Coldest Place: Antarctica has several climates, all cold but differing considerably in severity. East Antarctica’s high plateau region yields the lowest year-round temperatures due to its relatively high elevation. The world’s lowest yearly air temperatures, typically –88°C (–126°F), are recorded in late August at Russia’s Vostok station. In coastal regions latitude is more significant than elevation. The higher the latitude—that is, the closer to the pole—the lower the average temperatures. The west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula and the neighboring islands has the mildest climates, with average January temperatures above freezing.
Country with most Lakes: Canada contains more lakes and inland waters than any other country in the world. In addition to the Great Lakes on the American border (all partly within Canada except Lake Michigan), the country has 31 lakes or reservoirs of about 1,300 sq km (about 500 sq mi) in area. Canada’s two largest lakes are Lakes Superior and Huron, at 82,100 sq km (31,700 sq mi) and 59,600 sq km (23,000 sq mi), respectively. About one-third of Lake Superior and about three-fifths of Lake Huron are in Canada. The largest lakes wholly within Canada are Great Bear, at 31,790 sq km (12,270 sq mi), and Great Slave, at 28,570 sq km (11,030 sq mi), both in the Northwest Territories. Each of these immense lakes is larger than either Lake Erie or Lake Ontario. Lake Winnipeg in Manitoba, at 24,390 sq km (9,417 sq mi), also compares in size with Lake Erie and is much larger than Lake Ontario. Other very large bodies of freshwater are Lake Athabaska and Reindeer Lake in Saskatchewan and the Smallwood Reservoir in Newfoundland and Labrador. Also significant in size are Nettilling Lake on Baffin Island, Lakes Winnipegosis and Manitoba in Manitoba, Lake Nipigon and Lake of the Woods in Ontario, and Lake Melville in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Deepest Freshwater Lake: Baikal, Lake, lake, southern Siberian Russia; with a maximum depth of 1637 m (5371 ft), it is the deepest lake in the world and is estimated to contain approximately one-fifth of all the earth's fresh surface water. The lake has an area of 31,500 sq km (12,200 sq mi), and it has about 1963 km (about 1220 mi) of shoreline, making it the third largest lake in Asia, and the largest freshwater lake, in terms of surface area, on the Eurasian continent. The crescent-shaped lake is 636 km (395 mi) long and varies in width from about 14 to 80 km (about 9 to 50 mi). The lake is fed by the Selenge, Barguzin, and Verkhnaya Angara rivers and by more than 300 mountain streams. The only outlet is the lower Angara, which flows west from the lake into the Yenisey River. The Baikal, Barguzin, and other mountain ranges surround the lake, rising on all shores except the southeastern Selenge delta. Lake Baikal has several islands, the largest of which is Olkhon. Nizhneangarsk and Listvyanka are ports on the lake. Baikal is known for the remarkable clarity of its waters and for the great diversity of its plant and animal life; the majority of species found in the lake are endemic. The sturgeon, salmon, and freshwater-seal fisheries of the lake are valuable, and large quantities of other fish are also caught. Petroleum wells and mineral and hot springs are found in the vicinity. The southern shores of the lake are inhabited by the Buryats.
Deepest Ocean: Pacific Ocean, largest and deepest of the world's four oceans, covering more than a third of the earth's surface and containing more than half of its free water. It is sometimes divided into two nominal sections: the part north of the equator is called the North Pacific; the part south of the equator, the South Pacific. The name Pacific, which means peaceful, was given to it by the Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan in 1520.
Deepest Point (Oceanic): Mariana Trench, depression in the floor of the Pacific Ocean, the deepest seafloor depression in the world. It is located just east of the Mariana Islands in the western part of the ocean basin. The Mariana Trench is an arc-shaped valley extending generally northeast to southwest for 2,550 km (1,580 mi); its average width is 70 km (40 mi). The Mariana is one of many deepwater ocean trenches formed by the geologic process of subduction (see Plate Tectonics). Near its southwestern extremity, 340 km (210 mi) southwest of the island of Guam, is the deepest point on earth. This point, the Challenger Deep, is estimated to be 11,033 m (36,198 ft) deep. The Challenger Deep was named after HMS Challenger II, the vessel of those who discovered the point in 1948.
Highest Mountain Region: Himalayas, also Himalaya (Sanskrit for “abode of snow”), mountain system in Asia, forming a broad continuous arc for nearly 2600 km (1600 mi) along the northern fringes of the Indian subcontinent, from the bend of the Indus River in the northwest to the Brahmaputra River in the east. The Himalayas range, averaging 320 to 400 km (200 to 250 mi) in width, rises sharply from the Gangetic Plain. North of this mountain belt lies the Tibetan Plateau (Qing Zang Gaoyuan). The Himalayas form the earth’s highest mountain region, containing 9 of the 10 highest peaks in the world. Among these peaks are the world’s highest mountain, Mount Everest (8848 m/29,028 ft), which is on the Nepal-Tibet border; the second highest peak, K2 or Mount Godwin Austen (8,611 m/28,251 ft), located on the border between China and Jammu and Kashmīr, a territory claimed by India and Pakistan; the third highest peak, Kānchenjunga (8,598 m/28,209 ft) on the Nepal-India border; Makālu (8481 m/27,824 ft) on the Nepal-Tibet border; Dhaulāgiri (8,172 m/26,811 ft) and Annapūrna 1 (8,091 m/26,545 ft) in Nepal; Nanga Parbat (8,125 m/26,657 ft) in the Pakistani-controlled portion of Jammu and Kashmīr; and Nanda Devi (7817 m/25,645 ft) in India.
Highest Navigable Lake: Titicaca, Lake, lake, east central South America, the highest navigable lake in the world (about 3,810 m/12,500 ft above sea level). Extending from southeastern Peru to western Bolivia, it is 196 km (122 mi) long with an average width of 56 km (35 mi). The surrounding region was one of the seats of early Native American civilization; it contains many architectural remains, some of which predate the Incan period.
Highest Point: The height of Mount Everest has been determined to be 8,850 m (29,035 ft). The mountain’s actual height, and the claim that Everest is the highest mountain in the world, have long been disputed. But scientific surveys completed in the early 1990s continued to support evidence that Everest is the highest mountain in the world. In fact, the mountain is rising a few millimeters each year due to geological forces. Global Positioning System (GPS) has been installed on Mount Everest for the purpose of detecting slight rates of geological uplift.
Highest Region: With an average elevation of 4,900 m (16,000 ft), Tibet is the highest region on earth. For this reason, it is sometimes called the Roof of the World. Most of the people in Tibet live at elevations ranging from 1,200 m (3,900 ft) to 5,100 m (16,700 ft). Tibet is also one of the world’s most isolated regions, surrounded by the Himalayas on the south, the Karakoram Range on the west, and the Kunlun Mountains on the north.
Highest Temperature (Death Valley): The summer temperatures in Death Valley, one of the hottest regions known, exceed 52° C (125° F) and rarely fall below 21° C (70° F). The National Weather Service recorded 57 ° C (134° F) in 1913, the highest temperature ever recorded in the United States. Average rainfall in a normal year is 50 mm (2 in). Sandstorms and dust whirlwinds of several hours' duration are common.
Highest Wind Velocity: Washington, Mount, mountain in northern New Hampshire, the highest in the northeastern United States. Mount Washington rises 1,917 m (6,288 ft) above sea level and forms part of the Presidential Range of the White Mountains. Forests cover its slopes to an elevation of 1,000 m (3,200 ft), beyond which it is bare and rocky. Mount Washington is noted for its scenery and for excellent skiing conditions, particularly at Tuckerman Ravine on the southeastern slope. A weather station and observation and information center are located at the summit, which may be reached by trail, automobile, and cog railway; the Appalachian National Scenic Trail crosses the upper slopes of the mountain. One of the highest recorded wind velocities—372 km/h (231 mph)—was observed on top of Mount Washington in 1934. The peak was first scaled in 1642; in 1784 the American clergyman and pioneer Manasseh Cutler climbed the mountain and is believed to have named it. Largest Desert: Sahara, great desert area, northern Africa, the western portion of the broad belt of arid land that extends from the Atlantic Ocean eastward past the Red Sea to Iraq. The entire desert, the largest in the world, is about 1,610 km (about 1,000 mi) wide and about 5,150 km (about 3,200 mi) long from east to west. The total area of the Sahara is more than 9.1 million sq km (more than 3.5 million sq mi), of which some 207,000 sq km (some 80,000 sq mi) consist of partially fertile oases.
Largest Inland Sea: Caspian Sea (ancient Caspium Mare or Hyrcanium Mare), saltwater lake in southeastern Europe and southwestern Asia, the largest inland body of water in the world. The Caspian Sea is bordered on the west by Azerbaijan and Russia, on the northeast and east by Kazakhstan, on the east by Turkmenistan, and on the south by Iran. It extends about 1210 km (about 750 mi) in a northern and southern direction and about 210 to 436 km (about 130 to 271 mi) in an eastern and western direction. It has an area of 371,000 sq km (143,000 sq mi). The Caspian coastline is irregular, with large gulfs on the east, including Krasnovodsk Gulf and the very shallow Garabogazköl Gulf, which acts as an evaporation basin and is the site of a major chemical plant that extracts salts from the deposits.
Largest Island: Greenland (Greenlandic Kalaallit Nunaat; Danish Grønland), island which is an internally self-governing part of Denmark, situated between the North Atlantic and Arctic oceans. Greenland lies mostly north of the Arctic Circle and is separated from the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, on the west, primarily by Davis Strait and Baffin Bay, and from Iceland, on the east, by the Denmark Strait. The largest island in the world, Greenland has a maximum extent, from its northernmost point on Cape Morris Jesup to Cape Farewell in the extreme south, of 2,660 km (1,650 mi). The maximum distance from east to west is 1,300 km (800 mi). The entire coast, which is deeply indented with fjords, is roughly estimated at 44,000 km (27,000 mi). The total area of Greenland is 2,170,000 sq km (836,330 sq mi), of which 1,834,000 sq km (708,000 sq mi) is ice cap. The capital and largest city is Nuuk.
Largest Jungle: To be classified as a rain forest, a forest must have a closed canopy, in which the treetops, or crowns, touch each other, creating a shaded forest interior. In addition, temperature and rainfall must be high and relatively even throughout the year. Forests that meet these criteria are found flanking the equator in South and Central America, Asia, Africa, and Australia. In South America, a vast, forested area of the Amazon River basin in Brazil and neighboring countries is by far the largest rain forest in the world. It encompasses more than 3.5 million sq km (about 1.4 million sq mi)—about half of the total global rain forest cover. The larger of two large rain forests in Asia is centered along the Malay Archipelago, including the islands of Borneo and Sumatra, the Malay Peninsula, and the Republic of the Philippines. The other main rain forest in Asia is found primarily on the island of New Guinea and in northern Australia. In Africa, most of the rain forest is concentrated along the Atlantic coast and the Congo River Basin.
Smallest Country: Vatican City, independent state, under the absolute authority of the pope of the Roman Catholic church. It is an enclave within Rome, Italy, with an area of 44 hectares (110 acres). The smallest independent country in the world, Vatican City was established in 1929 under terms of the Lateran Treaty, concluded by the Italian government and the papacy after many years of controversy. This treaty was superseded in 1984 by a new concordat, which, like its predecessor, recognized the full sovereignty of the Holy See (the jurisdiction of the pope) within the state of Vatican City.
Tallest tree: Redwood National Park, national park, located in northwestern California, established in 1968. The world’s tallest tree (112 m/367 ft) is located here. The park encompasses a 64-km (40-mi) strip of scenic Pacific coastal territory and contains virgin forests of ancient redwood trees (Sequoia sempervirens). Heavy rainfall has produced a luxuriant vegetation that includes ponderosa pine, Douglas fir, Sitka spruce, and, in places, an underbrush of azalea and rhododendron. The park preserves an undisturbed coastline of bluffs, beaches, rocky inlets, and lagoons. The park’s boundaries were expanded in 1978 and designated a World Heritage Site in 1980. Area, 45,499 hectares (112,430 acres).
