Geography fun facts and oddities

From A+ Club Lesson Planner & Study Guide

Geography fun facts & oddities

page organization t.b.a.

  • just a collection of facts and oddities for how

Geography fun facts[edit | edit source]

  • 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[edit | edit source]

sink holes[edit | edit source]

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

Enclaves & Exclaves[edit | edit source]

  • 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[edit | edit source]

Largest & smallest nations, Highest & lowest populations[edit | edit source]

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)[edit | edit source]

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[edit | edit source]