>
>
> Alaska
>
> More than half of the coastline of the entire United States is in Alaska .
>
> Amazon
>
> The Amazon rainforest produces more than 20% of the world's oxygen supply.
> The Amazon River pushes so much water into the Atlantic Ocean that, more
> than one hundred miles at sea off the mouth of the river; one can dip
> fresh water out of the ocean. The volume of water in the Amazon river is
> greater than the next eight largest rivers in the world combined and three
> times the flow of all rivers in the United States .
>
> Antarctica
>
> Antarctica is the only land on our planet that is not owned by any
> country. Ninety percent of the world's ice covers Antarctica . This ice
> also represents seventy percent of all the fresh water in the world. As
> strange as it sounds, however, Antarctica is essentially a desert. The
> average yearly total precipitation is about two inches although covered
> with ice (all but 0.4% of it, i.e.), Antarctica is the driest place on the
> planet; with an absolute humidity lower than the Gobi desert.
>
> Brazil
>
> Brazil got its name from the nut, not the other way around.
>
> Canada
>
> Canada has more lakes than the rest of the world combined. Canada is an
> Indian word meaning ' Big Village .'
>
> Chicago
>
> Next to Warsaw , Chicago has the largest Polish population in the world.
>
> Detroit
>
> Woodward Avenue in Detroit, Michigan, carries the designation M-1, so
> named because it was the first paved road anywhere.
>
> Damascus, Syria
>
> Damascus, Syria, was flourishing a couple of thousand years before Rome
> was founded in 753 BC, making it the oldest continuously inhabited city in
> existence.
>
> Istanbul, Turkey
>
> Istanbul, Turkey, is the only city in the world located on two continents.
>
> Los Angeles
>
> Los Angeles's full name is El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de Los
> Angeles de Porciuncula - and can be abbreviated to 3.63% of its size: L.A.
>
> New York City
>
> The term 'The Big Apple' was coined by touring jazz musicians of the
> 1930's who used the slang expression 'apple' for any town or city.
> Therefore, to play New York City is to play the big time - The Big Apple.
> There are more Irish in New York City than in Dublin, Ireland; more
> Italians in New York City than in Rome, Italy; and more Jews in New York
> City than in Tel Aviv, Israel.
>
> Ohio
>
> There are no natural lakes in the state of Ohio , every one is manmade.
>
> Pitcairn Island
>
> The smallest island with country status is Pitcairn in Polynesia , at just
> 1.75 sq. Miles/4.53 sq. Km.
>
> Rome
>
> The first city to reach a population of 1 million people was City of Rome
> , Italy in 133 B.C. There is a city called Rome on every continent.
>
> Siberia
>
> Siberia contains more than 25% of the world's forests.
>
> S.M.O.M.
>
> The actual smallest sovereign entity in the world is the Sovereign
> Military Order of Malta (S.M.O.M.). It is located in the city of Rome,
> Italy, has an area of two tennis courts, and as of 2001 has a population
> of 80, 20 less people than the Vatican. It is a sovereign entity under
> international law, just as the Vatican is.
>
> Sahara Desert
>
> In the Sahara Desert , there is a town named Tidikelt, which did not
> receive a drop of rain for ten years. Technically though, the driest place
> on Earth is in the valleys of the Antarctic near Ross Island . There has
> been no rainfall there for two million years.
>
> Spain Spain literally means 'the land of rabbits.'
>
> St. Paul, Minnesota
>
> St. Paul, Minnesota , was originally called Pig's Eye after a man named
> Pierre 'Pig's Eye' Parrant who set up the first business there.
>
> Roads
>
> Chances that a road is unpaved in the U.S.A. : 1%, in Canada : 75%
>
> Texas
>
> The deepest hole ever made in the world is in Texas . It is as deep as 20
> empire state buildings but only 3 inches wide.
>
> United States
>
> The Eisenhower interstate system requires that one-mile in every five must
> be straight . These straight sections are usable as airstrips in times of
> war or other emergencies.
>
> Waterfalls
>
> The water of Angel Falls (the World's highest) in Venezuela drops 3,212
> feet (979 meters). They are 15 times higher than Niagara Falls .
>
> --there's your geography lesson for the day. Have a great weekend. Skip