Five Very Odd and Amazing Geography Facts
1. Sudan has more pyramids than any country in the world
There are 138 pyramids in Egypt and 255 have been discovered in Sudan. A single necropolis at Meroë boasts more pyramids than all of Egypt. Just like their Egyptian counterparts, the pyramids in Sudan were used for burial, but unlike those in Egypt, the pyramids in Sudan acted more like headstones with the burial chamber itself underneath. These pyramids are smaller and steeper than those in Egypt only about 98 feet high. Egyptian pyramids can be as high as 756 feet. Sadly, the pyramids of Sudan, while being UNESCO World Heritage site, do not get the same care as their Egyptian cousins. They are at risk of being buried by shifting sand, and that threat has been exacerbated by climate change, which has made the land more arid and sandstorms more frequent.
2. There are parts of Africa in all four hemispheres
First things first. Geographers count 4 hemispheres (Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Western) because a hemisphere divides a circle in half and the earth can be halved from north to south and from east to west. Now, how big is the African continent? Big enough that it is the only continent that spans all four of those.
3. There’s enough gold inside Earth to coat the planet
More than 99% of the earth's gold is missing! OK, it's not really missing. It actually sank to the center of the planet billions of years ago. People have been digging for gold in the planet's crust for at least 7,000 years. Gold has been discovered at many ancient burial grounds and it was one of the primary reasons the Romans invaded Britain and Transylvania. Geologist Bernard Wood estimates that there is enough gold in Earth's core to coat its surface in 1.5 feet of solid glittering gold.
4. Mexico City Is Sinking
The Aztecs filled in Lago de Texcoco to create an artificial island, and the Spaniards created a second location atop the ruins in 1521. 1. Current residents get their water from the aquifer underneath the city, but this isn't causing the city to sink. After the lake was drained, its dry bed started to compact and it never stopped. This may not seem like a big deal, but has already sunken about 30 feet and scientists estimate that it will sink another 98 feet in the next 150 years compounding what is already an infrastructure nightmare.
5. The Sargasso Sea Has No Coasts
Just off the eastern seaboard of the United States, there is a sea in the Atlantic Ocean. It is covered by Sargassum, a type of floating seaweed named by 15th-century Portuguese explorers who thought the air bladders of the Sargassum looked like fruit. It never touches land and is bounded only by ocean currents. It is so big and well known, that it was mentioned by Jules Verne in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. Unfortunately, the Sea's calm waters allow the sea to trap up to 200,000 pieces of trash per square kilometer in some areas, forming what’s been dubbed the North Atlantic Garbage Patch.
There are 138 pyramids in Egypt and 255 have been discovered in Sudan. A single necropolis at Meroë boasts more pyramids than all of Egypt. Just like their Egyptian counterparts, the pyramids in Sudan were used for burial, but unlike those in Egypt, the pyramids in Sudan acted more like headstones with the burial chamber itself underneath. These pyramids are smaller and steeper than those in Egypt only about 98 feet high. Egyptian pyramids can be as high as 756 feet. Sadly, the pyramids of Sudan, while being UNESCO World Heritage site, do not get the same care as their Egyptian cousins. They are at risk of being buried by shifting sand, and that threat has been exacerbated by climate change, which has made the land more arid and sandstorms more frequent.
2. There are parts of Africa in all four hemispheres
First things first. Geographers count 4 hemispheres (Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Western) because a hemisphere divides a circle in half and the earth can be halved from north to south and from east to west. Now, how big is the African continent? Big enough that it is the only continent that spans all four of those.
3. There’s enough gold inside Earth to coat the planet
More than 99% of the earth's gold is missing! OK, it's not really missing. It actually sank to the center of the planet billions of years ago. People have been digging for gold in the planet's crust for at least 7,000 years. Gold has been discovered at many ancient burial grounds and it was one of the primary reasons the Romans invaded Britain and Transylvania. Geologist Bernard Wood estimates that there is enough gold in Earth's core to coat its surface in 1.5 feet of solid glittering gold.
4. Mexico City Is Sinking
The Aztecs filled in Lago de Texcoco to create an artificial island, and the Spaniards created a second location atop the ruins in 1521. 1. Current residents get their water from the aquifer underneath the city, but this isn't causing the city to sink. After the lake was drained, its dry bed started to compact and it never stopped. This may not seem like a big deal, but has already sunken about 30 feet and scientists estimate that it will sink another 98 feet in the next 150 years compounding what is already an infrastructure nightmare.
5. The Sargasso Sea Has No Coasts
Just off the eastern seaboard of the United States, there is a sea in the Atlantic Ocean. It is covered by Sargassum, a type of floating seaweed named by 15th-century Portuguese explorers who thought the air bladders of the Sargassum looked like fruit. It never touches land and is bounded only by ocean currents. It is so big and well known, that it was mentioned by Jules Verne in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. Unfortunately, the Sea's calm waters allow the sea to trap up to 200,000 pieces of trash per square kilometer in some areas, forming what’s been dubbed the North Atlantic Garbage Patch.