GEOGRAPHY & EARTH

Mountains, rivers, deserts, volcanoes and the bones of the planet itself.

52 facts

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The Sahara Desert was green and full of lakes 6,000 years ago.

The Sahara Desert was green and full of lakes 6,000 years ago.

Hippos, crocodiles, elephants and human fishermen lived where today there is only sand.

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51 facts

The deepest cave on Earth plunges over 2.2 km below the surface.

DID YOU KNOW? The deepest cave on Earth plunges over 2.2 km below the surface. Veryovkina Cave in Georgia drops more than 2,212 metres - deeper than seven Eiffel Towers stacked end to end. 2 min read

Liechtenstein is one of only two doubly landlocked countries.

DID YOU KNOW? Liechtenstein is one of only two doubly landlocked countries. To reach the ocean you have to cross at least two other countries. 2 min read

Bhutan was the first country to be officially carbon-negative.

DID YOU KNOW? Bhutan was the first country to be officially carbon-negative. Its huge forests soak up about three times the climate pollution Bhutan produces. Suriname and Panama have since joined the club. 2 min read

Monaco is so small it has more millionaires than nearly anywhere else.

DID YOU KNOW? Monaco is so small it has more millionaires than nearly anywhere else. This French Riviera country is just 2 km² - smaller than New York's Central Park. 2 min read

Nauru is so small you can drive around the entire country in 30 minutes.

DID YOU KNOW? Nauru is so small you can drive around the entire country in 30 minutes. This Pacific island nation is only 21 km² - and has no official capital city. 2 min read

Lesotho is the only country entirely above 1,000 metres.

DID YOU KNOW? Lesotho is the only country entirely above 1,000 metres. Every part of this small African nation sits high in the mountains. 2 min read

Canada has the longest coastline of any country - by a lot.

DID YOU KNOW? Canada has the longest coastline of any country - by a lot. Walking it would take you around four years, nonstop, without sleep. 2 min read

Papua New Guinea has over 800 different languages.

DID YOU KNOW? Papua New Guinea has over 800 different languages. A single country speaks about 1 in every 8 languages used on Earth. 2 min read

Sweden has more islands than any other country.

DID YOU KNOW? Sweden has more islands than any other country. There are around 270,000 of them - and you can buy one for less than a house. 2 min read

Vatican City is the smallest country in the world.

DID YOU KNOW? Vatican City is the smallest country in the world. The whole country fits inside Rome and would fill less than half of Central Park. 2 min read

New Zealand has caves with ceilings that glow like the night sky.

DID YOU KNOW? New Zealand has caves with ceilings that glow like the night sky. Tiny worms in Waitomo cave hang glowing threads from the roof to catch insects. 2 min read

DID YOU KNOW? A brand-new island called Surtsey appeared in 1963. A volcano off Iceland erupted under the sea - and built a fresh chunk of land in four years. 2 min read

When Krakatoa erupted in 1883 it made the loudest sound in modern history.

DID YOU KNOW? When Krakatoa erupted in 1883 it made the loudest sound in modern history. The bang was heard 4,800 km away - and circled the planet four times. 2 min read

Iceland heats most of its homes using volcanoes.

DID YOU KNOW? Iceland heats most of its homes using volcanoes. Nine out of ten Icelandic houses are warmed by hot water pumped straight from the ground. 2 min read

Yellowstone sits on top of a sleeping supervolcano.

DID YOU KNOW? Yellowstone sits on top of a sleeping supervolcano. The whole park is the crater - about 70 km across - of an enormous ancient eruption. 2 min read

Vietnam's Son Doong cave is big enough to fit a city block.

DID YOU KNOW? Vietnam's Son Doong cave is big enough to fit a city block. It has its own clouds, river, and jungle - all hidden underground. 2 min read

Mammoth Cave is the longest cave system on Earth.

DID YOU KNOW? Mammoth Cave is the longest cave system on Earth. Explorers have mapped 686 km of passages - and still find new tunnels every year. 2 min read

75% of the world's volcanoes sit in the Pacific Ring of Fire.

DID YOU KNOW? 75% of the world's volcanoes sit in the Pacific Ring of Fire. A horseshoe-shaped zone around the Pacific Ocean shakes, smokes, and erupts more than anywhere else. 2 min read

Pompeii was buried so fast that bread is still in the ovens.

DID YOU KNOW? Pompeii was buried so fast that bread is still in the ovens. When Vesuvius erupted in AD 79, it froze a whole Roman town in mid-day. 2 min read

All of Hawaii's islands were built by a single hotspot of volcanoes.

DID YOU KNOW? All of Hawaii's islands were built by a single hotspot of volcanoes. As the Pacific Plate drifted, each volcano poked up, formed an island, then went quiet. 2 min read

The Grand Canyon was carved by a river - over six million years.

DID YOU KNOW? The Grand Canyon was carved by a river - over six million years. At 1.8 km deep it's not the deepest canyon, but it might be the most famous one. 2 min read

The Empty Quarter of Arabia is the largest sand sea on Earth.

DID YOU KNOW? The Empty Quarter of Arabia is the largest sand sea on Earth. It's a single stretch of dunes bigger than France - and many parts have never been mapped on foot. 2 min read

Some of Earth's most dangerous floods happen in deserts.

DID YOU KNOW? Some of Earth's most dangerous floods happen in deserts. Dry ground can't soak up rain - so a single storm can sweep through a canyon as a wall of water. 2 min read

Some sand dunes hum and boom when they slide.

DID YOU KNOW? Some sand dunes hum and boom when they slide. About 40 known dunes around the world "sing" - a deep noise heard from miles away. 2 min read

The Namib is the oldest desert on Earth.

DID YOU KNOW? The Namib is the oldest desert on Earth. It's been bone dry for at least 55 million years - since before whales went back to the sea. 2 min read

Death Valley recorded the hottest air temperature ever measured on Earth.

DID YOU KNOW? Death Valley recorded the hottest air temperature ever measured on Earth. On 10 July 1913 it hit 56.7°C - hot enough to fry an egg on a rock. 2 min read

The Gobi desert can drop to minus 40°C in winter.

DID YOU KNOW? The Gobi desert can drop to minus 40°C in winter. It's not all camels and sunshine - the Gobi is a cold desert that snows. 2 min read

Antarctica is the largest desert on Earth.

DID YOU KNOW? Antarctica is the largest desert on Earth. A desert isn't about being hot - it's about being dry. And Antarctica is bone dry. 2 min read

Parts of the Atacama desert have never been rained on in recorded history.

DID YOU KNOW? Parts of the Atacama desert have never been rained on in recorded history. Chile's Atacama is so dry that NASA tests Mars rovers there. 2 min read

The Sahara desert is bigger than the United States.

DID YOU KNOW? The Sahara desert is bigger than the United States. It covers around 9 million km² - and it used to be lush, wet, and full of lakes. 2 min read

The Yangtze used to have its own species of freshwater dolphin.

DID YOU KNOW? The Yangtze used to have its own species of freshwater dolphin. Asia's longest river is so big it had unique dolphins - but they vanished in 2006. 2 min read

The Mississippi River sometimes flows backwards.

DID YOU KNOW? The Mississippi River sometimes flows backwards. Earthquakes and storms have actually reversed the river's direction more than once. 2 min read

Lake Superior holds enough water to cover both Americas a foot deep.

DID YOU KNOW? Lake Superior holds enough water to cover both Americas a foot deep. It's the largest freshwater lake by surface area - and contains 10% of Earth's surface fresh water. 2 min read

Angel Falls is so tall the water turns to mist before hitting the ground.

DID YOU KNOW? Angel Falls is so tall the water turns to mist before hitting the ground. Venezuela's Angel Falls drops 979 metres - 15 times the height of Niagara. 2 min read

The Aral Sea was once the fourth-largest lake - now it's mostly gone.

DID YOU KNOW? The Aral Sea was once the fourth-largest lake - now it's mostly gone. In 60 years it shrank by 90% after the rivers feeding it were diverted to farms. A northern slice is slowly coming back. 2 min read

The Dead Sea is so salty you can float and read a book.

DID YOU KNOW? The Dead Sea is so salty you can float and read a book. It's nearly 10 times saltier than the ocean - too salty for almost anything to live in. 2 min read

The Caspian Sea is the largest lake on Earth.

DID YOU KNOW? The Caspian Sea is the largest lake on Earth. It's so big - and salty - that for centuries people thought it was an ocean. 2 min read

Lake Baikal holds more fresh water than all the Great Lakes combined.

DID YOU KNOW? Lake Baikal holds more fresh water than all the Great Lakes combined. This Siberian lake is over 1,600 metres deep - the deepest lake on Earth. 2 min read

The Amazon carries one-fifth of all river water on Earth.

DID YOU KNOW? The Amazon carries one-fifth of all river water on Earth. Every second it dumps about 209,000 cubic metres of fresh water into the Atlantic. 2 min read

The Nile is the longest river in the world.

DID YOU KNOW? The Nile is the longest river in the world. It flows north for about 6,650 km - through 11 countries - before reaching the Mediterranean. 2 min read

The Himalayas are still being pushed taller right now.

DID YOU KNOW? The Himalayas are still being pushed taller right now. India is crashing into Asia at about 5 cm per year - and the mountains are the wreckage. 2 min read

Mount Olympus in Greece has 52 separate peaks.

DID YOU KNOW? Mount Olympus in Greece has 52 separate peaks. The ancient Greeks thought their gods lived on top - and nobody climbed it until 1913. 2 min read

The Appalachian Mountains are older than bones, trees, and Saturn's rings.

DID YOU KNOW? The Appalachian Mountains are older than bones, trees, and Saturn's rings. They were once as tall as the Himalayas - about 480 million years ago. 2 min read

The Matterhorn has four faces pointing at the four compass points.

DID YOU KNOW? The Matterhorn has four faces pointing at the four compass points. Its weirdly perfect pyramid shape was carved by glaciers on all four sides. 2 min read

Denali rises higher above its base than Everest does.

DID YOU KNOW? Denali rises higher above its base than Everest does. North America's biggest mountain looks even more towering because the land around it is so flat. 2 min read

Mount Fuji is an almost perfectly symmetrical volcano.

DID YOU KNOW? Mount Fuji is an almost perfectly symmetrical volcano. Japan's most famous mountain is also one of its most active - and last erupted in 1707. 2 min read

Measured from its base, Mauna Kea is taller than Everest.

DID YOU KNOW? Measured from its base, Mauna Kea is taller than Everest. Hawaii's biggest volcano is over 10,000 metres tall - most of it is just hidden underwater. 2 min read

Mount Kilimanjaro is actually three volcanoes stuck together.

DID YOU KNOW? Mount Kilimanjaro is actually three volcanoes stuck together. Africa's tallest mountain has snow at the top - even though it sits just south of the equator. 2 min read

The Andes are the longest mountain range on land.

DID YOU KNOW? The Andes are the longest mountain range on land. They stretch about 7,000 km down the western edge of South America - through seven countries. 2 min read

K2 is shorter than Everest but far more dangerous to climb.

DID YOU KNOW? K2 is shorter than Everest but far more dangerous to climb. The world's second-tallest mountain has a fatality rate roughly five times Everest's. 2 min read

Russia spans 11 time zones.

DID YOU KNOW? Russia spans 11 time zones. Russia spans 11 time zones - when it's morning in one end, it's evening in the other. 1 min read

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