In ancient times, when the vast majority of people never left their hometowns and villages and learned about the world around them solely from the tales and legends of travelers, many incredible myths about distant lands arose.
The world in the stories of ancient storytellers was simultaneously frightening and enchanting, full of wonders and dangers… and, in fact, that’s exactly how it remains today. Don’t believe it? Then let’s explore this collection of incredible geographical facts, made for you by Bored Panda!
#1
The catatumbo lightening or forever storms. There is a place in Venezuela where a single, magical storm has been raging for thousands of years. Its breathtaking to watch and local legend says the flashes are actually billions of fireflies.. ⚡️
Image source: freashams, Fernando Flores
#2
Pad Thai was an invention of the Thai government specifically because they didn’t have a well known national dish.
Image source: alcalivacci101, Markus Winkler
#3
Canada borders France.
Image source: lorimeeboerart, Eric Gaba
There are numerous threads online encouraging netizens to share the most unexpected and non-obvious facts about countries and places on our planet that they know. Many of these facts are nothing more than outdated myths, but some are true, though still very hard to believe.
#4
Mexico has four time zones and also has a glacier.
Image source: pkolsonpk, Getty Images
#5
If you placed Alaska on top of the continental United States, it would stretch from coast to coast, mercilessly crushing everything beneath.
Image source: fejerro
#6
Canada has more lake than the rest of the world COMBINED
Image source: christopherjohnplouffe, Chris Czermak
Of course, a significant portion of these facts is simply an attempt to view something familiar from a different perspective. For example, Alaska is indeed, geographically, both the westernmost and easternmost US state. This is because part of the Aleutian Islands, which belong to Alaska, extends into the Eastern Hemisphere.
Consequently, these several islands actually lie at the easternmost point of the Earth’s Eastern Hemisphere. Incidentally, the International Date Line also runs nearby, which, if you recall, a century and a half ago, won Phileas Fogg his famous bet to travel around the globe in 80 days…
#7
There is an island in a river between france and spain that is governed 6 months at a time by each nation taking turns in administration. Meaning the border moves constantly according to the season
Image source: rodolfo_gaming, Ignacio Gavira
#8
More people live in the city of San Francisco than live in the state of Wyoming
Image source: mscindygrant, mana5280
#9
Ethiopia is currently in the year 2018. They use a different calendar to the rest of the world, which also has 13 months instead of 12.
Image source: ritolive, Lesly Derksen
Another classic example of a paradoxical fact is how two countries, whose mainlands are separated by thousands of miles, actually share a border. And this is all due to the various overseas possessions of these countries. For example, France has several departments in South America and, accordingly, a common border with Brazil, or one tiny island in the North Atlantic that borders Canada.
Or, say, Spain, which can de facto be considered not only a European but also an African state, because it has two enclaves located in North Africa: Ceuta and Melilla. Yes, after several centuries of Western European monarchs redrawing the world map at will, numerous weird geographical paradoxes related to borders still remain nowadays…
#10
Oxford university is older than the Aztec Empire.
Image source: fighting4good, Andy Wang
#11
Canada has so many lakes (over 2 million) we’ve run out of names.
Image source: msdanagunn
#12
Argentina is three times the size of Texas. You could fit all of Western Europe inside Brazil. João Pessoa, Brazil is closer to Dakar, Senegal than it is to most of the other capitals of South America. France’s longest border is with Brazil.
Image source: randy6876, Getty Images
Physical geography also yields many absurd and interesting facts. For example, the Isthmus of Panama, where you can see the sun rising in the morning over one ocean and setting in the evening over another. Yes, at its narrowest point, the Isthmus of Panama is about 30 miles wide, so this is entirely possible.
The fact that cities in the far east of Brazil are actually closer to West Africa than to Brazil’s western border shouldn’t surprise you too much. Firstly, Brazil is among the top 10 countries in the world by area.
Secondly, if you look at a world map, Brazil’s east coast sometimes looks “torn away” from the Gulf of Guinea in West Africa. In fact, millions of years ago, this was indeed the case, and once, during the age of dinosaurs, they were parts of a single gigantic continent.
#13
There are more castles in Germany than MacDonalds in the USA.
Image source: drflatfish, Ashley Knedler
#14
Turkey has a city called Batman. Canada has a heritage site called Head-Smashed-In-Buffalo-Jump. Also a town called D***o.
Image source: boozeshmooze, Emmanuel Denier
#15
Australia’s coastline (including Tasmania, but not other surrounding islands) is 35,877 kilometres (22,292 miles). It has more than 10,000 beaches and if you visit one a day it will take almost 30 years to see every one
Image source: explore.with.lynne
Or, take the unique characteristics of India, where you can find literally any climate, from desert to mangrove forests to staggering heat to perpetual snow and cold. Firstly, India is vast – its area is three times that of Western Europe.
Secondly, it’s actually a subcontinent, which until relatively recently (from a geological perspective, of course), 55 million years ago (by which time, for example, dinosaurs had already become extinct), was a separate continent. Then, as a result of a massive collision with the Eurasian lithospheric plate, the also “very young” Himalayas emerged.
#16
Ireland, while slightly smaller than Illinois, has ancestry claim on 31million US citizens.
Image source: torebel711, Jason Murphy
#17
The oldest rocks on earth (3+ billion years ) are in the Canadian Shield.
Image source: matdeshaies25, by Emmanuel Douzery.
#18
Indonesia has a volcano called Kawah Ijen where sulfuric gas burns into electric blue fire at night. Feels like someone modded Earth.
Image source: ghozi.jpg, Isderion
By and large, every fact we’ve shared with you in this collection has its own unique story or explanation, which is sometimes more bizarre than all the fiction and gossip of ancient travelers. But these facts are 100% true, even though they sound fake and like outright fabrications.
So now the only thing we want from you is to actually read all these facts, and maybe share some more incredible pieces of knowledge about various places on Earth, distant or not, that you know and believe are truly worth sharing.
#19
That Iceland is literally being torn apart in real time because it sits right on top of the gap between two shifting tectonic plates, the resulting volcanic activities is also why that island exists in the first place.
Image source: zw1212, Adam Jang
#20
The deepest lake in the US is in Oregon but it has NO tributaries and is one of the cleanest bodies of water in the world.
Image source: cassiegware, Jeff Hopper
#21
disney world is so huge that you can fit 51 disney lands inside of it
Image source: churaycee, Younho Choo
#22
The shortest land border in the world is 80 metres, between Spain and Morocco
Image source: satingthewanderlust, Mario Sánchez Bueno
#23
Canada has the smallest desert in the world.
andrea.j.phillips reply:
Embarassing…
Image source: dirtywestcoasthippy, Justine Poirrier
#24
The Himalayas are the youngest mountain range and they are still pushing upwards north in a continental collision between Asiatic plate and the Indian subcontinent
Image source: smundkur, Sylwia Bartyzel
#25
India is the smallest country in the world to have:
1. All major ecosystems: forests, grasslands, deserts, tundras, and aquatic ecosystems
2. All climatic conditions: Tropical, Dry, Temperate, Continental and Polar
3. All major forests: Tropical Forests (Evergreen & Semi-Evergreen , Deciduous, Thorn & Scrub) , Subtropical Forests (Broad-leaved & Pine, Dry Evergreen) , Temperate Forests , Alpine & Sub-Alpine Forests and Littoral & Swamp Forests i.e. Mangroves
Image source: mayureshgaikwad9, Giulia Squillace
#26
Alaska is the eastern most state by longitude.
It’s also the northern and western most state.
It would take you everyday for 29 years to visit every beach in Australia. Challenge accepted.
Image source: eddieshort48, Zetong Li
#27
Australia is the driest inhabited country on earth. It also has the world’s largest underground water supply.
Image source: angelcheeks3, Christian Bass
#28
In Panama, you can see the sun rise from the Pacific Ocean and set into the Atlantic Ocean 😅
And no, I am not confusing east and west or something. Look at a map at think it through for a minute ;)
#29
Budapest is called Budapest, because when the original Pestbuda or Pest-Buda (alternatively Ofenpesth) name was put on the map, the names would’ve been on the “wrong”, i.e. opposite sides of the Danube.
Image source: andrew_thalsky
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