Geography fun facts and oddities
Geography fun facts & oddities
page organization t.b.a.
- 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
sink holes
.jpg)
- Thor's Well: a sinkhole on the coast of Cape Perpetua, Oregon, that drains at high tides
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 (
- Brunei (
- several other enclave states exist politically independent but not recognized officially as independent
- click on EXPAND
- exclave = a territory or part of a country that is separated from the main country or territory
- examples
Geographic extremes
biggest nation
smallest nation
- The Gambia is the smallest country in Africa
- The Gambia is a semi-enclave surrounded by Senegal and the Atlantic Ocean
directional extremes (north, south, east, west)
- northernmost state in the continental U.S.: Minnesota
- northernmost point in the continental U.S.: Northwest Angle, Minnesota, known as "The Angle"
- one of six "practical exclaves" of the U.S.
- it was
- see: Northwest Angle (wiki)