Here Are 35 Of The Most Hard-To-Believe Geography Facts You Probably Never Knew
There are a lot of crazy things hidden in the world, and geography helps us understand them.
Some geography facts sound so strange that they almost feel made up, and that is exactly what makes this list so fun to read. From surprising country sizes to map details that do not match real life, these facts are the kind of trivia that can completely change how you look at the world.
This article pulls together 35 geography facts that are easy to overlook, but hard to forget once you see them. Each one highlights something unusual about the planet, the places on it, or the way we picture them on maps.
By the end, you may find yourself reaching for a globe just to double-check everything. Read on.
1. Though this isn't what we asked for, it is still super interesting.
drunk_portuguese2. This is actually insane to even imagine.
"Canada has more lakes than the rest of the world combined."
GOLDEN_GOATY3. Okay, this is both clever and interesting.
"Antarctica is the world's largest desert, as it doesn't receive much rainfall. Also, if you put a cherry on top of it, Antarctica is the world's largest dessert."
CrabbyBlueberry
4. Okay, Canada is bigger than I imagined.
"My parents in Canada live closer to me in England than they do to my in-laws in Canada."
Kurgan1536
5. I knew they were all rarer than diamonds, but this isn't geography.
"Rubies and sapphires are, in fact, the same mineral, and both of them, as well as emeralds, are actually rarer than diamonds."
Selkie_Muffin
6. I really can't even imagine this, but I believe it.
"Palm trees grow in Ireland at 53 degrees north. In Canada, at 55 degrees north, there are polar bears."
RemoteWasabi4
7. Oh, now this is a pretty cool fact.
"France's longest border is with Brazil."
IsItAboutMy_Cube
8. This is pretty interesting too, and now we can't complain about the dust because it's needed.
JackofScarlets
9. The world is a really crazy place.
"If you took a boat out of Reykjavík and sailed directly south, the first landmass you'd hit would be Antarctica."
RyzenRaider
10. Now this, I literally feel like I can't believe.
"Australia is wider than the moon."
fouryinthehouse
11. This was a lot of useful information, and clearly, this person knows what they are talking about.
Jtothe3rd
12. A lot of the actual proportions of places aren't right on the map.
"Alaska is actually HUGE. It’s larger than Montana, Texas, and California combined, yet it is illustrated on maps as being tiny."
Maximum_Mountain_446
13. This is actually wild to think about.
TheDarkBob
14. This is true, by the way, regarding the states and countries' locations.
"Despite Canada being the US’s 'neighbor to the north,' the majority of Canadians live south of Seattle."
Slant_Juicy
And if geography facts can sound made-up, this matches 70 bizarre events that prove our planet is weirder than science fiction.
15. This makes no sense to me when I see it on a map.
"The distance between New Zealand and Australia is roughly the same as the distance between the Netherlands and Libya."
Javanz
16. Wow, Asia has more mountains than I thought.
"There are 14 mountains over the height of 8,000 meters. All of them are in Asia."
victoryofsamothrace
17. This literally looks like it's from the future.
"Perth is the most isolated metropolis in the world."
maxchillstl
18. Again, the way we think countries are laid out is completely wrong.
"How far north Europe is. I always pictured Europe as roughly parallel to the US, so northern Europe would be at the same latitude as Minnesota and southern Europe as Florida.
Not even close. The UK is almost entirely north of the lower 48 states, and Rome is further north than New York City."
mordeci00
19. This is actually pretty crazy to think about.
Geronimo2U
20. Isn't it wild how all this geography stuff works?
"California is the closest state to Hawaii, but Hawaii is the furthest state from California."
bringbackbulaga
21. Both of these facts are absolutely astonishing to know.
"Texas is large enough that I could fit Copenhagen, Brussels, Zagreb, and Warsaw, with their real-life distances from each other, inside the state lines.
The Great Lakes contain enough fresh water to flood an area the size of Great Britain to over 100 meters deep."
whatifevery1wascalm
22. Okay, that's it, I'm moving to Australia.
Insaniac1
23. This one gives us a lot of new information to work with.
Taman_Should
24. That comparison is unbelievable.
Ohchrist-whatsnext
25. I didn't know that France had multiple islands.
kms2547
26. Canada and America are best friends.
Lexinator04
27. I just want to know how this makes sense.
"Alaska is simultaneously the furthest west, east, and northern point in the US."
robexib
28. I had no idea that this was a thing.
CurvyNB
29. How did I not know this was a thing?
l-am-Not-Me
30. Here's another one with a handful of awesome facts to learn about.
ArmyMedicalCrab
31. This is actually insane, and I had no idea it was that long.
anon
32. 14 countries?! That's wild.
"China has 14 neighboring countries."
Malk_McJorma
33. The map makes everything look much different than it is in real life.
JustABritishCupOfTea
34. Well, that's a short plane ride.
yingguopingguo
35. That's crazy when you put it into that perspective.
"Although I'm on the other side of the planet, only one country separates me from North Korea."
Core308
These geography facts have me wanting to look at a globe to figure out if some of these things are true. It's really wild what we don't know about our planet, other countries, and just what types of things are happening in the world today.
We hope that you learned at least one new fact today from this article.
Want more surprises like “Canada has more lakes than the rest of the world combined”? Then explore hidden corners of the world you’ve probably never heard of.
