Fun Geography Facts and Geography Trivia 3

The Jordanian city Amman was once called Philadelphia.

The largest body of fresh water in the world is Lake Superior.

The largest US city in area is Juneau, Alaska, which covers 3,108 square miles. Los Angeles covers only 458.2 square miles.

The Ohio river forms at the confluence of the Allegheny and the Monongahela.

The only continent without reptiles or snakes is Antarctica.

The original name of Los Angeles was El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de los Angeles del rio Porciuncula, translating into:The Village of our Lady the Queen of the Angels of the Porciuncula River.

The Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal is farther East than the Atlantic entrance.

The Pantheon is the largest building from ancient Rome that survives intact.

The river Danube empties into the Black Sea.

The San Diego Zoo in California has the largest collection of animals in the world.

The seven hills of Rome are the Palatine (on which the original city was built), the Capitoline, Quirinal, Viminal, Esquiline, Caelian, and Aventine.

The tallest monument built in the US, the Gateway Arch, in St. Louis, Missouri, is 630 feet tall.

The US city with the highest murder rate is Detroit, with 45.3 homicides per 100,000 people.

The Vatican's Swiss Guard still wears a uniform designed by Michelangelo in the early 16th century.

The water in the Great Salt Lake of Utah is more than four times saltier than any ocean.

The wettest spot in the world is located on the island of Kauai. Mt. Waialeale consistently records rainfall at the rate of nearly 500 inches per year.

The world's smallest independent state is the Vatican City, with a population of about 1,000 - and a zero birthrate.

The world's longest railway is in Peru. The Central Railway climbs to 15,694 feet in the Galera tunnel, 108 miles from Lima. Tourists take it to get to the ruins of Machu Picchu.

The world's longest suspension bridge opened to traffic on April 5, 1998. The 3,911-meter (12,831-feet) Akashi Kaikyo Bridge is 580 meters (1,900 feet) longer than the Humber Bridge in England, the previous record holder.

The world's tallest mountains, the Himalayas, are also the fastest growing. Their growth - about half an inch a year - is caused by the pressure exerted by two of Earth's continental plates (the Eurasian plate and the Indo-Australian plate) pushing against one another.