The Most Extreme Facts About Planet Earth

BL08A50P06VHXL

  • 134 degrees is the hottest ever recorded temperature, measured in 2013 in Death Valley, California.
  • 128 degrees below zero is the coldest ever recorded temperature, measured in 1983 at Vostok Station, Antarctica.
  • 9.5 was the Richter scale measurement of the largest earthquake in recorded history (Chile, May 22, 1960).
  • 1,720 feet was the height of the biggest wave ever recorded (1958, Lituya Bay, Alaska).
  • The highest wind speed ever recorded occurred in 1996 on Barrow Island, Australia. During Cyclone Olivia, wind speeds reached 253 miles per hour.
  • Mount Everest is Earth’s highest point above sea level, towering 29,035 feet. If you measure from the ocean floor, Hawaii’s Mauna Kea is the world’s tallest peak, at 32,808 feet.
  • 36,070 feet below sea level is the depth of the Mariana Trench, the deepest point on Earth. It’s so deep that if Mount Everest were placed in it, the mountain would be covered by one mile of water.
  • 4,258 miles is the length of the Nile, Earth’s longest river.
  • At 1,407 feet below sea level, the shores of the Dead Sea are the lowest point on the planet.
  • 6.6 million square miles is the size of Russia, the world’s largest country.
  • 0.2 square miles is the size of Vatican City, the world’s smallest country.
  • The continent of Antarctica is the world’s largest desert (5.4 million square miles). The next largest is the Sahara (3.6 million square miles).

1 Comment

  1. 134 degrees was recorded in 1913 in Death Valley, CA, not 2013. Guinness World Records can confirm. Guess that was a typo.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.