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

Earthquakes

• 2011 Virginia earthquake

This map shows that East Coast earthquakes travel much farther than West Coast earthquakes of similar magnitude (wiki)

• • this 5.8 magnitude earthquake, centered in Louisa County, Virginia, was felt as frar as New England, Canada, Michigan and Alabama and Florida
  • the reason the tremors were so widely felt is that the U.S. East Coast has extensive bedrock that transmits shock waves across extensive distances, whereas less geologically stable areas do not transmit shock waves as far.
• See [Virginia earthquake, 2011 (wiki)]

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

• Devil's Tower (Wyoming)

Devils Tower, 1900 (wiki)

• • a butte formation in Wyoming that abruptly juts out of the landscape 1,267 ft high
  • the name comes from an English misinterpretation of the Native American name for it
    • the native name is "bear's house" (among others) and was understood in English by a US Army expedition leader as "Bad God's Tower," thus "Devil's Tower"
    • a Native American legend of its origin is that young girls where chased by bears, and their prayers for salvation were answered by the "Great Spirit" by lifting the rock they sat upon into the air, out of reach from the bears, whose claws scratched marks into the sides of the rock while trying to reach them.
• See [Devil's Tower (wiki)]

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:
• click on EXPAND to see list of 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

• 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"
• Click EXPAND to read more about the Northwest 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)

Highest, lowest extremes

• the deepest spot on earth is 7,169.3 ft lower than Mt. Everest is high
• Lowest spot on surface of the earth
  • underwater:
    • Mariana Trench

Location of the Mariana Trench (wiki)

• • • • located in the South Pacific Ocean, deepest landform on earth
      • 1,580 mi long, 43 mi wide, max. depth 36,201 ft
• click EXPAND for more on the Mariana Trench and other trenches

• • • • the lowest point is called "Challenger Deep"
      • it has been reached by humans six times
    • the 2nd deepest trench is the Tonga Trench in the Pacific with has max. depth of 35702 ft
    • other trenches in the Pacific Ocean are nearly as deep, including the Philippine Trench and the Kuril-Kamchatka Trench

Atlantic-trench (wiki)

• • • the deepest trench in the Atlantic Ocean is the Puerto Rico Trench, which is 28,900 ft at its max. deep point

• on the land surface:
  • the Dead Sea (Israel, Palestine & Jordan), 1419 ft below sea level
  • 2nd lowest point on earth: Turfan Depression (China), 505 ft. below sea level
    • this 2nd lowest point excludes other areas in the Dead Sea
  • 3rd lowest point on earth: Lake Assal (Djibouti, part of the Afar Depression), 502 ft below sea level
  • lowest point in US: Death Valley, 282 ft below sea level
  • 2nd lowest point in US: Bombay Beach (California, along the Salton Sea, 226 ft below sea level
• click EXPAND for more on the Salton Sea

• • • the Salton Sea is a salt-water lake in Southern California at the Mexico border
      • the Salton Sea has been fed by the Colorado River, which currently flows to the east of the lake, but in its modern form was created by diverter water from the river in 1900, which created the lake on dry lake bed.
      • The Salton Sea is known as the fastest water for speedboat racing water in the world (see [Salton Sea#Powerboat racing (wiki)]

• • Continent with the highest lowest point is Europe
    • the Caspian Depression, location of the Caspian Sea is 92 ft below sea level
    • the lowest point in the Netherlands is the coastal area, Zuidplaspolder, at 23 ft below sea level
• cave:
  • Krubera Cave (Georgia - the nation): 7,188 ft deep
• highest mountain on earth: Mt Everest: 29,031.7 ft
• highest mountain outside of the Himalaya-Karakoram range: Mt. Tirich Mir (Pakistan), in the Hindu Kush
• highest mountain outside of Asia: Mt. Aconcagua (Argentina) 22,835 ft
• highest volcano: Mt. Ojos del Salado (Argentina & Chile), 22,615 ft
• tallest mountain from its base: Mt. Mauna Kea, Hawaii, has combined elevation of 33,480 from its base on the ocean floor
• lake
  • highest lake: a water-filled crater on Mt. Ojos del Salado (Argentina & Chile), 22,615 ft
  • highest "navigable" lake: Lake Titicaca (Bolivia & Peru), 12,507 ft

Resources & websites

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