The 35 most striking geographical curiosities of the world
Several places and surprising facts about the planet Earth, its continents, its oceans...
Our planet is exciting and although we think we know it thoroughly, the reality is that it hides countless secrets.
In these paragraphs we will try to make a summary of some of the most fascinating facts about the Earth's geography.. Some of them are popularly known, but the rest will surprise even those more versed in this field.
List of 35 geographical curiosities of the world
It is difficult to gather in a single list all the surprises that our planet hides. Even so, below we will be able to review the most amazing geographical curiosities of the world, even if they are not the only ones that exist.although they are not the only ones that exist.
1. What is the longest river in the world
The longest river in the world is the Nilewhich measures 6,695 kilometers from its source to its mouth in the Mediterranean Sea. There are discrepancies among some experts, who point out that it is actually the Amazon River that is the longest of all, although official measurements place the length of this watercourse at 6,400 kilometers.
2. Which is the largest river in the world?
In the case of the largest river in the world, it is the Amazon that wins the competition, without any doubt with respect to the rest of the rivers on our planet. And the Amazon expels every second the unattainable figure of 200,000 m3 of water into the Atlantic Ocean.
3. Which is the highest mountain in the world
Among the 35 geographical curiosities of the world, one of the most popularly known is that of the highest summit of the planet, which is Mount Everest, rising to 8,849 meters above sea level, in the Himalayas.
4. What is the largest ocean in the world
The Pacific is undoubtedly the largest ocean in the world, as no less than a third of the surface of our world is occupied by this body of water.
5. What is the deepest point of the ocean
If we could dive into the oceans and dive to the deepest point, we would find it in the ocean trench, we would find it in the Mariana Trench, 11,034 meters below sea level.at 11,034 meters below the surface. This place is located precisely in the Pacific Ocean.
6. What is the largest country in the world
The largest country on Earth is Russia, occupying a land area of more than 17 million square kilometers..
7. What is the smallest country in the world
The opposite case to the previous one, within the 35 geographical curiosities of the world, corresponds to the Vatican State, which is undoubtedly the smallest country of all, occupying only 0.44 km2.
8. Which is the most populated city in the world?
If we consider which is the most populated city on the planet, we will place it in Tokyo, capital of Japan, although it is true that this is a data that varies constantly. In 2020, Tokyo had a population of just over 40 million people.
9. What is the most populous country in the world?
As in the previous case, the figure must be taken into account with the year of registration. The most populous country in the world in 2020 is China, with an unbeatable 1439 million people.
10. What is the highest waterfall in the world?
Angel Falls or Kerepakupai Meru, at 979 meters high, is the highest waterfall in the world. It is located in Canaima National Park in Venezuela.
11. What is the largest island in the world
The largest island in the world is none other than Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory within the Arctic Circle.
12. What is the country with the longest coastline in the world?
Another of the 35 geographical curiosities of the world corresponds to the country with the most coastline in the world. In this case, Canada, which has 265,523 kilometers of coastline, a figure unreachable by any other country in the world.a figure unreachable by any other country.
13. What is the most isolated island in the world?
Moving on in the list of geographical curiosities, we now find out which is the most remote island in the world. It is the archipelago of Tristan d'Aquitaine, a territory of the United Kingdom located in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
14. What is the largest peninsula in the world?
The Arabian Peninsula, or simply Arabia, is the largest peninsula on Earth. Its surface area exceeds 3 million square kilometers.
15. What is the lowest point in the world?
To answer which is the deepest point in the world, without taking into account those covered by the oceans, we must consider whether we are referring to an exposed area, in which case we would be talking about the land adjacent to the Dead Sea, which is 413 meters below sea level.
But if we include those covered by ice, the correct answer would be the land under the Denman Glacier in Antarctica, which is 3,500 meters below sea level.It is 3,500 meters below sea level.
16. What is the hottest spot on Earth?
The warmest place in the world, if we are talking about the surface (since the Earth's core is about 6,000ºC), is Death Valley, in California, where 56.7ºC have been reached.
17. What is the coldest point on Earth?
Continuing with our 35 geographical curiosities of the world, we come to the coldest place on Earth. If it is an inhabited place, then the answer is the village of Oymyakon, in Siberia, where -71.2ºC was recorded in 1926.
And if we're talking about places where humans do not live permanently, then the record is held by the Vostok base, in Antarctica, with -89.2ºC.with -89.2ºC in 1983.
18. What is the largest lake in the world
The largest lake in the world, taking into account only freshwater surfaces, is Lake Superior, which occupies part of the territory of Canada and the United States. This lake has an extension of more than 82,000 km2.
19. What is the largest desert in the world
When we think of desert, landscapes of sand and sweltering heat usually come to mind. But if we stick to the strict definition, the largest desert in the world would be the Antarctic Desert. With its almost 14 million square kilometers, no other comes close in this competition.
20. What is the largest canyon in the world?
The deepest canyon in the world is the Yarlung Tsangpo, a 5,590-meter canyon in Nyingchi, China.
21. What is the longest mountain range in the world.
This is another of the 35 geographical curiosities of the world that can be shocking, because when we think of the longest mountain range in the world, places like the Himalayas or the Andes will surely come to mind. The latter would be the longest on the surface, with about 7,000 km in length.
But in reality, the longest is underwaterIt is the mid-oceanic ridge. It measures no less than 80,000 km, and crosses our entire planet, under the oceans.
22. What are the highest cliffs in the world?
The highest cliff in the world does not face the sea, but an inland valley, in Yosemite National Park, USA. Yosemite National Park in the USA.. It is Half Dome, with a height of 1,440 meters.
23. What is the largest plain in the world?
The answer is the western Siberian plain, which covers an area of 2.7 million km2.
24. What is the deepest cave in the world?
The deepest cave in the world, of those that have been explored so far, is the Veryovkina cave in the Western Caucasus. Its deepest point is 2,212 meters below the surface.
25. What is the largest glacier in the world?
The largest glacier in the world is the Lambert Glacier, located in East Antarctica.. It has an extension of 400 by 100 kilometers, and an approximate depth of 2.5 kilometers.
26. What is the largest inland sea in the world?
The largest inland sea in the world, and also the largest saltwater lake, is the Caspian Sea, in the Middle East area, occupying 371,000 km2.
27. What is the largest volcano in the world.
Advancing more in the 35 geographical curiosities of the world, we answer which is the biggest volcano in the world. It is the Mauna Loa, in Hawaii. Its total surface area is estimated to be around 75,000 km3. Its altitude is 4,169 meters.
28. What is the largest crater in the world?
The largest crater that has been found on the Earth's surface is the Vredefort, in South Africa, with an antiquity of more than 2,000 million years. The diameter would be around 300 kilometers.
29. What is the largest beach in the world
The longest beach in the world is the Praia do Cassino, in Brazil and part of Uruguay.. This coastal extension reaches 250 kilometers.
30. Which is the widest river in the world
We have already seen which is the longest river. But the widest of all is the Río de la Plata, in Argentina, which at its widest point reaches 221 kilometers between both banks.
31. Which is the largest forest in the world
Coming to the end of the list of geographical curiosities, we now discover which is the largest forest in the world, and it is none other than the Amazon, with its 6 million km2, including territory of eight different countries in South America.
32. Where is the tallest tree in the world
The tallest tree in the world is a sequoia located in Redwood National Park in the United States.. It is known as Hyperion. Its height is 115.55 meters.
33. What is the diameter of the Earth
The diameter of our planet is 12,742 kilometers, which means that its radius is 6,371 km.
34. What is the circumference of the Earth
The circumference of the Earth is 40,075 kilometers.
35. What is the tilt of the Earth's axis.
The last of the 35 geographical curiosities of the world refers to the inclination of the Earth's axis. This inclination is 23.5º on the plane of the ecliptic.
Bibliographical references:
- López Palomeque, F., Plaza Gutiérrez, J.I. (2019). Geografía de Europa. Valencia: Tirant lo Blanch.
- Piqueras, J. (2013). Introduction to Geography. Universitat de València.
- Rosselló, V.M., Panareda, J.M., Pérez Cueva, A. (1994). Manual de Geografía Física. University of Valencia.
(Updated at Apr 13 / 2024)