53 Interesting Facts About Geography That Will Blow Your Mind

Geography is a broad and vast category that includes everything on Earth (and even beyond).

From the way weather conditions are determined to how natural calamities come about, and even as to understanding why dinosaurs became extinct, all of this comes under the purview of geography. Each region has its unique geography facts based on a number of factors!

At its core, geography studies the way various species interact with the environment around them. But over time, it has mutated to include so much more, like outer space, history, and politics. Today, geography is a mish-mash of a number of different disciplines and fields. So, read on to find out more about this interesting, often-misunderstood subject!

Continents And Countries

There are seven continents on Earth, each of which is made up of a number of countries. While the continent is a conventional geographical term, decided by factors like oceans and continental shelves, a country is a much more political denomination, with the international border constantly changing every day.

Antarctica is the only continent without any native population of its own. Interestingly, it is locked in a property dispute by seven countries that claim different parts of it.

The largest country by area in the world is Russia, taking up a whopping 11% of the total land area.

The largest and also most populated continent in the world is Asia, while the smallest is Australia.

Many historians theorize that the seven continents were actually part of one large supercontinent called Pangaea that started breaking off around 175 million years ago.

Baffin Island is the biggest island in Canada and a respectable fifth biggest in the world.

Interestingly, the international border of Turkey stretches in such a way that its capital Istanbul is a part of both Europe and Asia.

On both urban and metropolitan scales, Tokyo in Japan is widely considered to be the world's largest city with over 37 million people inhabiting it.

Research has shown that Europe and North America are gradually moving apart at a rate of 2.7 in (6.9 cm) every year due to tectonic plate movement.

Africa is home to both the largest desert and the longest river in the world. It is full of natural diversity and mineral resources.

Around two-thirds of the landmass in Australia is considered desert mass; therefore, almost its entire population is concentrated in the coastal regions despite having so much area.

Antarctica houses 70% of the world's freshwater and around 75% of the world's ice in its icebergs.

Saudi Arabia, with very little water of its own, is facing an imminent crisis that is making the country contemplate lifting freshwater icebergs from Antarctica to provide resources for its citizens.

Oceans And Seas

Oceans are one of the most important components of geography, especially considering they take up about 70% of Earth's surface area. The irony of being a 'water planet' is that most of this water is saltwater that is not viable in its natural form.

The largest ocean of the five that is recognized is the Pacific Ocean, and it contains over half of all the free water on the planet.

Mexico City is situated on a lake due to the Aztecs creating an island by filling in Lago de Texcoco, and sinks roughly 3.2 ft (1 m) every year. It is still used as a primary source of water by locals.

In the northern Atlantic Ocean, there exists the Sargasso Sea that is surrounded by ocean currents but no land, making it the only one of its kind.

Brazil accounts for about 12% of the world's freshwater resources, with Russia and Canada coming in the next two spots.

The Dead Sea is so exceptionally salty that no life (aside from some algae) can survive in it. It is also the lowest point in terms of elevation on Earth.

Canada has so many lakes that if you count them all, it is more than that of the entire world combined.

Dean's Blue Hole in the Bahamas is the world's deepest hole that is naturally occurring. It is more than 650 ft (198 m) deep.

The world's deepest human-made hole, on the other hand, is over 40,230 ft (12.3 km) deep, called the Kola Superdeep Borehole in Russia.

Although humans consider themselves to be the superior species on Earth, the majority of life (about 94%) is actually aquatic and lives underwater.

Light can only penetrate around 330 ft (100.6 m) of water, which means the majority of the ocean (and by extension, most of Earth) exists in complete darkness.

The ocean is as extensive as the land above it as it contains rivers, volcanos, waterfalls, lakes, and trenches.

Around 90% of all volcanic activity on Earth happens underwater, with the South Pacific being home to the largest known concentration of sea volcanoes.

Mountains

A mountain is a kind of landform that is significantly taller than the Earth's crust. It will have sloping sides, a sharp top called summit or peak, and often cluster together in 'ranges'. They are formed when tectonic plates under the Earth crash against each other and lead to large chunks of misshapen rock rising above the sea bed.

The tallest mountain in our solar system is Mt. Olympus Mons, and it's a volcano on Mars that's 2.5 times larger than Mt. Everest, the tallest mountain on Earth.

Around one-fifth of the Earth's landscape is made up of mountains. Although many consider them inhospitable, mountains are home to roughly 12% of the world's population.

Mountains hold a sacred place in many major religions like Islam, Hinduism, Judaism, and Christianity.

According to the Guinness World Records, the oldest mountain range in the world is the Barberton Greenstone Belt in South Africa, which has rocks as old as 3.6 billion years.

Mountain goats, which are common all across North America, are a misnomer. They are antelopes, not goats.

Mountaineering as a hobby evolved in industrial England in the 19th century as an escape from claustrophobic cities.

Mt. Kailash in Tibet is so holy that no one has ever been permitted to climb its summit.

Despite its name, Mt. Augustus is just a giant rock, albeit one that can be seen from 100 mi (161 km) away and is over 2,300 ft (701 m) tall.

The longest mountain range above sea level is the Andes, situated in South America and coming up to around 4,300 mi (6,920.2 km).

Volcanoes are so powerful that their eruption can trigger a tsunami, earthquake, or even a flash flood.

Volcanic eruptions are responsible for at least 80% of the Earth's surface.

Climate And Atmosphere

While it is often used interchangeably, there is a difference between climate and atmosphere. The former refers to average conditions in an area over a considerable period of time, whereas the latter refers to the various gases that surround the Earth. The climate or weather affects the atmosphere and vice versa.

The Earth's atmosphere is 298 mi (480 km) thick, made up of a combination of 16 different gases.

The Atacama desert in South America is the driest place on Earth. Some parts of it have not seen rainfall in over 500 years.

As the altitude increases, the atmosphere of the area becomes thinner due to low air pressure. This is why mountaineers have to be careful and is also why it is considered a dangerous hobby.

Although the Sahara desert is one of the hottest places on Earth, reaching 136°F (57.8°C), it can also go as low as 53°F (11.7°C). In fact, it has even seen snowfall three times!

Any meteors that enter the Earth's atmosphere get burned in the mesosphere, producing a huge amount of thermal output in the form of sparks and flying rocks.

The Amazon Rainforest is the largest of its kind and is spread out over nine countries in South America.

Only about 1% of sunlight can make it through the thick canopy in many parts of the Amazon, thus rendering the forest floor almost pitch black in those areas.

Technically, Antarctica is considered the world's largest desert because of the incredibly low amounts of rainfall it receives.

The lowest temperature ever recorded naturally was at the Soviet station in Antarctica, a staggering -128°F (-89°C).

A four times increase has been seen in the amount of climate change related disasters that have struck the world between 1980 and 2010.

Research suggests that dinosaur extinction can be chalked up to a combination of volcanic eruptions, meteoric impact, and glacial temperatures that became unsustainable for life.

Hot springs are geothermally heated water bodies that crop up in various regions. These are mineral-rich spots that have shown healing and destressing properties and function as great tourist spots across the world.

Time Zones And International Date Line

Time zones can be tricky and confusing, but they also make some of the best geography facts! The world is divided into longitudinal time zones, 24 in total, each with a difference of 15 degrees between them.

Time is decided by the prime meridian, which is the longitude exactly at the middle of Earth, going through Greenwich. GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) is therefore used as the universal starting point.

Despite being separated by only 2.4 miles, Diomede Islands in USA and Russia have a 20 hour time difference, as a result being called 'Tomorrow Island' and 'Yesterday Island'.

In a bid to promote national unity, China switched to following only one time zone (Beijing Standard Time) in 1949 under Mao Zedong.

The South Pole and the North Pole don't have any official time zone that they follow due to the convergence of longitudes in these regions.

Sweden and Finland co-own an island called Market, which is thus split in the middle with an hour's difference on each side, despite being small enough as to not see any difference.

Russia, as the largest country, has a whopping number of nine time zones. (It used to be 11 until Putin removed two of them after abolishing Daylight Savings Time and annexing Crimea). 

International Space Station, despite not being present on Earth, follows the Greenwich Mean Time.

FAQs

Who discovered geography?

Although it is tricky to say who discovered an entire subject, it is generally considered that Eratosthenes is the father of geography. He was a Greek scholar who is credited with coining the term.

What is the world's smallest city?

Clocking in at just around 108.7 ac (44 ha), the world's smallest city is a place called Vatican City in Europe.

What is the oldest desert?

The Namib desert in Africa is considered the oldest desert. It stretches along the Atlantic coast of Namibia and is believed to be of at least 55 million years old.

Which country is closest to the International Date Line?

Since International Date Line cuts through the Pacific Ocean, the closest country would be New Zealand.

Which country has the most time zones?

Surprisingly, France has the most time zones of all countries, with 11 time zones. This is due to all its territories that are still scattered across the globe.

Is there a mountain taller than Everest?

Technically, Mauna Kea in Hawaii is taller than Mt. Everest, but the majority of its height is under sea level, which is why the title of tallest mountain defaults to Mt. Everest.