Geography lesson

[GoldEagle]

Great e-mail I just got

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


Amazon
The Amazon rainforest produces more than 20% the world's oxygen
supply.
The Amazon River pushes so much water into the Atlantic Ocean that,
more
than one hundred miles at sea off the mouth of the river, one can dip
fresh
water out of the ocean. The volume of water in the Amazon river is
greater
than the next eight largest rivers in the world combined and three
times
the flow of all rivers in the United States.


Antarctica
Antarctica is the only land on our planet that is not owned by any
country.
Ninety percent of the world's ice covers Antarctica. This ice also
represents seventy percent of all the fresh water in the world. As
strange
as it sounds, however, Antarctica is essentially a desert. The
average
yearly total precipitation is about two inches Although covered with
ice
(all but 0.4% of it, i.e.), Antarctica is the driest place on the
planet,
with an absolute humidity lower than the Gobi desert.


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


Canada
Canada has more lakes than the rest of the world combined. Canada is
an
Indian word meaning "Big Village."


Chicago
Next to Warsaw, Chicago has the largest Polish population in the
world.


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


Damascus, Syria
Damascus, Syria, was flourishing a couple of thousand years before
Rome
was founded in 753 BC, making it the oldest continuously inhabited
city in
existence.


Istanbul, Turkey
Istanbul, Turkey, is the only city in the world located on two
continents.


Los Angeles
Los Angeles's full name is El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de
los
Angeles de Porciuncula --and can be abbreviated to 3.63% of its size:
L.A.


New York City
The term "The Big Apple" was coined by touring jazz musicians of the
1930's who used the slang expression "apple" for any town or city.
Therefore, to play New York City is to play the big time - The Big
Apple.
There are more Irish in New York City than in Dublin, Ireland; more
Italians in New York City than in Rome, Italy; and more Jews in New
York
City than in Tel Aviv, Israel.


Ohio
There are no natural lakes in the state of Ohio, every one is
manmade.


Pitcairn Island
The smallest island with country status is Pitcairn in Polynesia, at
just
1.75 sq. miles/4,53 sq. km.


Rome
The first city to reach a population of 1 million people was Rome,
Italy
in 133 B.C. There is a city called Rome on every continent.


Siberia
Siberia contains more than 25% of the world's forests.


S.M.O.M.
The actual smallest sovereign entity in the world is the Sovereign
Military Order of Malta (S.M.O.M.). It is located in the city of
Rome,
Italy, has an area of two tennis courts, and as of 2001 has a
population of
80, 20 less people than the Vatican. It is a sovereign entity under
international law, just as the Vatican is.


Sahara Desert
In the Sahara Desert, there is a town named Tidikelt, which did not
receive a drop of rain for ten years. Technically though, the driest
place
on Earth is in the valleys of the Antarctic near Ross Island. There
has
been no rainfall there for two million years.


Spain
Spain literally means 'the land of rabbits.'


St. Paul, Minnesota
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.


Roads
Chances that a road is unpaved in the U.S.A.: 1%, in Canada: 75%


Texas
The deepest hole ever made in the world is in Texas. It is as deep as
20
empire state buildings but only 3 inches wide.


United States
The Eisenhower interstate system requires that one-mile in every
five
must be straight. These straight sections are usable as airstrips in
times
of war or other emergencies.
DISPROVEN

Waterfalls
The water of Angel Falls (the World's highest) in Venezuela drops
3,212
feet (979 meters). They are 15 times higher than Niagara Falls.


So, didn't it feel good to learn something new today???


I have always said you should learn something new every day.
Unfortunately,
most of us are at that age where what we learn today, we forget
tomorrow.
But, give it a shot anyway!............

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

That's cool, but I alrady knew a lot of that.

 

[Ginger_Ale]

Cool post!

I knew a few of those facts, but some of them were really interesting (and useless ). It shocked me that "There is a city called Rome on every continent.", but I guess it's not that unlikely. Rome probably isn't the only city name on all the continents...

 

[Sashie VII]

Great post, useless facts (to me in everyday life that is) but at least it amuses to know these things..

 

[Mirc]

Nice, but I already knew most of them.

Damascus, Syria
Damascus, Syria, was flourishing a couple of thousand years before
Rome
was founded in 753 BC, making it the oldest continuously inhabited
city in
existence.

More, it is the capital that has been a capital of a country for most time (continuously).

Rome
The first city to reach a population of 1 million people was Rome,
Italy
in 133 B.C. There is a city called Rome on every continent

More, AFAIK it is the first one to reach a pop of 2 million people.

Spain
Spain literally means 'the land of rabbits.'

Really? Doesn't it come from the Roman word Hispania? Does this mean land of rabbits? It doesn't sound very plausible for me.

Chicago
Next to Warsaw, Chicago has the largest Polish population in the
world.

That's amazing!

 

[SuperBeaverInc.]

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

That is an amazing fact

 

[Pyrite]

"in 133 B.C. There is a city called Rome on every continent"

Really? I have never heard that one? Where were all these cities? And who controlled them?

 

[Sashie VII]

Been wondering about that. Haven't heard of a Rome in Asia..

Or in Antartica for that matter

 

[SuperBeaverInc.]

Really? Doesn't it come from the Roman word Hispania? Does this mean land of rabbits? It doesn't sound very plausible for me.

Nope. Comes from the Carthaginian word for the land, which I think was Espana, which means Land of the Rabbits.

 

[Pyrite]

Anyone...have any actual information on these claims?

 

[Sashie VII]

Good question, Pyrite.. hm....

 

[Bozo Erectus]

The actual smallest sovereign entity in the world is the Sovereign
Military Order of Malta (S.M.O.M.). It is located in the city of
Rome,
Italy, has an area of two tennis courts

Damn, the real estate market must be a b**ch.

 

[bhsup]

Well, the Ohio lakes one was easy to bust. Not many, but it does have some...

Although early Ohio offered the Indians and settlers vast water resources through Lake Erie and its major river systems, there were very few natural lakes or ponds in the state. Those that existed, including several of the Portage Lakes, were the direct result of glacial activity. These bodies of water were formed by huge chunks of ice which broke off the retreating glacier and melted in depressions forming kettle lakes. Many of the natural lakes in Ohio have aged into bogs or marshes.

http://www.ohiodnr.com/parks/parks/portage.htm

 

[Sashie VII]

Okay, one down..

Hasn't anyone looked into that thing about Rome on every continent yet?

 

[jalapeno_dude]

Been wondering about that. Haven't heard of a Rome in Asia..

Or in Antartica for that matter

Wikipedia ftw!

There is a Rome, Russia.

There isn't a Rome in Antarctica.

It works otherwise if you count Roma as a name as well--but the Roma in Australia is named after someone named Roma, not the city, so it doesn't really count.

 

[Sashie VII]

Whoa

Is there a Rome in North or South America?

 

[jalapeno_dude]

From Wikipedia:

International status of the Order
The exact nature of the entity is somewhat nebulous and subject to controversy: it claims to be a traditional example of a sovereign entity other than a state. Its two headquarters in Rome, namely the Palazzo Malta in Via dei Condotti 68 (where the Grand Master resides and Government Bodies meet), and the Villa Malta on the Aventine (which hosts the Grand Priory of Rome, the Embassy of the Order to Holy See and the Embassy of the Order to Italy), are granted extraterritoriality. However, unlike the Holy See, which is sovereign over the Vatican City, SMOM has no sovereign territory since the loss of the island of Malta, in 1798. The United Nations does not classify it as a "non-member state" but as one of the "entities and intergovernmental organizations having received a standing invitation to participate as observers." For instance, while the International Telecommunication Union has granted radio identification prefixes to such quasi-sovereign jurisdictions as the United Nations and the Palestinian Authority, SMOM has never received one. For awards purposes, amateur radio operators consider SMOM to be a separate "country," but stations transmitting from there use an entirely unofficial callsign starting with the prefix "1A0".

Although some legal scholars accept a claim to sovereign status, leading experts in international law, notably Dr. Ian Brownlie, Dr. Helmut Steinberger, and Dr. Wilhelm Wengler, do not. Even taking into account its ambassadorial status among many nations, such a claim is rejected. Specifically Professor Dr Wilhelm Wengler, a German Professor of International law, addresses this point in his book "Völkerrecht", and rejects the notion that recognition of the Order by some states can make it a subject of international law. The Holy See in 1953 proclaimed "in the Lord's name" that the Order of Malta was only a "functional sovereignty" - due to the fact that it did not have all that pertained to true sovereignty, such as territory.

SMOM has formal diplomatic relations with 94 states (many of which are non-Catholic), and has official relations with another 6 countries, non-state subjects of international law like European Union and International Committee of the Red Cross, and a number of international organizations. Its international nature is useful in enabling it to pursue its humanitarian activities without being seen as an operative of any particular nation. Its claimed sovereignty is also expressed in the issuance of passports, licence plates, stamps, and coins. The latter are appreciated more for their subject matter rather than for use as postage or currency. Starting in 2005, SMOM issues stamps with the Euro as the unit of postage, while Scudo (pl. Scudi) remains the SMOM's official currency.

So there's debate about this. It has embassies, but no sovereign territory.

 

[Truronian]

After a quick Google (Earth):

Chippewa Lake, Ohio - Largest natural lake in Ohio

EDIT: Ok, beaten to it...

 

[jalapeno_dude]

Whoa

Is there a Rome in North or South America?

There are many Romes in the US: see here.

Apparently, there's also a Roma, Ecuador.

 

[Sashie VII]

Thanks jalapeno dude, but how about Africa? teeheeeheeee