Geography fun facts and oddities

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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

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

  • 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"

Resources & websites