The Geografile
The Geografile
Monaco is so small that it could fit inside New York's Central Park.
The Geografile
About 20% of all marine life in the Galápagos Islands is endemic to the archipelago. 17% of the fish are found nowhere else in the world.
The Geografile
In China, more than 92 million people share the family name Li, but those with the family name Wang number 92.8 million, or about 6.6% of the population.
The Geografile
British subjects, even those outside of the UK, who celebrate a 100th birthday or 60th wedding anniversary get a personalized card from the ruling monarch, a tradition dating to 1917.
The Geografile
Lake Nicaragua contains about 400 islands, some of which are active volcanoes. Since the lake was severed from the Pacific Ocean by a belt of volcanic cones, unique freshwater species of swordfish have evolved.
The Geografile
The world’s smallest lizard — it could curl up on a dime — was discovered in 2001 in a cave on an island off the coast of the Dominican Republic in the Caribbean.
The Geografile
Sahara is from the Arabic word sahra, meaning “desert.” So saying Sahara Desert is redundant.
The Geografile
Azerbaijan was the first Muslim country to extend suffrage to women, in 1918.
The Geografile
Borneo is the world's only island divided between three countries: Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia.
The Geografile
China spans more than 60 degrees of longitude but has only one time zone.
The Geografile
Brazil is the only country that crosses both the equator and a tropic (Tropic of Capricorn). Uruguay is the only South American country completely outside the tropic latitudes.
The Geografile
Monaco has been ruled by the Grimaldi family since the 14th century.
The Geografile
New Zealand was named by the Dutch after Zeeland, a region in the Netherlands.
The Geografile
Brazil’s Santa Catarina guinea pigs live on a 10-acre stretch of land on a small island and may have the smallest range of any mammal.
The Geografile
Constantinople was the capital of the Byzantine Empire from AD 330 until 1453, when it was captured by the Turks, made the capital of the Ottoman Empire and renamed Istanbul.
The Geografile
Hashima, an island off the coast of Nagasaki, Japan, is shaped like a battleship and is nicknamed Battleship Island.
The Geografile
Borneo is the world’s only island divided between three countries: Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia.
The Geografile
Colombia is named after Christopher Columbus. Bolivia is named after independence fighter Simón Bolívar.
The Geografile
Hungary’s capital, Budapest, until 1873 was two separate cities, Buda and Pest, that lay on opposite banks of the Danube River.
The Geografile
The infamous mutiny of the HMS Bounty occurred off the coast of Tofua, now part of Tonga, in 1789.