemisphere” making it also the most eastern lying and western lying state.

12. Sea Without Coasts
The Sargasso Sea is a region in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by ocean currents, and this is the only sea that has no coast. It is bounded on the west by the Gulf Stream, on the north, by the North Atlantic Current, on the east, by the Canary Current, and on the south, by the North Atlantic Equatorial Current. This system of currents forms the North Atlantic Subtropical Gyre.

13. Lake in an Ancient Meteorite Impact Crater
photo source
Lake Bosumtwi, situated within an ancient meteorite impact crater, is approximately 8 km (5 mi) across and the only natural lake in Ghana. It is situated about 30 km (18,6 mi) south-east of Kumasi and is a popular recreational area. There are about 30 villages near the lake, with a combined population of about 70,000 people.

14. Unusual River Flow
River Nile   photo source
There is only one River in the world that has its source near the equator and from there flows into a temperate zone - the Nile. For some little understood reason, the flow of most Rivers is in the opposite direction.

15. No Land at the North Pole
photo source
There is no land at all at the North Pole, only ice on top of sea. The Arctic Ocean has about 12 million sq km (4.6 million sq mi) of floating ice and has the coldest winter temperature of -34 degrees centigrade. 
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  1. The hell "å" means river! It means "to", as in "to do" (which would be "å gjøre" in norwegian). Get your sources right.

  2. Oy, Håkon: 'Å' is an old norwegian word for river. Like many other norwegian words, it has several meanings.
    Learn your own language.

  3. There is a place in Finland called "Ii"

  4. Actually in both Danish and Norwegian "Å" means "small river" - the distinction is, that a River has a bigger water-flow than an "Å"..

  5. "Mange elver små gjør en stor Å". "Many small rivers make one big Å!!"

  6. In Dutch we use A, E (Ee) and Y to indicate rivers and streams. Edam, known for the cheese derives it's name from the fact that humans build a dam in the E.

  7. America is a CONTINENT nos a country
    when will they understand???

  8. Fredo, North America & South America are continents. "America" is well known slang for the USA. US citizens aren't the only ones whom call the USA America, several countries use it in reference to USA, so until you get the entire globe to stop calling it that, there's no point in complaining about it.

  9. Interesting list, though the length given for the mid-Atlantic Ridge does not seem right, as it is equivalent to the circumference of the planet. Some sources use this figure for the entire worldwide network of such ridges. Britannica gives 10,000 mi or 16,000 km as the length of the mid-Atlantic, which seems about right.

  10. So glad I flound this site (by accident).So interesting. What a wonderful and beautiful world we live in.

  11. The Kola Borehole in Russia is NOT the deepest hole drilled/dug by humans. It's the $16 Trillion in debt "dug" by our USA politicians!

  12. and one thing we have to know about north pole is there's some day that ice is completely gone because of global warming.. :(

  13. I didnt know that San Marino is the oldest country. Thanks for sharing.


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