Highest Mountain Peaks of the World

See Named Summits in the U.S. Over 14,000 Feet Above Sea Level for U.S. Peaks.

Height Mountain peak Everest1 K2 (Godwin Austen) Kanchenjunga Lhotse I Makalu I Cho Oyu Dhaulagiri Manaslu I Nanga Parbat Annapurna Gasherbrum I Broad Peak Gasherbrum II Shishma Pangma (Gosainthan) Range Location ft. m

Himalayas Nepal/Tibet Karakoram Pakistan/China Himalayas India/Nepal Himalayas Nepal/Tibet Himalayas Nepal/Tibet Himalayas Nepal/Tibet Himalayas Nepal Himalayas Nepal Himalayas Pakistan Himalayas Nepal Karakoram Pakistan/China Karakoram Pakistan/China Karakoram Pakistan/China Himalayas Tibet

29,035 8,850 28,250 8,611 28,169 8,586 27,940 8,516 27,766 8,463 26,906 8,201 26,795 8,167 26,781 8,163 26,660 8,125 26,545 8,091 26,470 8,068 26,400 8,047 26,360 8,035 26,289 8,013

Oceans and Seas

Greatest Average Area Name Pacific Ocean Atlantic Ocean sq. mi. sq. km depth ft. m known depth ft. m Place of greatest known depth

60,060,70 155,557,00 13,215 4,028 36,198 11,033 Mariana 0 0 Trench

29,637,90 76,762,000 12,880 3,926 30,246 9,219 Puerto 0 Rico Trench

Indian Ocean Southern Ocean1

26,469,50 68,556,000 13,002 3,963 24,460 7,455 Sunda 0 Trench

7,848,300 20,327,000 13,100 4,000 23,736 7,235 South 16,400 5,000 Sandwich Trench

Arctic Ocean

5,427,000 14,056,000 3,953 1,205 18,456 5,625 7745'N; 175W

Mediterrane 1,144,800 2,965,800 4,688 1,429 15,197 4,632 Off Cape an Sea2 Matapan, Greece Caribbean 1,049,500 2,718,200 8,685 2,647 22,788 6,946 Off

Sea

Cayman Islands

South China Sea Bering Sea

895,400 2,319,000 5,419 1,652 16,456 5,016 West of Luzon 884,900 2,291,900 5,075 1,547 15,659 4,773 Off Buldir Island

Gulf of Mexico Okhotsk Sea East China Sea Hudson Bay Japan Sea

615,000 1,592,800 4,874 1,486 12,425 3,787 Sigsbee Deep 613,800 1,589,700 2,749 838 12,001 3,658 14610'E; 4650'N 482,300 1,249,200 617 188 9,126 2,782 2516'N; 125E 475,800 1,232,300 420 128 600 183 Near entrance 389,100 1,007,800 4,429 1,350 12,276 3,742 Central Basin

Andaman Sea

308,000

797,700 2,854

870 12,392 3,777 Off Car Nicobar Island

North Sea Red Sea

222,100 169,100

575,200

308

94 491

2,165

660 Skagerrak

438,000 1,611

7,254 2,211 Off Port Sudan

Baltic Sea

163,000

422,200

180

55

1,380

421 Off

Gotland

Large Lakes of the World

Maximum Area Name and location Caspian Sea, AzerbaijanRussiaKazakhstanTurkmenistan-Iran1 Superior, U.S.-Canada 31,820 82,414 383 69,485 200 59,596 247 58,016 321 33,800 266 616 322 397 517 428 1,333 270 750 923 223 406 82 229 281 68 sq. mi. km Length mi. km ft. 3,104 depth m 946

152,239 394,299 745 1,199

Victoria, Tanzania-Uganda 26,828 Huron, U.S.-Canada Michigan, U.S. Aral, KazakhstanUzbekistan Tanganyika, TanzaniaCongo Baikal, Russia Great Bear, Canada Nyasa, MalawiMozambique-Tanzania 12,162 12,000 11,600 12,700 23,010 22,400 13,000

32,893 420

676

4,708

1,435

31,500 395 31,080 232 30,044 360

636 373 579

5,712 270 2,316

1,741 82 706

Great Slave, Canada Erie, U.S.-Canada Ontario, U.S.-Canada

11,170 9,930 7,520

28,930 298 25,719 241 19,477 193

480 388 311

2,015 210 778

614 64 237

Principal Rivers of the World

(See Rivers of the United States for other U.S. rivers.)

Approx. length River Nile Source Tributaries of Lake Victoria, Africa Amazon MississippiMissouriRed Rock Chang Jiang (Yangtze) Ob Huang He (Yellow) Yenisei Altai Mts., Russia Eastern part of Kunlan Mts., West China Tannu-Ola Mts., western Arctic Ocean 2,800 4,506 Gulf of Ob Gulf of Chihli 3,459 2,900 5,567 4,667 Tibetan plateau, China China Sea 3,602 5,797 Glacier-fed lakes, Peru Source of Red Rock, Montana Outflow Mediterranean Sea Atlantic Ocean Gulf of Mexico 3,912 3,710 6,296 5,970 mi. 4,180 km 6,690

Tuva, Russia Paran Confluence of Paranaiba and Grande rivers Irtish Altai Mts., Russia Ob River 2,758 2,716 4,438 4,371 Ro de la Plata 2,795 4,498

Zaire (Congo) Confluence of Lualab and Atlantic Ocean Luapula rivers, Congo Heilong (Amur) Confluence of Shilka (Russia) and Argun (Manchuria) rivers Lena Mackenzie Baikal Mts., Russia Head of Finlay River, British Columbia, Canada Niger Mekong Guinea Tibetan highlands Arctic Ocean Beaufort Sea (Arctic Ocean) Gulf of Guinea Tatar Strait

2,704

4,352

2,652 2,635

4,268 4,241

2,600

4,184 4,023

South China Sea 2,500

Large Islands of the World

Area Island Greenland New Guinea Location and political affiliation North Atlantic (Danish) sq. mi. 839,999 sq. km 2,175,597 800,311

Southwest Pacific (West Papua [Irian 309,000 Jaya], Indonesia, western part; Papua New Guinea, eastern part)

Borneo

West mid-Pacific (Indonesian, south part; Brunei and Malaysian, north part)

287,300

744,108

Madagascar Baffin Sumatra Honshu

Indian Ocean (Malagasy Republic) North Atlantic (Canadian)

227,000 195,926

587,931 507,451 473,605 230,966

Northeast Indian Ocean (Indonesian) 182,859 Sea of JapanPacific (Japanese) 89,176

Great Britain

Off coast of NW Europe (England, Scotland, and Wales)

88,795

229,979

Victoria Ellesmere Sulawesi (Celebes) South Island Java North Island Cuba

Arctic Ocean (Canadian) Arctic Ocean (Canadian) West mid-Pacific (Indonesian)

83,896 75,767 73,057

217,291 196,236 189,218

South Pacific (New Zealand) Indian Ocean (Indonesian) South Pacific (New Zealand) Caribbean Sea (republic)

58,384 51,038 44,702 42,803 42,031 40,420 39,800 36,537

151,215 132,189 115,778 110,860 108,860 104,688 103,082 94,631

Newfoundland North Atlantic (Canadian) Luzon Iceland Mindanao West mid-Pacific (Philippines) North Atlantic (republic) West mid-Pacific (Philippines)

Highest Waterfalls of the World

Height Name(s) (foreign) Angel (Salto Angel) Location Source/River Feet Meters 979

Canaima Nat'l Park, upper trib. of Rio 3,212 Venezuela Caroni Tugela River 3,110

Tugela

Natal Nat'l Park, South Africa

947

Utigord (Utigordsfoss)

Norway

glacier fed

2,625

800

Monge (Mongefoss) Marstein, Norway Gocta Cataracts Mutarazi (Mtarazi) Chachapoyas, Peru

Mongebeck

2,540 2,532 2,499

774 771 762

Nyanga Nat'l Park, Mutarazi River Zimbabwe

Yosemite

Yosemite Nat'l Park, Yosemite Creek 2,425 California, U.S.

739

Espelands (Espelandsfoss) Lower Mar Valley (stra Mardolafoss) Tyssestrengene Cuquenan (Salto Kukenan)

Hardanger Fjord, Norway Eikesdal, Norway

Opo River

2,307

7031

Mardals Stream 2,151

6552

Odda, Norway Kukenan Tepuy, Venezuela

Tyssa River

2,123

6472 610

Cuquenan River 2,000

Principal Deserts of the World

Deserts are arid regions, generally receiving less than ten inches of precipitation a year, or regions where the potential evaporation rate is twice as great as the precipitation. The world's deserts are divided into four categories. Subtropical deserts are the hottest, with parched terrain and rapid evaporation. Although cool coastal deserts are located within the same latitudes as subtropical deserts, the average temperature is much cooler because of frigid offshore ocean currents. Cold winter deserts are marked by stark temperature differences from season to season, ranging from 100 F (38 C) in the summer to 10 F (12 C) in the winter. Polar regions are also

considered to be deserts because nearly all moisture in these areas is locked up in the form of ice.

Desert

Location

Size

Topography

SUBTROPICAL DESERTS Sahara Morocco, Western Sahara, Algeria, 3.5 million 70% gravel plains, sand, and dunes. Contrary to popular belief, the desert is only 30% sand. The world's largest nonpolar desert gets its name from the Arabic word Sahra', meaning desert Arabian Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, 1 million Gravel plains, rocky Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Yemen sq. mi. highlands; one-fourth is the Rub al-Khali (Empty Quarter), the world's largest expanse of unbroken sand Kalahari Botswana, South Africa, Namibia Australian Desert Gibson Australia (southern 120,000 Sandhills, gravel, grass. These three regions of desert are collectively referred to as 220,000 Sand sheets, longitudinal sq. mi. dunes

Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, sq. mi. Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Chad, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia

portion of the Western sq. mi. Desert)

Great Sandy

Australia (northern

150,000 the Great Western Desert otherwise known as the Outback. Contains Ayers 250,000 Rock, or Uluru, one of the world's largest monoliths

portion of the Western sq. mi. Desert)

Great Victoria

Australia

(southernmost portion sq. mi. of the Western Desert)

Simpson and Sturt Stony

Australia (eastern half 56,000 of the continent) sq. mi.

Simpson's straight, parallel sand dunes are the longest in the worldup to 125 mi. Encompasses the Stewart Stony Desert, named for the Australian explorer

Mojave

U.S.: Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, Utah, California

54,000 sq. mi.

Mountain chains, dry alkaline lake beds, calcium carbonate dunes

Sonoran

U.S.: Arizona, California; Mexico

120,000 Basins and plains bordered sq. mi. by mountain ridges; home to the Saguaro cactus

Chihuahuan Mexico; southwestern 175,000 Shrub desert; largest in North U.S. Thar India, Pakistan sq. mi. America

175,000 Rocky sand and sand dunes sq. mi.

COOL COASTAL DESERTS Namib Angola, Namibia, South Africa Atacama Chile 13,000 sq. mi. 54,000 sq. mi. COLD WINTER DESERTS Great Basin U.S.: Nevada, Oregon, Utah Colorado Plateau U.S.: Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming 190,000 Mountain ridges, valleys, 1% sq. mi. sand dunes Salt basins, sand, lava; world's driest desert Gravel plains

130,000 Sedimentary rock, mesas, sq. mi. and plateausincludes the Grand Canyon and is also called the Painted Desert because of the spectacular colors in its rocks and canyons

Patagonian Argentina

260,000 Gravel plains, plateaus, sq. mi. basalt sheets

Kara-Kum

Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan

135,000 90% gray layered sand sq. mi. name means black sand

Kyzyl-Kum

Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan

115,000 Sands, rockname means sq. mi. red sand

Iranian

Iran

100,000 Salt, gravel, rock

sq. mi. Taklamakan China 105,000 Sand, dunes, gravel sq. mi. Gobi China, Mongolia 500,000 Stony, sandy soil, steppes sq. mi. POLAR Arctic U.S., Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia Antarctic Antarctica 5.5 million sq. mi. Ice, snow, bedrock 5.4 million sq. mi. Snow, glaciers, tundra (dry grasslands)

Interesting Caves and Caverns of the World

Aggtelek. In village of same name, northern Hungary. Large stalactitic cavern about 5 mi. long. Altamira Cave. Near Santander, Spain. Contains Stone Age animal paintings on roof and walls. Antiparos. On island of same name in the Grecian Archipelago. Some stalactites are 20 ft. long. Brilliant colors and fantastic shapes.

Blue Grotto. On island of Capri, Italy. Sea cavern hollowed out in limestone by constant wave action. Now half filled with water because of sinking coast. Name derived from unusual blue light permeating the cave. Source of light is a submerged opening allowing light to pass through the water. Carlsbad Caverns. Southeast New Mexico. Contains some of the largest and most impressive stalactities and stalagmites, particularly in the Lechuguilla Cave. Fingal's Cave. On island of Staffa off coast of western Scotland. Penetrates about 200 ft. inland. Contains basaltic columns almost 40 ft. high. Jenolan Caves. In Blue Mountain plateau, New South Wales, Australia. Beautiful stalactitic formations. Kent's Cavern. Near Torquay, England. Source of much information on Paleolithic humans. Lascaux Cave. Southwestern France. Features prehistoric cave paintings estimated to be tens of thousands of years old. Closed to the public. Lubang Nasib Bagus. Sarawak, Malaysia. World's largest cave chamber: 2,300 ft. long, 1,480 ft. wide, and everywhere at least 230 ft. high.

Luray Caverns. Near Luray, Va. Has large stalactitic and stalagmitic columns of many colors. Mogao Caves. Located along the old Silk Route in China, Mogao is composed of 492 cells and cave sanctuaries that are famous for their statues and wall paintings, spanning a thousand years of Buddhist art. Mammoth Cave. This limestone cavern in central Kentucky is the longest cave system in the world. Cave area is about 10 mi. in diameter but has 345 mi. of irregular subterranean passageways at various levels, plus underground lakes and rivers. Peak Cavern or Devil's Hole. Derbyshire, England. About 2,250 ft. into a mountain. Lowest part is about 600 ft. below the surface. Postojna Grotto. Postojna, Slovenia. Largest cavern in Europe; numerous beautiful stalactites. Famous example of a karst cavegrooved and irregularly eroded limestone formations carved out by underground streams. Pivka River flows through part of it. Singing Cave. Iceland. A lava cave; name derived from echoes of people singing in it. Waitomo Cave. North Island, New Zealand. Glowworms on cave ceiling look like thousands of stars in the night sky.

Wind Cave. In Black Hills of South Dakota. Limestone caverns with stalactites and stalagmites almost entirely missing. Variety of crystal formations called boxwork. Wyandotte Cave. In Crawford County, southern Indiana. A limestone cavern with five levels of passages; one of the largest in North America. Monumental Mountain, approximately 135 ft. high, is believed to be one of the world's largest underground mountains.