Our planet is full of unusual, sometimes unique places. And each of them is unique in its own way. Today we will look at places on our planet that are of particular interest to researchers and tourists.
The highest place on Earth - Everest?
Indeed, Everest is considered the highest point on Earth. However, only according to its height above sea level. In fact, the highest point on Earth is located in the Andes. The thing is that our planet has the shape of an oblate spheroid. This is a consequence of the features of rotation. That is, the shape of our planet is imperfect. Therefore, places located at the poles will always be closer to the center of the Earth than objects that extend along the equator. And the lower points are actually higher than they should be.
Chomolungma
Everest (in Tibetan - Chomolungma) is located in the Himalayas, in the Mahalangur-Himal range. Here the strongest winds blow, reaching 200 km / h. Everest is located right on the border of Nepal and China. Its height reaches 8848 m. At the same time, according to a 2016 study conducted by French scientists, Chomolungma will not even enteramong the twenty highest peaks in the world, if we count from the center of the Earth.
Despite all its beauty, Everest has a tragic reputation. Many daredevils who dreamed of conquering this giant died. Difficult ascent, atmospheric pressure and rarefied air, which cannot be breathed for a long time, make climbing this peak very dangerous.
Today, for a tidy sum, you can climb Everest as part of an expedition.
Chimborazo - the highest volcano
The highest point on Earth is Chimborazo volcano. It is located in Ecuador, in the Andes mountain range. Its height reaches 6,268 m. However, due to the fact that Chimborazo is the farthest point from the center of the planet, it is called the highest place on Earth.
Chimborazo is considered an inactive stratovolcano (that is, composed of layers of cooled lava). Its last eruption occurred back in 550. Since then, it has not shown its volcanic activity in any way.
The peak of the volcano today is covered with a crust of ice that has begun to melt due to global warming.
Mauna Kea - "White Mountain"
That's how her name is translated from Hawaiian. This mountain (more precisely, a volcano) is the highest place on Earth, if you measure it from the foot to the top. Its height exceeds 10 km.
Mauna Kea is an inactive volcano located in Hawaii. Most of the mountain is deep in the Pacific Ocean. Her heightabove sea level - a little more than 4 km. Its wide, snow-covered peak attracts extreme sportsmen, and hunters and backpackers have chosen the lower slopes. In addition, the height of the mountain and the absence of clouds above its peak make it an ideal place for stargazing. Today Mauna Kea houses the largest astronomical observatory.
The tallest building in the world
The highest man-made place on Earth is the Dubai Tower. The skyscraper opened in 2009. Since 2007, it has been the title of the highest object on our planet. The building has 163 floors and 57 elevators. Its height is 828 meters. The shape of the building is very neat and resembles the shape of a stalagmite.
Initially, the building was conceived as a "city within a city". The Burj Khalifa complex has almost everything - restaurants, hotels, parking lots, swimming pools and gyms. And even boulevards.
It is noteworthy that a special type of concrete was developed specifically for the Burj Khalifa complex, which can withstand 50-degree heat. Concrete contains ice. Therefore, the building was built mainly at night, so that the ice would not melt. More than 12,000 builders were involved in the work.
The most "snake" place on Earth
This unique island is called Keymana Grande (or snake island). It is located in the Atlantic Ocean, just 35 km from the Brazilian state of Sao Paulo. It is closed not only for tourists, but also for any visitors. Brazilian governmentdeclared this paradise a unique reserve, almost untouched by man.
The fact is that the island is inhabited by one of the most dangerous snakes in the world - island botrops. The bite of this snake causes instant tissue necrosis. Moreover, for 1 sq. m of the island accounts for about 5 poisonous snakes. Its trees are just hung with these reptiles.
They say there used to be a lighthouse where people worked, but the snakes got inside and killed everyone. The beacon has since been replaced with an automatic one. He still works here.
However, some brave souls still chose the coast of this island for diving and fishing.
The deepest place on the planet
The title of the deepest place on Earth (an overview is given below) has long belonged to the Mariana Trench. Its deepest point is almost 11,000 meters. Today it is the most studied of the oceanic trenches. The depression has the shape of a crescent and is inhabited by living organisms. Many of them came as a surprise to scientists - creepy fish, toxic clams and other strange creatures abound in the gutter.
Besides this:
- the deepest cave - Krubera-Voronya, in Abkhazia:
- deepest well - Kolskaya (Russia);
- the deepest mine - TouTona (South Africa).
Kola well deserves special attention. Drilling began back in the days of the USSR, but due to strange screams coming from the bowels of the earth, the project had to be closed.
Mostextreme places of the Earth
Recently, scientists have named the most extreme places on Earth.
1. The northern point of land is Schmidt Island. It's just a pile of rocks and dirt. Located in the Severnaya Zemlya archipelago, in Russia.
2. The southern extreme point of the world is the South Pole. The average annual temperature here is -50.
3. The western point of land is the picturesque Attu Island in Alaska. Previously, the island was an important point of trade with Russian merchants. No one has lived here since 2010.
4. The most extreme eastern point of our Earth is the coral island of Caroline, lost in the waters of the Pacific Ocean. It previously belonged to the UK. Today it is owned by the Republic of Kiribati.
The most unusual and extreme places on the planet
Below we look at a list of the most unusual and extreme places on Earth:
- The city of El Azizia in Libya is the hottest city in the world. The air temperature here once exceeded +57 °C. Even in the famous Death Valley, the temperature does not rise above +56°C.
- The coldest place on Earth is Antarctica. This is a place of extremes - the temperature drops to -90 ° C, there is practically no precipitation, but the humidity is high (after all, the ground is covered with blocks of ice). Antarctica is full of mysteries that scientists still cannot solve.
- Socotra is the most unique island on our planet. His landscapes are so unusual that they can be mistaken for alien. Socotra is located in the northwest of the Indian Ocean. It is part of the archipelago of the same name. About 700 speciesThe plants and animals of this island are endemic (that is, you will not find them anywhere else on Earth).
- Darvaz is the gate to hell. This well filled with burning gas is located in Turkmenistan. It was discovered while drilling a well. At that time, Darvaz was a gas well. It had to be set on fire so that no one would get gassed.
- Eisreisenwelt - ice caves in Austria, the length of which is 40 km. These are the largest and most unique caves, decorated with natural ice sculptures.
Conclusion
In this article, we found out which is the highest place on the globe and what unique natural objects our planet abounds with. Many of them remain a mystery to scientists. Alas, it is difficult to fit all the places that deserve attention in one article.
