Are You a Geography Guru?

The largest country on the planet by area is Russia. It is over 17 million square kilometers, which equals about 11% of the total landmass of the entire planet. The next closest is Canada.

The Nile River is the longest river on the planet with a length of 6,650 km. It is the primary water source for both Egypt and Sudan, and passes through 11 different African countries.

Before the continents split and found themselves in the positions they are in now, the world looked very different. All the land was connected and formed Pangaea. It began to break apart around 175 million years ago.

That's right, there are well over 7,000 different islands in the Philippines. However, only about 2,000 of them are actually inhabited, and over 5,000 of the islands have not even officially been named.

There have been several countries that have been formed in recent decades, but none is newer than South Sudan. South Sudan was officially formed in 2011, after many years of civil war.

China is the most populous country on the planet with a population of over 1.4 billion people. However, India is right on its tail with almost 1.4 billion, and growing much faster.

There is no larger mountain peak in North America than Denali. The peak of Denali stands at over 6,190 meters, which makes it one of the tallest peaks on the planet. It is located in Alaska.

Approximately 71% of the surface of the planet is covered by water. Most of this is the oceans, as they hold over 95% of all the water in the world. When you think about how much land there is, this number seems almost unbelievable.

Located in the northern part of Africa, the largest non-polar desert is the Sahara. It is around 9 million square kilometers and goes through numerous countries including Algeria, Chad and Egypt.

There are many densely populated cities on the planet, but none more than Manila. Despite Manila only being around 38 square km in size, it is home to over 1.7 million residents. So about 40,000 people live in every square kilometer.

The Blarney Stone is a block of limestone that is located in Ireland. It is famous, as kissing it is supposed to give a person "the gift of gab". It is a very popular tourist destination.

No state capital is home to fewer people than Montpelier. The capital of Vermont has less than 8,000 people who live there today. The population does grow a bit during the day as there are many jobs in the city.

Cuba is the largest country in the Caribbean, by quite a large margin. It is more than twice the size of the next largest, the Dominican Republic. Despite the size, the population of Cuba is only slightly larger than that of the DR.

Back in the day, Pompeii was a thriving city in Italy. Unfortunately, the city was buried under about 20 feet of volcanic ash after an eruption, which destroyed the city. The site of Pompeii is now a very popular tourist attraction in Italy.

Machu Picchu, an Inca citadel from the 15th century, is located in Peru. It is designated as a World Heritage site and about 1.5 million tourists from all over the planet visit it annually.

The Big Apple is none other than the nickname for New York City. The nickname was first coined by sportswriter John J. Fitzgerald in the 1920s and it has stuck for nearly a century now.

All of the mentioned locations are part of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World, except for the Leaning Tower of Pisa. The tower, which is a popular tourist attraction, was actually only completed in 1372.

The Angel Falls are the tallest non-underwater waterfall on the planet. They are located in Venezuela and stand at 979 meters tall, or over 3,200 feet. They first became known to the outside world in 1933 when aviator Jimmie Angel flew over them.

The Amazon Rainforest is currently home to 427 different species of mammals. They come in all different shapes and sizes. As far as total species of animals, that number is well into the tens of thousands or higher.

The capital city of China is Beijing. It is also home to around 21 million people, second only to the 24 million who live in Shanghai. In total, China has more than 100 cities with more than 1 million people.

The Alaska Range is the tallest mountain range in North America. While it is relatively short and narrow compared to other ranges, the mountains in the range are incredibly tall, including Denali.

Ottawa is located in the province of Ontario. It is the most populous province in the country, and is home to several other large cities such as Toronto, Hamilton and London, to name a few.

The island is shared between Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The Dominican Republic is one of the most popular tourist destinations on the planet, and is among the strongest economies in Latin America.

Germany shares a border with many different countries, nine to be exact. This includes the likes of Denmark, Poland, Austria, France Belgium and several others. This position has often put it at a disadvantage when it comes to wars.

Canada, which is among the largest countries on the planet, has the longest coastline by a wide margin. With the Arctic Ocean, Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean all represented, Canada has over 200,000 km of total coastline.

The bottom of the Marianas Trench, known as Challenger Deep, is the deepest discovered place on the planet. It is around 11,000 meters below sea level, and has only been reached by six humans.

No country or sovereign state has less people than Vatican City. Located within the confines of Rome, Vatican City is home to well under 1,000 people, which makes it smaller than most cities, let alone countries.

Despite being called the Caspian Sea, it is regarded as the largest lake on the planet. Its area is 371,000 square km, which is around four times that of Lake Superior, which comes in as the second largest.

While it is close, more people speak Spanish in South America than any other language, narrowly beating out Portuguese. About 210 million people speak Spanish there, while another 205 million or so speak Portuguese.

The longest highway and road on the planet by a wide margin is the Pan American Highway. It is around 30,000 km and begins in the north of Alaska and goes to Argentina, passing through many different countries on the way.

Mount Fuji resides in Japan, and is the highest volcano in the country at 3,776 meters tall. Because of its aesthetic snow-capped cone, and the fact it is visible from Tokyo on a clear day, it is very commonly depicted in photos.

The capital and largest city in Norway is Oslo. It has a population of around 690,000 people, and has been the capital city of Norway for a very long time. It is a global city and known for offering a high quality of life.

The United Nations has offices and representation across the planet, but the headquarters is located in New York City. The building was completed in 1952 for $65 million and features 39 floors.

There are many different religions that people can follow, but the most popular on the planet is Christianity. It is believed that there are around 2.4 billion Christians on the planet.

The largest ocean in the world is the Pacific. It measures 165,250,000 square kilometers in terms of area, and it covers about one-third of the planet. That means that the Pacific Ocean is about as large, or larger, than all of the land on earth.