A comet is a big ball of ice, dust and rock. The word ‘comet’ comes from the Greek word meaning ‘hair of the head’. It came from the Greek philosopher Aristotle who observed comets as ‘stars with hair’. Comets come from two major areas of our solar system: the Kuiper Belt and the Oort Cloud. […]
The Nile River is the longest river in the world at 6,650 kilometres. Located in Africa, the Nile River lies in the following countries: Kenya, Eritrea, Congo, Burundi, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia. It flows through the tropical climate of eastern Africa and into the Mediterranean Sea. The river’s average discharge is approximately
The Dead Sea is the world’s saltiest lake that borders Israel, the West Bank and Jordan. It is almost 3 million years old. The Dead Sea is 304 metres deep. With a salinity of 342 g/kg, it is 9.6 times as salty as the ocean. It is called ‘dead’ because of its high salinity which
The Adak National Forest is America’s smallest forest. Located in the southernmost city in Alaska, this forest is tiny with just 33 trees. In 1943, General Buckner had tons of trees planted in this forest. All died but only one tree was left standing. Somehow, a few other pine trees managed to grow back. In
The Ganges Delta is a river delta in the South Asia region of Bengal, consisting of Bangladesh and the state of West Bengal, India. It is the world’s largest delta. This delta empties into the Bay of Bengal. The delta stretches from the Hooghly River on the west to the Meghna River on the east.
Lake Baikal is the world’s deepest lake. It is located in Siberia, Russia. It is 5,387 feet (1,642 metres) deep, and its bottom is 3,893 feet (1,187 metres) below the sea-level. It is also the world’s largest freshwater lake. It contains 20 per cent of the world’s total unfrozen freshwater reserve. There are more than
At 2,166,086 square kilometres, Greenland is the world’s largest island but it also has one of the smallest populations. It has less than 57,000 inhabitants of whom about 15,000 live in the capital Nuuk. It is geographically part of North America, but politically is part of Europe. It is the third largest country in North
Rainbow Bridge is a rainbow-shaped natural bridge of reddish-brown sandstone. It is situated at the feet of Navajo Mountain in southern Utah near Lake Powell in the United States. Rainbow Bridge is the largest natural bridge in the world at 88 metres tall and 83 metres across. The sandstone at the top of the Arch
The world’s largest peninsula is the Arabian Peninsula located in Southwest Asia. Spanning at 3,237,500 square kilometres, it is the largest and longest peninsula. It contains the countries of Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Yemen and Saudi Arabia. It is the original homeland of the Arabs. It is also the birthplace
The world’s largest glacier is the Lambert Glacier. It is located in Antarctica. The glacier is more than 60 miles (96 kilometres) wide at its widest point, about 270 miles (435 kilometres) long, and has been measured to be 8,200 feet (2,500 metres) deep at its centre. The Lambert Glacier runs along part of the
Mauna Loa is the biggest volcano on the Earth. It is one of the five volcanoes that form the Island of Hawaii in the USA. Mauna Loa has erupted 33 times between 1843 and 1984. It is a massive volcano constructed by countless lava-flows. When measured from the base to the top, the pile of
The Death Valley is the warmest place on the Earth as it holds the record for the hottest air temperature ever recorded. It is situated in the Mojave Desert in California, USA. The area hit a record air atmospheric temperature of 56.7 degrees Celsius (134 degrees Fahrenheit) in 1913. Today, Death Valley holds the record
Mariana Trench, located in the western Pacific Ocean, is the deepest point in the world. It is crescent-shaped or semi-circular. The deepest spot of Mariana Trench is called the Challenger Deep. Mariana Trench was formed by the shifting of the Earth’s crust that forms the floor of the ocean. It is also considered to be
Antarctica is the coldest place on the Earth. It is also the loneliest. Some animals, like penguins, can be found along the coast of Antarctica. But there is no life inland on the continent. The coldest temperature ever recorded was –129 Fahrenheit (–89 degrees Celsius). Antarctica is also one of the driest places in the
The Rocky Mountains are found in western North America. They extend from western Canada all the way over the border into the USA. The Rocky Mountains are 76 million years old. Their highest peak is Mount Elbert in Colorado which is 4401 metres (14,440 feet) high. There are landmarks in the Rockies. One of these