Peculiar Geography Facts • Vol. 18: #36 • Tidbits of Coachella Valley

• Wherever you are in Switzerland, there is a lake less than ten miles away.

• The Kola superdeep borehole in Russia is the deepest hole on earth, reaching a depth of 40,230 feet (12,262 m) which is deeper than the Mariana Trench.

• Sri Lanka only became an island in the year 1480, when a cyclone swept away the land bridge that connected it to mainland India.

• Istanbul, Turkey, is the only city in the world located on two continents, Europe and Asia.

• 90% of the world’s population lives in the northern hemisphere.

• There are no lakes or rivers in Saudi Arabia.

• China has over 100 cities with populations of over one million. The U.S. has only ten.

• There are twice as many kangaroos in Australia than people.

• Kyrgyzstan, also known as the Kyrgyz Republic, is the most land-locked nation in the world. Located in central Asia, it’s bordered by Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and China, and is 1,620 miles from the closest coastline at the Indian Ocean.

• Canada has more lakes than the rest of the world combined.

• 11% of Iceland is covered in glaciers, while also sporting 32 volcanic systems.

• Spain literally means “the land of rabbits.”

• Italy boasts 55 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, more than any other country.

• The highest elevation in Denmark is only 561 feet (171 m) above sea level.

• Citizens of the Netherlands are the tallest in the world on average, with men averaging 71.6 inches and women 67.7 inches. Citizens of Indonesia are the shortest, with men averaging 64 inches and women at 60 inches.

• Russia has more forests than any other nation; Brazil has about half as much forest.

• Suriname, the smallest independent country in South America, is the most forested country in the world, with 95% of its land area covered by trees.

• Sweden has more islands than any other nation at nearly 220,000, followed by Finland, Norway, Canada, and Indonesia.

• Damascus, Syria, was flourishing more than 2,000 years before Rome was founded in 753 BC, making it the oldest continuously inhabited city in existence.

• South Sudan is the world’s youngest country, established in 2011 when it gained independence from England.

• Wellington, New Zealand, is the world’s southernmost capital. Reykjavik, Iceland, is the northernmost capital city.

• China uses more electricity than any other country in the world. The U.S. is second.

• Egypt has the highest percentage of vegans in the world, at about 5% of the population.

• Canada has the most coastline of any country in the world, followed by Norway and Indonesia.

• Mandarin Chinese is the most spoken language in the world, followed by Spanish, English, and Hindi.

• Zambia has the highest percentage of its land devoted to national parks, at 32%.

• Brazil has the greatest biodiversity of any country on the planet.

• Brazil got its name from the nut, not the other way around.

• According to the Gallup World Poll, Finland is the happiest country, followed by Iceland, Denmark, Switzerland, and the Netherlands.

• Bhutan is the most mountainous country in the world with 98% of its land covered in mountains. The average elevation is 10,761 feet (3,280 m) above sea level.

• Chechnya consumes more beer per capita than any other country, at about 51 gallons per adult per year, about twice as much as Germany.

• Denmark ranks as the least corrupt country.

• Australia has more national parks than any other country with 685. Thailand is in second place with 147. The U.S. has 63.

• France is the most visited country with an average of 89 million tourists each year.

• Grenada has an underwater sculpture park sporting 75 artworks that can only be seen by scuba divers.

• Qatar has the highest ratio of men to women, with 3.4 men for every woman.

• About 40% of people in Vietnam have the surname of Nguyen.

• Every panda on earth officially belongs to China.

• Finland drinks more coffee per capita than any other country, and they are followed by every other Scandinavian country.

• 58% of the world’s population lives in cities. In the U.S., 83% of the population lives in cities. In the Netherlands, it’s 92%.

• Rwanda has the highest percentage of women in parliament, with 61%. There are only two other countries where women outnumber men in government: Cuba and Bolivia.

• Missouri and Tennessee have the most bordering states, each with eight. Alaska and Hawaii both have no bordering states.

• Woodward Avenue in Detroit carries the designation M-1, so named because it was the first paved road in the country.

• New York City has the most subway stations in the world with 472, followed by Shanghai at 354.

• Alaska’s coastline at 6,640 miles (10,686 km) is longer than the coastline of the entire rest of the U.S.

• The Mississippi River is the longest river in the U.S. at 2,348 miles which is equal to the distance from Albuquerque, NM to Boston, MA. It takes about 90 days for a drop of water to make its way from the beginning of the river to the end.

• Iowa is the only state where the eastern border and the western border are formed by rivers: the Mississippi on the east and the Missouri on the west.

• Arkansas is bordered by six states and you can get to all six states by driving south from various points within Arkansas.

• Savannah, Georgia, is farther south than Tijuana, Mexico.

• The average high temperature in San Diego, CA in June is 71° F. which is the same as the average high temperature in Fairbanks, Alaska in June.

• Portions of eastern Oregon are in the Mountain Time Zone and portions of the western part of the Florida panhandle are in the Central Time Zone, which is the farthest between two points in the U.S. that are only one hour time difference.

• More than half the coastline of the entire United States is in Alaska.

• John North had a town named after him in the state of South Carolina: North, South Carolina.

• The smallest state, Rhode Island, has a larger population than the largest state, Alaska.

• The least populated county in the U.S. is Loving County, Texas, near the New Mexico border, with a 2020 population of 64 people.

• St. Paul, Minnesota, was originally called Pig's Eye after a man named Pierre “Pig's Eye” Parrant, who set up the first business there. □