Geography fun facts and oddities

Geography fun facts & oddities

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• just a collection of facts and oddities for how

Geography fun facts

• Pitcaren Islands in Polynesia, are the least populated political entity in the world (67 residents)
  • Vatican City, for example, has 825 residents
• Rio de la Plata is the widest river in the world (max width: 140 mi)
  • the Rio de la Plata is considered a river, estuary, gulf or "marginal sea"
  • it is fed by the Uruguay and Parana rivers at Punta Gorda ("fat point"

Geography oddities

Rocks

• Three Sisters or Three Sisters Islands (Washington, DC)

The Three Sisters islets, DC (wiki)

• • three rocky islands in the Potomac River in Washington, DC
• click EXPAND for legends behind the name of the rocks:

• • • three Native American sisters who died crossing the river there while trying to rescue their brothers who had been kidnapped by another tribe
    • three Native American sisters who were banished to the islands after refusing the husbands selected for them by their father; the sisters cursed the spot, which is said to make an eerie sound whenever the River is about to take a life
    • a 1925 novel included a story about three nuns who drowned at the spot

See: [Three Sisters (wiki)]

• Independence Rock (Wyoming)

Oregon Trail's Independence Rock 1870 (wiki)

Independence Rock, Wyoming, USA, July 2015 (wiki)

Independence rock names 1 (wiki)

• • a 130 ft high granite rock in Wyoming that sticks up out of the prairie
  • located at the southeast end of the Granite Mountains
  • served as a landmark for 19th century western settlers, some of whom carved their names on the rock and some of which are still visible

Sinkholes

• sinkholes are holes or caves in the ground caused by erosion or a collapse of a lower, below-ground surface, usually because of water drainage
• sinkholes may also be caused by a drainage of water, such as a water table decline
• sinkholes are most common where limestone, sandstone, salt beds, or gypsum are prevalent

Thor's Well: a sinkhole on the coast of Cape Perpetua, Oregon

• Thor's Well: a sinkhole on the coast of Cape Perpetua, Oregon, that drains at high tides

More than three acres of forest suddenly disappeared into this "December Giant" sinkhole in Montevallo, Alabama, USA.

• Golly Hole in Shelby County is considered the largest sinkhole in the US.
  • it is 325 ft long, 300 ft wide, and 120 ft deep
• source: [What is the largest sinkhole in the United States? (usgs.gov)]
• See
  • [Sinkhole (wiki)]

Enclaves & Exclaves

• see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enclave_and_exclave
• enclave = a country or territory that is entirely surrounded by another country or territory
  • "enclave" is derived from the Latin inclavare for "to close with a key," meaning one property that is entirely surrounded by another proprerty
  • nation state enclaves:

• • • Vatican City (within Italy)
    • San Marino (within Italy)
    • Losotho (within South Africa)
  • semi-enclave states are surrounded by another states by land but also have a water border, such as:
    • Monaco (surrounded by France and the Mediterranean Sea)
    • The Gambia (surrounded by Senegal and the Atlantic Ocean)
    • Brunei (surrounded by the Malaysian state, Sarawak, and the South China Sea)
    • several other enclave states exist politically independent but are not recognized officially as independent nations

• click on EXPAND to see list of nation state enclaves
• exclave = a territory or part of a country that is separated from the main country or territory
• examples

Geographic extremes

Largest & smallest nations, Highest & lowest populations

Africa

• Algeria is the largest country in Africa
• The Gambia is the smallest country in mainland Africa
  • The Gambia is a semi-enclave surrounded by Senegal and the Atlantic Ocean
• Seychelles is the smallest country in Africa, including islands
• Nigeria has the highest population in Africa
  • Ethiopia as the 2nd highest population
• Djibouti has the lowest population in mainland Africa
• Seychelles has the lowest population in Africa among independent nations (territories excluded) and including island states
• Saint Helena the lowest population in Africa, including island states and semi-independent territories
  • Seychelles has the second lowest population in Africa, including island states and territories

Asia

Australia

• Australia is the largest and the smallest country in Australia
  • Australia is the only country to entirely occupy a continent

Directional extremes (north, south, east, west)

United States

Extreme points in the contiguous 48 states: Northwest Angle (MN), Ballast Key (FL), Sail Rock (ME), Bodelteh Islands (WA) See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_extreme_points_of_the_United_States

• northernmost state in the continental U.S.: Minnesota
• northernmost point in the continental U.S.: Northwest Angle, Minnesota, known as "The Angle"

• • when negotiating the US-Canadian border following the American Revolution (Treaty of Paris, 1783), negotiators used an inaccurate map of the border of present-day Minnesota and Canada, and thereby included the northwest portion of the Lake of the Woods as the border, while it actually lies within Canadian territory
  • thus The Angle is one of six "practical exclaves" of the U.S., as it is only accessible by land via Canada
  • in 2010, it's population was 119
  • see: Northwest Angle (wiki)

• Click EXPAND to read more about the Northwest Angle

Resources & websites

• atlasobscura.com Geographic Oddities
• joelstrait.com Geography Oddities of the United States