Ten Geography Facts That Sound Made Up But Are Completely Real

History books tend to provide a general overview of history, the capitals, borders, major rivers, and the like, but not the details that make the subject strange and memorable. These are ten facts that were verified and are more than what's required.

The World's Tallest Waterfall Is Underwater

Angel Falls in Venezuela is NOT the highest waterfall in the world. It is the Denmark Strait Cataract, an underwater waterfall, 11,500 ft. deep, almost three times the height of Angel Falls, between Greenland and Iceland. It is created as a result of this sharp subsidence of dense, cold Arctic water over an undersea ridge where it meets warmer Atlantic water. The water flows at an average speed of 1.6 feet per second, even though the project is huge.

Suriname Is 93 Percent Forest With Almost No One Living In It

The overwhelming majority of Suriname's population lives on the thin coast strip, and 93 percent of the country is covered in thick Amazonian rainforest that is relatively untouched. Instead of sprawling inward over the years, the nation has basically remained at the coast, with much of its interior pristine but largely uninhabited.

Istanbul Is The Only City Spanning Two Continents

Istanbul is located on the Bosphorus Strait, with one part of the city in Europe and the other part in Asia. The strait itself links the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara, and the city's distinctive location means that visitors can go from continent to continent within the city no other major city in the world is in such a position.

The Closest Point on Earth to Outer Space Isn't Mount Everest

Actually, the highest point on the earth's surface is not Mount Everest, but Mount Chimborazo in Ecuador, which is farthest away from the heart of the earth or closest to space. This is because the Earth is not spherical, is bulging slightly at the equator, and Chimborazo lies closer to the bulge than Everest, although it isn't nearly so high in elevation.

Point Nemo Is Farther From People Than Astronauts On The Space Station

Commonly known as the oceanic pole of inaccessibility, Point Nemo is located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, more than 1,450 miles from any other land in any direction. The astronauts on the ISS are often the closest people to this point in the world, as the ISS is only 250 to 400 miles above the surface.

Bhutan Had No Real Urban Cities Until the Late 1960s

For much of its history, urban development was not feasible in Bhutan because of the Himalayan mountain ranges dominating its landscape. The narrow valley floors that settlements have developed on historically allowed for agriculture without the risk of slippage on steep slopes, and even the country's famous monasteries were built directly into cliff sides and ridgelines and not on open flat land.

The US-Canada Border Is The Longest International Border On Earth

Stretching 5,525 miles across 13 US states and eight Canadian provinces and territories, the US-Canada border is the longest shared border between two countries in the world. Although long, it is nowhere near as heavily guarded as it might be with armed patrols and is mostly lakes, forests, and small towns and not checkpoints.

Reno Is Farther West Than Los Angeles

On a map, Reno is east of California, but on a map of longitude, Reno is actually to the west of Los Angeles. This is because the coastline of Southern California is a fairly sharp bend southeast as it nears the Mexican border, sending Los Angeles well east of where most people think it is, and Nevada's border runs far enough west to put Reno slightly ahead.

A River In Botswana Never Reaches The Sea

Water from Angola flows through the Okavango Delta in northern Botswana but never reaches the ocean; instead, it spreads out and vanishes into the sands of the Kalahari Desert. This dead end makes it one of the most biologically diverse inland wetlands in the world and serves as habitat for large elephant and hippo populations in the middle of an otherwise dry landscape.

Holland Is Not The Same As The Netherlands

The Netherlands is sometimes called the country of Holland, but Holland is actually the Netherlands' two northern provinces, North Holland and South Holland. The naming confusion goes back to the beginning of the Dutch Golden Age, when the two provinces dominated the economy, and by extension, the entire country was often referred to by this name, albeit without the 10 other provinces.

Why These Facts Matter

Traditional geography classes typically include information about countries and their various attributes, such as borders, capital cities, and size of the landmass, but not how physical geography influences everyday life, culture, and even national identity. Examples demonstrate that geography is not simply about 'place.' It dictates where cities can be built, how time itself is measured, and even which rivers are credited with accessing the ocean, at all.