Earth Facts / World Facts

Wolffia globosa – smallest flower in the world

Wolffia Globosa

Wolffia globosa or Water-meal can weigh about 1/190,000 of an ounce, equivalent to two grains of table salt. They are very hard to see! if you tried to fill a thimble with them, it is estimated that you would need some 5000 plants! Wolffia is a genus of 9 to 11 species which include the smallest flowering plants on Earth. …

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100 lightning strikes occur worldwide every second

lightning

Average 100 lightning strikes occur worldwide every second.  Cloud-to-ground lightning bolts are a common phenomenon, yet their power is extraordinary. Each bolt can contain up to one billion volts of electricity. The average number of strikes varies with location, season, and many other variables. A number of studies have been done using lightning detection networks located in some countries and using …

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Wind reached 371 km/h on Mount Washington

MT Washington wind

In 1934, a gust of wind reached 371 km/h on Mount Washington in New Hampshire, USA. The now second highest surface wind speed ever officially recorded is 372 km/h (231 mph; 103 m/s) at the Mount Washington (New Hampshire) Observatory : 6,288 ft -1917 metres above sea – level in the US on 12 April 1934, using a heated anemometer. …

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Angel Falls Venezuela – The highest waterfall in the world

Angel Falls 04

Angel Falls in Venezuela is the worlds highest waterfall, The water of Falls drops 3,212 feet (979 meters). The “Salto Angel” (Angel Falls) is three times the size of the Eiffel Tower. The waterfall was not known to the Western world until it was visited in 1935 by the American aviator, James Crawford Angel, on a flight whilst searching for a …

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Total surface area of the Earth

Earth Land & Water

The total surface area of the Earth is 197 million square miles or 510 million square kilometers. The Earth is a water heavy planet, so, if you break its surface area into water and land segments, it would look like this: Land 149 million km Water 361 million km

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Word Arctic comes from the ancient Greek Arktikos

Arctic Bear

The word “Arctic” comes from the ancient Greek Arktikos, or “country of the great bear.” Though the Greeks had no knowledge of the polar bear, they named the region after the constellation Ursus Major, the Great Bear, found in the Northern Sky.

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