Superlatives of the World: Largest Natural Features
The Largest Island: Greenland
Greenland is the largest island in the world, covering an astonishing area of about 2,166,086 square kilometres.
- What It Is and Where It's Found: Greenland, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, is known for its vast ice sheets and rugged terrain.
- Why It Holds the Record: It holds the title of the largest island because it is significantly larger than any other island, with its landmass being more than double that of New Guinea, the second-largest island.
- How It Formed or Works: Greenland is primarily formed of ancient crust and is covered by a thick layer of ice, which has accumulated over thousands of years due to climatic conditions.
- Memorable Fact or Comparison: Although Greenland is vast, it is not densely populated; in fact, it has a population of about 56,000, which is fewer than many small towns!
The Biggest River System: The Amazon River
The Amazon River is the largest river in the world by discharge volume, with more water flowing through it than the next seven largest rivers combined.
- What It Is and Where It's Found: The Amazon River flows through South America, primarily in Brazil, but also stretches into Peru and Colombia.
- Why It Holds the Record: It holds the record for having the largest drainage basin, covering an area of about 7,000,000 square kilometres, and its flow rate is the greatest of any river.
- How It Formed or Works: The river is formed by the confluence of various tributaries originating from the Andes Mountains, and is nourished by rainfall in the Amazon rainforest.
- Memorable Fact or Comparison: The Amazon River is so vast that it creates its own weather system and is home to more species of fish than any other river in the world!
The Largest Underwater Volcano: Mauna Loa
Mauna Loa is the largest active volcano on Earth in terms of volume and area, and it is partially submerged underwater.
- What It Is and Where It's Found: Mauna Loa is located in Hawaii and is part of the Hawaiian-Emperor seamount chain in the Pacific Ocean.
- Why It Holds the Record: It holds the record for being the largest volcano by volume, measuring about 9,144 cubic kilometres, and stands 4,170 metres above sea level.
- How It Formed or Works: Mauna Loa formed as a result of tectonic activity, where the Pacific plate moves over a hot spot in the Earth's mantle, leading to volcanic eruptions over millions of years.
- Memorable Fact or Comparison: Mauna Loa is so large that if you were to measure it from its base deep underwater to its summit, it would be taller than Mount Everest!
