WORLD GEOGRAPHY FACTS

1. Netherlands is the most densely populated country of Western Europe.

2. France is the second largest nuclear energy producer after USA

3. World Average of Urbanization is 43%.

4. Portugal is one of the least urbanized European countries – only 30 %.

5. Iceland, U.K., Belgium, Netherlands & Spain – 90% Urbanization

6. Latifundia – Europe, Haciendas – Latin America, Ranches – USA, Stations – Australia, Entancias in South America.

7. Primary sector – red collar; secondary sector – blue collar; tertiary sector – pink collar; quaternary sector – white collar; quinary services – gold collar.

18. Nigeria has the highest rate of deforestation in the world & Brazil looses the maximum forest area.

19. Shifting cultivation is known as Ladang in Malaysia, Caingin in Philippines, Humah in Indonesia, Chena in Srilanka, Milpa in Africa & Central America & Taungya in Myanmar.

20. Santos is the major coffee port of Brazil accounting for 3/4th of the export handling.

21. Mocha coffee is from Yemen.

22. India is a net importer of copper.

23. The only area in the world where zinc is mined without lead is the Franklin Furnace area in New Jersey State of USA.

24. Republic of Congo is the largest producer of industrial diamonds.

25. Nearly three-fourths of the electric requirement needs of South American countries are met through hydroelectricity.


26. Benelux countries include Belgium, Netherlands & Luxembourg.

27. Atlanta is the busiest airport in the world, followed by Chicago airport.

28. Israel is the most urbanized country in the world with >90% urban population.

29. Orinoco river of Venezuela rises in the Guiana Highlands & passes through llanos.

30. Shrublands – chaparral in California, macques in Mediterranean region, the caatinga of northeastern Brazil, and the mallee of Australia, which is dominated by low-growing eucalyptus.

31. South of the Great European Plain, a band of dissimilar geological structures sweeps across Europe, creating the most intricate landscapes of the continent—the Central European Uplands. Throughout this region the forces of folding (the Jura range), faulting (the Vosges and Black Forest mountains), volcanism (the Massif Central, or central highlands, of France), and uplift (the Meseta Central, or central plateau, of Spain) have interacted to create alternating mountains, plateaus, and valleys.

32. Islamabad is situated on Potwar plateau.

33. Period of rotation is the longest for the planet Venus & shortest for Jupiter. Venus takes longer time to complete one rotation on its axis than one revolution around the sun. Mercury & Venus do not have any satellites. Mars has two satellites & Pluto has one.

34. Venus is closest planet to earth. Venus is also the hottest planet in the solar system perhaps due to its slow rotation causing longer exposure of a particular area to sun.

35. The period of revolution of planets increases outwards without any exception. The linear distance of a degree of latitude on an average is 69 miles. The length of longitudes outside tropics varies widely. Vernal equinox is on March 22 & autumnal equinox on September 23.

36. Earth is the densest of all planets & Saturn has the least density. Earth is almost twice the radius of mars & roughly equal to Venus. Uranus is slightly bigger than Neptune.

37. Caledonian movement (e.g. Scottish highlands) & Hercynian movement (Harz mountain range in central Germany) took place during Devonian period & Permian period respectively.

38. Pleistocene epoch is best known for emergence of humans & Great Ice age.

39. Annual range of temperature is the difference between the mean monthly temperatures of the warmest & the coldest months. The difference is not between highest & lowest temperature.

40. In absolute humidity the denominator is dry air while in specific humidity it is moist air. The temperature at which an air parcel gets saturated at its present moisture level is called dew point.

41. Stratiform or layered clouds; Cumuliform or globular clouds. Cirrus or highest clouds & Alto or medium clouds. Nimbus or rain bearing clouds. Stratus clouds are very close to ground surface.

42. Cirrocumulus clouds form ‘mackerel clouds’ & cirrostratus clouds produce ‘haloes’. Alto-cumulus are called sheep clouds. Rain falling from nimbo-stratus but not reaching ground is called virga. Low clouds less than 2 km high are stratus, cumulus, stratocumulus & nimbostratus & these are the only ones which give precipitation.

43. Slope of the warm front is much gentler (1:100 or less) than cold front (~1:50). In the warm front
precipitation is gradual but of long duration. In cold front precipitation is short but in the form of heavy
downpour.

44. One fathom = 1.84 meters. The width of the continental shelf on the western coast of India is broader than the eastern coast as the former is coastline of submergence & latter is emergence.

45. Flat-topped seamounts are called guyots (pronounced “gee-o”).

46. Mariana trench, off the island of Guam, Emden Deep off Philippines, & kuril trench in which lies the famous Tuscarora Deep & Mindanao deep (Mindanao, island of the Philippines, the second largest, after Luzon and southernmost of the country's islands) are prominent in Pacific.

47. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge breaks the ocean's surface in several places, forming seven islands or groups of islands. From north to south, these islands include Iceland, the Azores, Saint Peter and Saint Paul Rocks, Ascension, Saint Helena, Tristan da Cunha, and Bouvet.

48. Strait of Hormuz, linking the Persian Gulf on the west, with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea on the east. Bab el Mandeb connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden.

49. Salinity is equatorial areas is lower than in the tropical areas. It’s lowest in polar areas. Great Salt lake in Utah has a salinity of 220 %, Dead Sea has 240 %, & Lake Van in Asia Minor has 330 %.

50. Lake Laguna De Bay (Philippines), Lake Biwa (Japan), Lake Tiberias (Israel & Syria), Lake Asad (Syria), Lake Sevan (Armenia)

51. From the equatorial region, water density tends to rise in the tropics. From the tropics to the middle
latitudes there is a decline & it increases again in polar areas due to temperature decline.

52. Kuril Island - small volcanic islands in far eastern Russia, separating the Sea of Okhotsk from the Pacific Ocean. Faroe Island is under Denmark. Orkney Islands lie north of Scotland.

53. In 24 hours & 52 minutes every place will have two high tides & two low tides. Two successive high tides are about 12 hours & 26 minutes apart & the time difference between the high tide & the following low tide is about 6 hrs 13 minutes. The extra 52 minutes are caused due to revolution of the moon around the earth in the same direction i.e. west to east. The tidal magnitude at a given meridian will be more in the low latitudes & lesser in the higher latitudes due to the greater centrifugal force on the equator.

54. O, A, E, B & C & R are the soil horizons from top to bottom. The removal of soil minerals & colloids from the upper horizons is called Eluviation & deposition in lower horizons is Illuviaton.

55. Rich, dark soils called Chernozems. They lack the leached E horizon. Soils in cooler continental climates (coniferous forests) are known as Podzols, a soil type that is not very fertile but rich in humus due to cold climate. The leaching action of heavy rain and water runoff removes many of the nutrients from podzols. Lateritic soils, one of the least fertile soil types are found in wet & hot climate (Tropical Forests). Gleization is the pedogenic regime of warm water-logged areas. Glei soils are rich in organic material & the soil changes to blue colour due to reduction of iron minerals. Calcimorphic soil develop in areas of seasonal drought.


56. Hydroponics, term applied to cultivation of plants in nutrient solutions without use of soil.

57. Pyramid of energy can never take an inverted form, the other two (biomass & number) can.

58. Boreal forest refers to the Taiga vegetation comprising coniferous trees. The Mediterranean type of
vegetation is also called Sclerophyll forest (e.g. Chaparral).

59. Serengeti National Park is located in northern Tanzania. Asuncion is the capital of Paraguay &
Montevideo is the capital of Uruguay. Paraguay is landlocked.

60. Elephant grass is found in Savanna & Buffalo grass is typical of Steppe grasslands.

61. The period of revolution & rotation of the moon is the same i.e. 27.3 days. The shortest route between two places on the surface of the earth is along the great circles i.e. longitude.

62. Orogenetic forces producing mountains are horizontal & epeirogenetic forces are vertical.

63. Block mountain – black forest, Old fold mountain – Appalachian, young fold mountain – rocky, relict mountain – Scottish highlands

64. Arenaceous rock (having sandy features) – Sandstone, Argillaceous rock (having clayey features) – Shale, Plutonic rock (intrusive igneous rock) - Gabbros & dolerite, Volcanic rock (extrusive igneous rock) – Andesite, Rhyolite, Basalt. Sedimentary rock – Ironstone. Slate results from the metamorphosis of shale or clay. Basaltic magma is fluid & granitic is viscous.

65. A basin-shaped depression surrounded by mountains is called bolson. In a karstic region, a steep natural shaft which emerges at the surface is called Ponor. A steep-sided hill, of roughly circular cross-section, characteristic of karst topography is called “hum”.

66. A broad slope of alluvial material at the foot of an escarpment is called Bajada. From the eroded angular peaks of more resistant rocks, alluvial fans lead away to deposit large slopes of debris, called bajadas, at the base. These slopes level off to form low basins called playas. Salt covered playa beds are called Salinas.

67. The deposition of sediment building up a sand bridge that connects the island to the mainland. The sand bridge is called a tombolo.

68. The inclination of a fault from the vertical is called hade & it is complimentary to dip. The horizontal displacement is called heave. Rake angle measures the slip.

69. Erosion of the ground beneath and at the sides of a snowbank, mainly as a result of alternate freezing and thawing is called nivation.

70. An area of shifting desert sand-dunes, esp. in the Sahara is called erg.

71. The trades are strongest in winter season. The primary divisions of koppen classification are based on mean monthly temperature & mean precipitation & evaporation. The secondary divisions are based on seasonality of rainfall.

72. Temperate cyclones generally develop over land.

73. Ninety East Ridge is situated in Indian Ocean. The mid Atlantic ridge comprises the Dolphin rise on the north & challenger rise to the south separated by Romanche deep. It is known as Wyville Thompson ridge between Iceland & Scotland. The ridge becomes quite extensive to the south of Greenland & Iceland & is called Telegraphic plateau.

74. Globigerina ooze is the most abundant in Atlantic Ocean. Warm Agulhas current flows in the Indian
Ocean in southerly direction & Cold Falkland current in Atlantic Ocean towards north.

75. Azov Sea, inland sea, connected with the Black Sea by the Strait of Kerch.

76. Magnetic declination is the difference between true north (the axis around which the earth rotates) and magnetic north (the direction the needle of a compass will point).

77. A traveler crossing the International Date Line from west to east gains a day & from east to west loses a day.

78. Earth is the fifth largest planet & Pluto the smallest. Pulsars are sources of powerful, pulsating radio waves in space which are rapidly rotating neutron stars. Quasar stands for quasi-stellar object & is a compact object that looks like a point of light but emits more energy than a hundred super giant galaxies.

79. Earth’s history has two main divisions or eons: the Cryptozoic Eon & Phanerozoic Eon. The cryptozoic eon is divided into Hadean, the Archean & the Proterozoic eras. The Phanerozoic Eon is divided into Palaeozoic, Mesozoic & Cenozoic eras.

80. Amphibolite is a metamorphic rock & is formed by metamorphosis of igneous rocks such as basalt & gabbro. Chert & flint are sedimentary rocks. Clastic rocks are mechanically formed. Hornblende is igneous while hornfel is metamorphic.

81. Cratons form the cores of most continents and consist of inactive geological areas more than 2 billion years old with thick crust and deep roots extending into the mantle beneath.

82. Because North America and Africa were connected, the Appalachians form part of the same mountain chain as the Atlas mountains in Morocco.

83. Inselbergs (bornhardts) eventually erode & degenerate into what are called Kopjes.

84. Isoclinal Fold is one in which both limbs are approximately parallel. Recumbent Fold: A fold with a
nearly horizontal axial plane. Monocline: When folding takes place in very small magnitude or at a very
small angle a monocline is formed. Here the limbs are almost horizontal producing simple flexure.

85. The Peru-Chile trench marks where the Nazca plate is being subducted beneath the South American plate. The volcanic activity and uplift of the Andes are a result of the subduction.

86. There are 26 oceanic trenches in the world: 3 in the Atlantic Ocean, 1 in the Indian Ocean, and 22 in the Pacific Ocean.

87. Examples of cinder or ash cones are Mt Jorullo of Mexico & Mt Izalco of San Salvador. Most of the famous volcanoes have composite cone. Mt. Etna of Sicily is an example of parasitic cone. Caldera (Lake Toba of Sumatra is most famous example). Maar is a broad, low relief crater that is caused by a phreatic eruption or explosion caused by groundwater contact with magma.

88. Kilauea, the world's most active volcanic crater, located on central Hawaii Island.

89. Mt Etna of Sicily, Mt. Vesuvius of Naples & Mt Stromboli, the northernmost & Mt Vulcano the
southernmost of the seven Lipari Island are all located in Italy.

90. The classification of volcanoes in order of increasing intensity of explosion is: Hawaiian type, Stromblian type, Vulcanian type, Vesuvian type, Pelean type.

91. Fluid basaltic lava forms pahoehoe lava flow & viscous forms blocky aa lava flow. Mt Hood & Mt Rainier & Mt. Vesuvius are dormant volcanoes. Mt Meru (Tanzania) & Mt Elgon (Kenya-Uganda border) are extinct volcanoes.

92. Laccolith is mushroom shaped causing the crust over it to form a dome. Lopoliths are saucer shaped with concave side upwards & Phaccoliths are lens shaped deposits in anticlines & synclines.

93. Thawing of slopes in the summer may move soil downslope to produce solifluction, or “flowing soil” terraces. Rockfalls produce a deposit called talus at the base of the cliff.

94. Sequent Streams are those which are well adjusted to the geological structures & follow the regional slope. Insequent streams do not follow regional slopes.

95. Centrifugal drainage is also known as radial drainage (e.g. Sri Lanka). In barbed pattern the tributary flows in opposite direction to the master stream & such pattern usually develops due to river capture. Annular/Circular drainage pattern is different from centrifugal pattern.


96. Abrasion or Corrasion is with the help of erosional tools. Attrition refers to the wear & tear of erosional tools in themselves.

97. Block disintegration is due to different material. Granular disintegration is due to different colour.
Shattering is due to rain shower over heated rocks. Sheeting & cambering refers to the development of
horizontal & vertical cracks due to unloading. Spalling is development of platy rock fragments due to
unloading. Flaking results from differential heating of outer & inner layers of a rock. After flaking the
wind peels off the layer & this is known as exfoliation.

98. Structural benches are formed due to differential erosion of soft & hard rocks while river terraces are produced due to valley-in-valley topography by rejuvenation. Victoria fall on Zambezi river is a result of faulting & Yosemite falls California is due to glaciated hanging valley.

99. Alluvial fans have a gentler slope as compared to cones. Sometimes neighboring cones & fans meet to form Piedmont alluvial plain or Bajada.

100. Yazoo Channel meets the original river at deferred junction.