Monday, April 11, 2011

World's Largest Dams

World's Largest Dams



Dam LocationVolume (thousands)Year completed
cu mcu yds
Three GorgesChina39,300,00051,402,459UC08
Syncrude TailingsCanada540,000706,320UC
ChapetónArgentina296,200387,410UC
PatiArgentina238,180274,026UC
New Cornelia TailingsUnited States209,500274,0261973
TarbelaPakistan121,720159,2101976
KambaratinskKyrgyzstan112,200146,758UC
Fort PeckMontana96,049125,6281940
Lower UsumaNigeria93,000121,6441990
CipasangIndonesia90,000117,720UC
AtatürkTurkey84,500110,5221990
Yacyretá-ApipeParaguay/Argentina81,000105,9441998
Guri (Raúl Leoni)Venezuela78,000102,0141986
RogunTajikistan75,50098,7501985
OaheSouth Dakota70,33992,0001963
ManglaPakistan65,65185,8721967
GardinerCanada65,44085,5921968
AfsluitdijkNetherlands63,40082,9271932
OrovilleCalifornia59,63978,0081968
San LuisCalifornia59,40577,7001967
NurekTajikistan58,00075,8611980
GarrisonNorth Dakota50,84366,5001956
CochitiNew Mexico48,05262,8501975
Tabka (Thawra)Syria46,00060,1681976
Bennett W.A.C.Canada43,73357,2011967
TucuruíiBrazil43,00056,2421984
BorucaCosta Rica43,00056,242UC
High Aswan (Sadd-el-Aali)Egypt43,00056,2421970
San RoquePhilippines43,00056,242UC
KievUkraine42,84156,0341964
Dantiwada Left EmbankmentIndia41,04053,6801965
SaratovRussia40,40052,8431967
Mission Tailings 2Arizona40,08852,4351973
Fort RandallSouth Dakota38,22750,0001953
KanevUkraine37,86049,5201976
MosulIraq36,00047,0861982
KakhovkaUkraine35,64046,6171955
ItumbiaraBrazil35,60046,5631980
LauwerszeeNetherlands35,57546,5321969
BeasIndia35,41846,3251974
OosterscheldeNetherlands35,00045,7781986


NOTE: UC = under construction. 
Source: Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation and International Water Power and Dam Construction.
Information Please® Database, © 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved

Principal Deserts of the World

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 desertsare 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.
 
DesertLocationSizeTopography
SUBTROPICAL DESERTS
SaharaMorocco, Western Sahara, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Chad, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia3.5 million sq. mi.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
ArabianSaudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Yemen1 million sq. mi.Gravel plains, rocky highlands; one-fourth is the Rub al-Khali (“Empty Quarter”), the world's largest expanse of unbroken sand
KalahariBotswana, South Africa, Namibia220,000 sq. mi.Sand sheets, longitudinal dunes
Australian Desert
   
 GibsonAustralia (southern portion of the Western Desert)120,000 sq. mi.Sandhills, gravel, grass. These three regions of desert are collectively referred to as the Great Western Desert—otherwise known as “the Outback.” Contains Ayers Rock, or Uluru, one of the world's largest monoliths
 Great SandyAustralia (northern portion of the Western Desert)150,000 sq. mi.
 Great VictoriaAustralia (southernmost portion of the Western Desert)250,000 sq. mi.
 Simpson and
  Sturt Stony
Australia (eastern half of the continent)56,000 sq. mi.Simpson's straight, parallel sand dunes are the longest in the world—up to 125 mi. Encompasses the Stewart Stony Desert, named for the Australian explorer
MojaveU.S.: Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, Utah, California54,000 sq. mi.Mountain chains, dry alkaline lake beds, calcium carbonate dunes
SonoranU.S.: Arizona, California; Mexico120,000 sq. mi.Basins and plains bordered by mountain ridges; home to the Saguaro cactus
ChihuahuanMexico; southwestern U.S.175,000 sq. mi.Shrub desert; largest in North America
TharIndia, Pakistan175,000 sq. mi.Rocky sand and sand dunes


COOL COASTAL DESERTS
NamibAngola, Namibia, South Africa13,000 sq. mi.Gravel plains
AtacamaChile54,000 sq. mi.Salt basins, sand, lava; world's driest desert
COLD WINTER DESERTS
Great BasinU.S.: Nevada, Oregon, Utah190,000 sq. mi.Mountain ridges, valleys, 1% sand dunes
Colorado PlateauU.S.: Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming130,000 sq. mi.Sedimentary rock, mesas, and plateaus—includes the Grand Canyon and is also called the “Painted Desert” because of the spectacular colors in its rocks and canyons
PatagonianArgentina260,000 sq. mi.Gravel plains, plateaus, basalt sheets
Kara-Kum Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan135,000 sq. mi.90% gray layered sand—name means “black sand”
Kyzyl-Kum Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan115,000 sq. mi.Sands, rock—name means “red sand”
IranianIran100,000 sq. mi.Salt, gravel, rock
TaklamakanChina105,000 sq. mi.Sand, dunes, gravel
GobiChina, Mongolia500,000 sq. mi.Stony, sandy soil, steppes (dry grasslands)
POLAR
ArcticU.S., Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia5.4 million sq. mi.Snow, glaciers, tundra
AntarcticAntarctica5.5 million sq. mi.Ice, snow, bedrock

Important Lines and Boundaries

Important Lines and Boundaries



Durand Line is the line demarcating the boundaries of India and Afghanistan. It was drawn up in 1896 by Sir Mortimer Durand.
Hindenburg Line is the boundary dividing Germany and Poland. The Germans retreated to this line in 1917 during World War I.
Mason-Dixon Line is a line of demarcation between four states in the United States.
Marginal Line was the 320 km line of fortification built by France along its border with Germany before World War II, to protect its boundary from German attack.
Mannerheim Line is the line of fortification on the Russia-Finland border. Drawn up by General Mannerheim.
MacMahon Line was drawn up by Sir. Henry MacMahon, demarcating the frontier of India and China. China did not recognize the MacMahon line and crossed it in 1962.
Medicine Line is the border between Canada and the United States.
Order-Neisse Line is the border between Poland and Germany, running along the Order and Neisse rivers, adopted at the Poland Conference (Aug 1945) after World War II.
Radcliffe Line was drawn up by Sir Cyril Radcliffe, demarcating the boundary between India and Pakistan. Siegfried Line is the line of fortification drawn up by Germany on its border with France.
17th Parallel defined the boundary between North Vietnam and South Vietnam before the two were united.
24th Parallel is the line which Pakistan claims for demarcation between India and Pakistan. This, however, is not recognized by India.
26th parallel south is a circle of latitude which crosses through Africa, Australia and South America.
30th parallel north is a line of latitude that stands one-third of the way between the equator and the North Pole.

33rd parallel north is a circle of latitude which cuts through the southern United States, parts of North Africa, parts of the Middle East, and China.
35th parallel north forms the boundary between the State of North Carolina and the State of Georgia and the boundary between the State of Tennessee arid the State of Georgia, the State of Alabama, and the State of Mississippi.
36th parallel forms the southernmost boundary of the State of Missouri With the State of Arkansas.
36°30' parallel north forms the boundary between the Tennessee and Commonwealth of Kentucky between the Tennessee River and the Mississippi River, the boundary between Missouri and Arkansas west of the White River, and the northernmost boundary between the Texas and the Oklahoma.
37th parallel north formed the southern boundary of the historic and extralegal Territory of Jefferson.
38th Parallel is the parallel of latitude which separates North Korea and South Korea.
39th parallel north is an imaginary circle of latitude that is 39 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane.
40th parallel north formed the original northern boundary of the British Colony of Maryland.
41st parallel north forms the northern boundary of the State of Colorado with Nebraska and Wyoming and the southern boundary of the State of Wyoming with Colorado and Utah.
42nd parallel north forms most of the New York - Pennsylvania Border.
43rd parallel north forms most of the boundary between the State of Nebraska and the State of South Dakota and also formed the northern border of the historic and extralegal Territory of Jefferson.
The parallel 44° north is an imaginary circle of latitude that is 44 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane.
45th parallel north is often called the halfway point between the Equator and the North Pole. The 45th parallel makes up most of the boundary between Montana and Wyoming.
45th parallel of south latitude is the east-west line that marks the theoretical halfway point between the equator and the South Pole.
49th Parallel is the boundary between USA and Canada.

Large Islands of the World


Large Islands of the World
 
IslandLocation and Political AffiliationArea
sq. mi.sq. km
GreenlandNorth Atlantic (Danish)839,9992,175,597
New GuineaSouthwest Pacific (West Papua [Irian Jaya], Indonesia, western part; Papua New Guinea, eastern part)309,000800,311
BorneoWest mid-Pacific (Indonesian, south part; Brunei and Malaysian, north part)287,300744,108
MadagascarIndian Ocean (Malagasy Republic)227,000587,931
BaffinNorth Atlantic (Canadian)195,926507,451
SumatraNortheast Indian Ocean (Indonesian)182,859473,605
HonshuSea of Japan–Pacific (Japanese)89,176230,966
Great BritainOff coast of NW Europe (England, Scotland, and Wales)88,795229,979
VictoriaArctic Ocean (Canadian)83,896217,291
EllesmereArctic Ocean (Canadian)75,767196,236
Sulawesi (Celebes)West mid-Pacific (Indonesian)73,057189,218
South IslandSouth Pacific (New Zealand)58,384151,215
JavaIndian Ocean (Indonesian)51,038132,189
North IslandSouth Pacific (New Zealand)44,702115,778
CubaCaribbean Sea (republic)42,803110,860
NewfoundlandNorth Atlantic (Canadian)42,031108,860
LuzonWest mid-Pacific (Philippines)40,420104,688
IcelandNorth Atlantic (republic)39,800103,082
MindanaoWest mid-Pacific (Philippines)36,53794,631
IrelandWest of Great Britain (republic, south part; United Kingdom, north part)32,59784,426
HokkaidoSea of Japan–Pacific (Japanese)32,24583,515
Sakhalin (Karafuto)North of Japan (Russian)29,50076,405
HispaniolaCaribbean Sea (Dominican Republic, east part; Haiti, west part)29,30075,887
BanksArctic Ocean (Canadian)27,03870,028
TasmaniaSouth of Australia (Australian)26,20067,858
Sri Lanka (Ceylon)Indian Ocean (republic)24,90064,491
DevonArctic Ocean (Canadian)21,33155,247
Tierra del FuegoSouthern tip of South America (Argentinian, east part; Chilean, west part)18,60548,187
Axel HeibergArctic Ocean (Canadian)16,67143,178
MelvilleArctic Ocean (Canadian)16,27442,149
KyushuSea of Japan–Pacific (Japanese)16,22342,018
SouthamptonHudson Bay (Canadian)15,91341,214

Biggest Countries (In Population)


Biggest Countries (In Population)
 
World's 50 Most Populous Countries: 2007



RankCountryPopulation
1.China1,321,851,888
2.India1,129,866,154
3.United States301,139,947
4.Indonesia234,693,997
5.Brazil190,010,647
6.Pakistan169,270,617
7.Bangladesh150,448,339
8.Russia141,377,752
9.Nigeria135,031,164
10.Japan127,467,972
11.Mexico108,700,891
12.Philippines91,077,287
13.Vietnam85,262,356
14.Germany82,400,996
15.Egypt80,264,543
16.Ethiopia76,511,887
17.Turkey71,158,647
18.Iran65,397,521
19.Thailand65,068,149
20.Congo, Dem. Rep.64,606,759
21.France61,083,916
22.United Kingdom60,776,238
23.Italy58,147,733
24.Korea, South49,044,790
25.Myanmar  (Burma)47,373,958
26.Ukraine46,299,862
27.Colombia44,227,550
28.South Africa43,997,828
29.Sudan42,292,929
30.Spain40,448,191
31.Argentina40,301,927
32.Poland38,518,241
33.Tanzania38,139,640
34.Kenya36,913,721
35.Morocco33,757,175
36.Canada33,390,141
37.Algeria33,333,216
38.Afghanistan31,889,923
39.Uganda30,262,610
40.Nepal28,901,790
41.Peru28,674,757
42.Uzbekistan27,780,059
43.Saudi Arabia27,601,038
44.Iraq27,499,638
45.Venezuela26,084,662
46.Malaysia24,821,286
47.Korea, North23,301,725
48.Taiwan23,174,294
49.Ghana22,931,299
50.Romania22,276,056


Biggest Countries (In Area)

Biggest Countries (In Area)
 
The Twenty Largest Countries in Area in the World


No.CountriesArea
sq. kmsq. mi
1Russia17,075,200 6,591,027
2Canada9,984,6703,854,082
3United States9,631,4183,717,727
4China9,596,9603,704,426
5Brazil8,511,9653,285,618
6Australia7,686,8502,967,124
7India3,287,5901,269,009
8Argentina2,766,8901,068,019
9Kazakhstan2,717,3001,048,877
10Sudan2,505,810967,243
11Algeria2,381,740919,352
12Congo, Democratic Republic of the2,345,410905,328
13Mexico1,972,550761,404
14Saudi Arabia1,960,582756,785
15Indonesia1,919,440740,904
16Libya1,759,540679,182
17Iran1,648,000636,128
18Mongolia1,564,116603,749
19Peru1,285,220496,095
20Chad1,284,000495,624

Complete Listing of World Wonders

Complete Listing of World Wonders





The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
• The Great Pyramid of Giza
• The Hanging Gardens of Babylon
• The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus
• The Statue of Zeus at Olympia
• The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus
• The Colossus of Rhodes
• The Pharos of Alexandria
 
The Seven Wonders of the Medieval Mind
• Stonehenge
• The Colosseum
• The Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa
• The Great Wall of China
• The Porcelain Tower of Nanjing
• The Hagia Sophia
• The Leaning Tower of Pisa

The Seven Natural Wonders of the World
• Mount Everest
• The Great Barrier Reef
• The Grand Canyon
• Victoria Falls
• The Harbor of Rio de Janeiro
• Paricutin Volcano
• The Northern Lights
 
The Seven Underwater Wonders of the World
• Palau
• The Belize Barrier Reef
• The Galapagos Islands
• The Northern Red Sea
• Lake Baikal
• The Great Barrier Reef
• The Deep Sea Vents
 
The Seven Wonders of the Modern World
• The Empire State Building
• The Itaipú Dam
• The CN Tower
• The Panama Canal
• The Channel Tunnel
• The North Sea Protection Works
• The Golden Gate Bridge
 
The Seven Forgotten Natural Wonders of the World
• Angel Falls
• The Bay of Fundy
• Iguaçú Falls
• Krakatoa Island
• Mount Fuji
• Mount Kilimanjaro
• Niagara Falls
 
The Seven Forgotten Modern Wonders of the World
• The Clock Tower (Big Ben)
• Eiffel Tower
• The Gateway Arch
• The Aswan High Dam
• Hoover Dam
• Mount Rushmore National Memorial
• The Petronas Towers
 
The Seven Forgotten Wonders of the Medeival Mind
• Abu Simbel Temple
• Angkor Wat
• Taj Mahal
• Mont Saint-Michel
• The Moai Statues
• The Parthenon
• The Shwedagon Pagoda
 
The Forgotten Wonders
• The Aztec Temple
• The Banaue Rice Terraces
• The Borobudur Temple
• The Inca City
• The Statue of Liberty
• The Mayan Temples
• The Temple of the Inscriptions
• The Throne Hall of Persepolis
• Petra
• The Suez Canal
• The Sydney Opera House
• The Red Fort in India