Smallest
Nations
Nations
Covering just 0.44 square kilometers and completely surrounded by Rome, this nation is the world's smallest independent state.
Vatican City
Standing at 8,611 meters in the Karakoram Range, this mountain is the world's second-highest peak and is nicknamed the "Savage Mountain" because of its notoriously difficult climbing conditions.
Located in the western Pacific Ocean, this crescent-shaped trench contains Challenger Deep, the deepest known point in Earth's oceans, approximately 10,935 meters below sea level.
Mariana Trench
At Racetrack Playa in this California national park, large rocks mysteriously move across the desert floor, leaving trails behind them. Scientists discovered that thin sheets of ice, water, and wind cause the movement.
Death Valley National Park
Built across 118 small islands in a shallow Adriatic lagoon, this Italian city is famous for its gondolas, the Grand Canal, and buildings supported by wooden foundations.
Venice
Oldest Capital
Damascus, Syria
Continuously inhabited since ~2500 BC (Guinness World Records).
USA
Washington, D.C.- Philadelphia
1790 Compromise between North and South
Famous for its Monte Carlo Casino and Grand Prix, this Mediterranean principality is the world's second-smallest independent country.
Monaco
This mountain, Earth's highest above sea level, is notorious for its death zone above 8,000 meters and its dangerous Khumbu Icefall.
Mount Everest
Located north of the Caribbean, this underwater trench reaches depths exceeding 8,000 meters and contains the deepest known point in the Atlantic Ocean.
Puerto Rico Trench
Sometimes called the Lighthouse of Catatumbo, this extraordinary lightning phenomenon occurs frequently over and around a large lake in this South American country.
Venezuela
Nicknamed the "Venice of America," this Florida city features an extensive network of canals, yacht-filled waterways, and access to the Atlantic Ocean through the Intracoastal Waterway.
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Highest Capital
La Paz, Bolivia
3,640 meters (11,942 ft) above sea level.
Australia
Canberra - Melbourne (temp)
1913 Compromise between Sydney and Melbourne
This tiny Pacific island republic, approximately 21 square kilometers in area, once depended heavily on mining phosphate deposits.
Nauru
This pyramid-shaped Alpine mountain on the Swiss-Italian border became infamous when four members of the first successful summit party died during their descent in 1865.
Matterhorn
These underwater mountains often form from volcanic activity and rise steeply from the ocean floor without breaking the water's surface.
Seamounts
Located in Tanzania's Great Rift Valley, this extremely alkaline lake develops brilliant red and pink colors from salt-loving microorganisms and provides an important breeding habitat for lesser flamingos.
Lake Natron
Founded by Peter the Great in 1703, this Russian city was constructed on marshy land near the Neva River and contains an extensive system of canals and bridges.
Saint Petersburg, Russia
Lowest Capital
Baku, Azerbaijan
28 meters below sea level on the Caspian Sea.
Nigeria
Abuja - Lagos
1991 Neutral ground for ethnic groups
Bikini Atoll, the site of 23 American nuclear tests between 1946 and 1958, belongs to this small Pacific island republic.
Marshall Islands
This 8,126-meter peak in Pakistan's Himalayas earned the nickname "Killer Mountain" following numerous deadly climbing expeditions.
Nanga Parbat
Earth's largest waterfall by water volume lies beneath this strait separating Greenland and Iceland, where cold, dense water plunges down an enormous underwater slope.
Denmark Strait
Known as "milky seas," this rare ocean phenomenon creates vast areas of steadily glowing water, believed to result from enormous concentrations of these light-producing microorganisms.
bioluminescent bacteria
Built across 14 islands connected by bridges, this Scandinavian capital sits where Lake Mälaren meets the Baltic Sea.
Stockholm, Sweden
Coldest Capital
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Average annual temp of -1.3°C; winters drop below -30°C.
Palau
Ngerulmud - Koror
2006 New capitol building in Melekeok state
At approximately 261 square kilometers, this two-island federation is the smallest sovereign nation in the Western Hemisphere.
Saint Kitts and Nevis
The world's third-highest mountain, located along the Nepal-India border, was first climbed in 1955 by Joe Brown and George Band, who stopped just short of its sacred summit.
Kangchenjunga
Also known as the Sunda Trench, this underwater depression near Indonesia contains the Indian Ocean's deepest confirmed point, approximately 7,187 meters below sea level.
Java Trench
This enormous geothermal spring in Yellowstone National Park displays rings of brilliant yellow, orange, and green, largely because of heat-loving microorganisms thriving at different temperatur
Grand Prismatic Spring
Located in Jiangsu Province, this historic Chinese city is known for its classical gardens, stone bridges, canals, and a section of the ancient Grand Canal.
Suzhou, China
No Traffic Lights
Thimphu, Bhutan
Uses traffic police officers in white gloves instead of automated lights.
Myanmar
Naypyidaw - Yangon
2006 Inland military security