20 Geographical Facts That Are Seriously Mind-boggling
11 When measured from the Earthâs center, Chimborazo is the highest mountain, not Mount Everest.
Mount Everest has always been known as the Earth’s highest mountain. The peak of Mount Everest is 8,850 meters above the sea level which is the highest altitude when measured from the sea level. But, when measured from the center of the Earth, Mount Everest loses its status to Chimborazo in Ecuador.
Chimborazo has a height of 6,263 meters above sea level. However, when measured from the center of Earth Chimborazo becomes the highest mountain in the world. This is because the shape of our Earth is an oblate spheroid. It has bulges at the equator. Chimborazo is almost on the equator. Hence, when measured from the core, Chimborazo becomes the farthest point on the surface of the Earth. (source)
12 The largest ranch in the world, Anna Creek Station, is bigger than Israel.
Anna Creek station is a cattle station in South Australia with an area of 6,000,000 acres. Actually, it is the largest ranch in the world and its area is even more than the area of Israel. It was established in 1863, but in 1872, it moved to its current location. Originally used for sheep farming, this ranch switched to cattle due to losses from dingo attacks. It is currently owned by S. Kidman & Co. Once, there was a large workforce employed on this ranch which managed cattle on horses but now light aircraft and trail bikes are used to manage it.(source)
13 There is a stadium in Brazil in which the midfield line supposedly lies exactly on the Equator making each team defends one hemisphere.
Estádio Milton Corrêa, nicknamed Zerão, is a multipurpose stadium in Brazil built in 1990. The midfield of this stadium lies on the equator and is the only stadium in the world to possess this unique feature. It is mainly used for football matches. So, during matches, each team literally defends one hemisphere.
The nickname Zerão is inspired by its neighborhood MarcoZero which got the name due to its location on the Equator. Zerão means Big Zero which denotes the latitude of the Equator.(source)
14 The volcanic system beneath Yellowstone holds enough lava to fill Grand Canyon 11 times.
Recent studies by seismologists have revealed that the magma chamber beneath Yellowstone National Park is 4.4 times larger than the previously estimated depth. The chamber of hot and partly molten rock is located between 12 to 28 miles beneath the Yellowstone supervolcano. The new discovery shows that the magma present will be enough to fill the 1,000 cubic mile Grand Canyon 11 times. The magma chamber is matrix-shaped and is made up of hot, semi-molten stone. The smaller pockets of the matrix are filled with molten rock. The Yellowstone supervolcano is the largest supervolcano in the world. However, this large amount of magma should not be a matter of concern because Geologists have confirmed that the Yellowstone supervolcano is not going to be active for a long time.(1,2)
15 Four Corners is a spot in the US where you can be in Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, and Colorado at the same time.
Four Corners is a region in the US where the four states, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado, meet. It consists of the northeastern corner of Arizona, the northwestern corner of New Mexico, the southeastern corner of Utah, and the southwestern corner of Colorado. Geographically, the Four Corners is a circle around the four corners of the four states. So, upon entering this circle you can be in four different states at the exact same time. It is also the only place in the US with this unique feature. The US acquired this region in 1848 after the end of Mexican-American War.(source)