10

Principal Plateaus Of The World

eh
Plateau
Tibetan Plateau
Deccan Plateau
Arabian Plateau

R S Fact File

Situation
Between Himalayas and Quinloo Mountains
Southern India
South-west Asia

O
Plateau of Brazil Central-eastern South America
Plateau of Mexico Mexico

y
Plateau of Colombia USA
Plateau of Madagascar Madagascar

T
Plateau of Alaska North-west North America

T
Plateau of Bolivia An des mountain
Great Basin Plateau South of Colombia Plateau, USA

m
Colorado Plateau South of Great Basin Plateau, USA

MAJOR PENINSULAS OF THE WORLD

ed
Peninsulas Area(Km)2 Peninsulas Area(Km)2

U
Arabia 32,50,000 Labrador 13,00,000
Southern India 20,72,000 Scandinavia 8,00,000
Alaska 15,00,000 Iberian 584,000

ac
Smallest And Biggest Countries

T A
Biggest Nations Biggest Nations Smallest Nations Smallest Nations
(Area-Wise) (Population-Wise) (Area-Wise) (Population-Wise)
Russia China Vatican City Vatican City
Canada India Monaco Tuvalu
USA USA Nauru Nauru
China Indonesia Tuvalu Palau
Brazil Brazil San Marino San Marino
Australia Pakistan Liechtenstein Monaco
India Bangladesh Mar shall Islands Liechtenstein
Argentina Nigeria Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Kitts and Nevis
Kazakhstan Russia Mal dives Antigua and Barbados
Algeria Japan Malta Dominica

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 Deserts
Africa
Sahara In Northern Africa. The world’s largest desert after Antarctica.

S
Kalahari Desert in southern Africa.
Namib Desert in southern Africa

Asia
Gobi Desert of Mongolia.
Taklamakan Desert in China.

R
Ordos Desert of China.
Kara Kum Deserts in Central Asia.
Kyzyl Kum Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan
Thar Cholistan desert in India and Pakistan.

eh
Australia

O
Gibson Central Australia.
Great Sandy Northwestern Australia.
Great Victoria Central Australia.

y
Simpson Central Australia.
Little Sandy Central Australia.

T
Strzelecki South Central Australia.

T
Tanami Northern Australia.
Western

m
Western Australia.
Europe

ed
Halendi Iceland Europe’s largest desert.
Bledowska Lesser Poland, Voivodeship, Poland.

U
Middle East
Arabian A vast desert complex on Arabian Peninsula comprising AI-Dahna

ac
Desert, Empty Quarter, Nefud Desert and other deserts.
Dasht-e Kavir Central lran.

T A
Dasht-e Lut Southeastern Iran.
Judean Desert Eastern Israel and West Bank.
Negev Southern Israel
Desert of Sin / Zin Desert (Bible usagel) Sinai Peninsula.

North America
Mojave desert. Great Basin desert. Sonoran desert. Chihuahuan desert.

South America
La Guajira Desert In northern Colombia and some of northwestern Venezuela.
Atacama Desert in Chile. The driest desert on Earth.

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Great Deserts

Name Country/Region
Sahara (Libyan, Nubian) N Africa
Australian (Gibson, Simpson, Victorian, Great Sandy) Australia
Arabian (Rub’al Khali, An·Nafud) Arabia
Dest-e-Lut (Barren Desert) Iran
Dest-e-Kevir (Salt Desert) Iran
Desierto de Sechura Peru
Atacama N. Chile
Patagonia Argentina
Kalahari Botswana
Namib Namibia
Thar NW India
Negev Israel
Ordos China
Takla Makan China
Gobi Mongolia China
Kara Kum Turkmenistan
Kyzyl Kum Kazakhstan Uzbekistan
Mohave S California N. America
Sonoran Mexico, N America

Notes KaraKum and Kyzyl Kum together are known as the Turkestan Deser

Superlatives

Highest active volcano Ojas del Salado Most active volcano Kilauea, Hawaii
Highest waterfall Angel falls Largest waterfall Boyoma falls
Largest bay Hudson Bay Largest gulf Gulf of Mexico
Broadest strait Davis Strait Largest delta Sundarbans
Largest peninsula Arabia Largest sea South China Sea
Largest glacier Siachen glacier Largest gorge Grand Canyon
Driest place Atacama desert Rainiest place Mawsynram*
Lowest temperature Vostok, Antarctic Highest temperature AI-Aziziyah, Libya

Note The mean annual rainfall in Mawsynram is 11,873 mm. The corresponding figure for Waileale, Hawaii is
11,438mm and for Cherrapunji 11,314mm. Mawsynram also holds the highest 24·hour rainfall record in India.

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The List of Highest Peaks
Ranks Mountain Height (m) Range Region
1 Everest /Chomolungma 8850 Mahalangur Himalaya Nepal/Tibet
2 K- 2 8611 Baltoro Karakoram POK !Sinkiang
3 Kanchenjunga 8586 Kanchenjunga Himalaya Nepal/India
4 Lhotse 8516 Mahalangur Himalaya Nepal/Tibet
5 Makalu 8485 Mahalangur Himalaya Nepal/Tibet
6 Cho Oyu 8188 Mahalangur Himalaya Nepal/Tibet
7 Dhaulagiri 8167 Dhaulagiri Himalaya Nepal
8 Manaslu 8163 Manaslu Himalaya Nepal
9 Nanga Parbat 8125 Nanga Parbat Himalaya POK
10 Annapurna I 8091 Annapurna Himalaya Nepal

Industrial Cities

Cities Industry Cities Industry

Ahmadabad (India) Cotton textiles Leeds (UK) Woollen textiles
Anshan (China) Iron and steel Leningrad (Russia) Ship building
Baku (Azerbaijan) Petroleum Los Angeles (USA) Petroleum; films
Belfast Oreland) Ship building Lyons (Frances) Silk textiles
Birmingham (UK. USA) Iron and steel Magnitogorsk (Russia) Iron and steel
Cadiz (Spain) Cork Manchester (UK) Cotton textile
Chicago (USA) Meat-packing Milan {Italy) Silk textile
Dhaka (Bangladesh) Muslin Multan (Pakistan) Pottery
Darjeeling (India) Tea processing Munich (Germany) Lenses
Detroit (USA) Automobile Nagoya (Japan) Automobiles
Firozabad (India) Glass Philadelphia (USA) Locomotives
Havana (Cuba) Cigars Pittsburgh (USA) Iron and steel
Hollywood (USA) Films Plymouth (USA) Ship building
Jamshedpur (India) Iron and steel Rourkela (India) Iron and steel
Johannesburg (S Africa) Gold mining Sheffield (UK) Cutlery
Kansas City (USA) Meat packing Shivakasi (India) Firecrackers
Kawasaki (Japan) Iron and steel Vladivostok (Russia) Ship building
Kimberley (S Africa) Diamond mining Wellington (N Zealand) Dairying
Krivoi Rog (Ukraine) Iron and steel Zurich (Switzerland) Financial city

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Minerals and their Ores
Minerals Ores Minerals Ores
Aluminium Bauxite Mercury Cinnabar
Chromium Chromite Nickel Pentlandite
Copper Chalcopyrite, Chalcocite Silver Argentite
Iron Hematite, Magnetite, Limonite Tin Cassiterite
Lead Galena Titanium Ilmenite
Magnesium Magnesite, Dolomite Tungsten Wolframite
Manganese Pyrolusite Uranium Uraninite (Pitchblende)

Mining Towns
Towns Mining Towns Mining
Donbas (Ukraine) Coal Mesabi (US) Iron
Butte (US) Copper Kuzbas (Russia) Coal
Kimberley (S Africa) Diamond Maracaibo (Venezuela) Crude Oil
Wankie (Zimbabwe) Coal Kalgoorlie (Australia) Gold, Nickel
Witwatersrand (S Africa) Gold Chuquicamata (Chile) Copper
Mt Tom Price (Australia) Iron Broken Hills (Australia) Zinc, Silver, Lead
Sullivan (Canada) Zinc, Silver, Lead Krivoi Rag (Ukraine) Iron
Katanga (Zeire-Zembia) Copper, Cobalt Magnitogorsk (Russia) Magnetite
Sudbury (Canada) Nickel, Copper Texas & Louisiana (US) Oil, Sulphur
Karaganda (Kazakhstan) Coal Lorraine (France) Iron
Baku (Azerbaijan) Crude Oil Saar (Germany-France) Coal
Rurh-Westphalia (Germany) Coal Carajas (Brazil) Iron

ByNames (Nick Name)

Name By Name of Name By Name of
Big Game Country African Savanna Land of Rising Sun Japan
Blue Mountains Nilgiri Hills Land of Thousand Lakes Finland
Britain of the South New Zealand Land of Thunderbolt Bhutan
City of Dreaming Spires Oxford Land of White Elephants Thailand
City of Palaces Calcutta Lighthouse of Mediterranean Stromboli
City of Seven Hills Rome Pearl of Antilles Cuba
City of the Golden Gate San Francisco Playground of Europe Switzerland
City of the Golden Temple Amritsar Port of Five Seas Moscow
Cockpit of Europe Belgium Quaker City Philadelphia
City of Skyscrapers New York Queen of the Adriatic Venice
Emerald Island Ireland Queen of the Arabian Sea Cochin

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 Eternal City Rome Roof of the World Pamir’s
Garden of England Kent Pink City Jaipur
Garden city of India Bangalore Ruhr of east Damodar valley
Gate of tears Bab-el-Mandab Sick Man of Europe Turkey
Gift of Nile Egypt Singapore of future Pinang
Granite city Aberdeen Sorrow of Bengal River Damodar
Hermit Kingdom N.Korea Sorrow of China River Hwang Ho
Herring Pond Atlantic Ocean Spice Garden of India Kerala
Holy Land Palestine Cuba
Sugar Bowl of the World
Clove Bowl of the World Zanzibar Stockholm
Venice of North
Island of Pearls Bahrain
White City Belgrade
Key to Mediterranean Gibraltar
Arabia White Man’s Grave Guinea Coast
Land of Seven Seas
Australia Windy City Chicago
Land of Golden Fleece
Land of Golden Pagoda Myanmar World’s Breadbasket Prairies American
Land of Kangaroo Australia Steel capital of the world Pittsburg
Land of Lilies Canada Manchester of Japan Osaka
Land of Maple Canada Detroit of Japan Nagoya
Land of Morning Calm Koreas Manchester of Russia Ivanovo
Land of Midnight Sun Norway Detroit of Russia Novgorod

Longest Coastline
Country km Country km Country km
Canada 02080 Philippines 36289 New Zealand 15134
Norway 83281 Japan 29751 Greece 14880
Indonesia 54716 Australia 25760 China 14500
Russia 37653 United States 19924

Major Rivers Of The World

River Origin Falls in Length (Km.)
Nile Victoria lake Mediterranean Sea 6,650
Amazon Andes (Peru) Atlantic Ocean 6,428
Yangtze Tibetan Kiang Plateau China Sea 6,300
Mississippi Missouri Itasca lake (USA) Gulf of Mexico (USA) 6,275
Yenisei Tannu Ola Mts. Arctic Ocean 5,539
Huang Ho Kunlun Mts. Gulf of Chibli 5,464
Ob Altai Mts. Russia Gulf of Ob 5,410
Congo Lualaba & Luapula rivers Atlantic Ocean 4,700
Amur Northeast China Sea of Okhotsk 4,444

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 Lena Baikal Mts. Laptev Sea 4,400
Mekong Tibetan Highlands South China Sea 4,350
Mackenzie Great Slave Lake Beaufort Sea 4,241
Niger Guinea Gulf of Guinea 4,200

MAJOR LAKES OF THE WORLD

Lake Location Lake Location
Largest Lake Caspian Sea Highest lake Lake Titicaca in Bolivia
Largest saline water lake Caspian Sea Deepest lake Lake Baikal in Siberia
Largest fresh water lake Lake Superior India’s largest lake Chilka lake in Orissa

IMPORTANT LAKES OF THE WORLD (area wise)

Lake Location Area (Sq. Km.)
Caspian Azerbaijan-Russia- Kazakhstan- Turkmenistan-Iran 371000
Superior Canada and USA 82414
Victoria Kenya-Tanzania- Uganda (Africa) 69485
Huron Canada and USA 59596
Michigan USA 58016
Tanganyika Tanzania-DRC- Burundi-Zambia(Africa) 32892
Baikal Russia (CIS) 31502
Great Bear Canada 31080
Malawi Malawi-Mozambique- Tanzania (Tanzania) 30044
Great Slave Canada 28438

Important Lakes Of The World (Volume-Wise)

Lake Location Volume (Km3.)
Caspian Azerbaijan-Russia- Kazakhstan- Turkmenistan-Iran 78200
Baikal Russia (CIS) 23600
Tanganyika Tanzania-DRC- Burundi-Zambia(Africa) 18900
Superior Canada and USA 12100
Malawi Malawi-Mozambique- Tanzania (Tanzania) 8400
Michigan USA 4918
Huron Canada and USA 3540
Victoria Kenya-Tanzania- Uganda (Africa) 2750
Great Bear Canada 2236
Great Slave Canada 2090

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Note More than 60% of the world’s lakes are in Canada, this is because of the deranged drainage system that
dominates the country.

Finland is known as ‘’The land of Thousand Lakes’’.

The US State of Minnesota is known as ‘The Land of Ten Thousand Lakes’.
The world’s lowest lake is the Dead Sea, bordering Israel, Jordan at 395 m below sea level.
Lake Huron has the longest lake coastline in the world : about 2980 km, excluding the coastline of its many inner
islands.
Oceans Of The World
Names Water Area % Area (Sq. Km.) Greatest Depth Depth (m)
Pacific 46 166,240000 Mariana Trench 11,034
Atlantic 23 86,560000 Puerto Rico Trench 9,200
Indian 20 73430000 Java Trench 7,450
Arctic 4 13230000 Eurasian Basin 5,122

Major Gulfs Of The World

Names Area (Sq. Km.) Names Area (Sq. Km.)
Gulf of Mexico 15,44,000 Gulf of St. Lawrence 2,37,000
Gulf of Hudson 12,33,000 Gulf of California 1,62,000
Arabian Gulf 2,38,000 English Channel 89,900

Important Straits Of The World

Straits Water Bodies joined Area

Bab-al-Mandeb Red Sea & Arabian Sea Arabia & Africa
Bering Arc tic Ocean & Bering Sea Alaska & Asia
Bosphorus Black Sea & Marmara Sea Turkey
Dover North Sea & Atlantic Ocean England & Europe
Florida Gulf of Mexico & Atlantic Ocean Florida & Bahamas Islands
Gibralter Mediterranean Sea & Atlantic Ocean Spain & Africa
Malacca Java Sea & Bay of Bengal India & Indonesia
Palk Bay of Bengal & Indian Ocean India & Sri Lanka
Magellan South Pacific & South Atlantic Ocean Chile
Sunda Java Sea & Indian Ocean Indonesia

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Longest Coastline
Rank Country Km
1. Canada 202080
2. Norway 83281
3. Indonesia 54716
4. Russia 37653
5. Philippines 36289
6. Japan 29715
7. Australia 25760
8. USA 19924
9. New Zealand 15134
10. Greece 14880
11. China 14500

Of Isles
Largest River island — Majuli (Assam) Largest Archipelago — Indonesia
Most populated island — Java Remotest island — Bouvet, S Atlantic.
Remotest inhabited — Tristan da Cunha Largest atoll — Kwajalein (Marshall lsland)
Longest reef — Great Barrier Reef

Largest Island of
Philippines — Luzon India Middle - Andaman Indonesia — Borneo Oceania — New Guinea
Caribbean — Cuba Indian Ocean - Madagascar Japan — Honshu

Largest Islands

No. Island’s Name Area (km2) Country/Countries

1. Greenland 2,130,800 Greenland, a self-governed territory of
Denmark.
2. New Guinea 785,753 Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.
3. Borneo 748,168 Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia.
4. Madagascar 587,713 Madagascar
5. Baffin Island 507,451 Canada
6. Sumatra 443,066 Indonesia
7. Honshu 225,800 Japan
8. Great Britain 218,595 United Kingdom
9. Victoria Island 217,291 Canada
10. Ellesmere Island 196,236 Canada
11. Sulawesi 180,681 Indonesia
12. S. Island of New Zealand 145,836 New Zealand
13. Java 138,794 Indonesia

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 14. N.Island of New Zealand 111,583 New Zealand
15. Luzon 109,965 Philippines
16. Newfoundland 108,860 Canada
17. Cuba main island 105,806 Cuba
18. Iceland main island 101,826 Iceland
19. Mindanao 97,530 Philippines
20. Ireland 81,638 Republic of Ireland and United Kingdom
21. Hokkaido 78,719 Japan
22. Hispaniola 73,929 Dominican Republic and Haiti
23. Sakhalin 72,493 Russia
24. Banks Island 70,028(2) Canada
25. Sri Lanka main island 67,654 Sri Lanka
26. Tasmania main island 65,022 Australia

Of Lakes, the largest

Volume of freshwater Baikal Saltwater lake Caspian Sea
Freshwater lake Superior Highest navigable Titicaca
lake
Deepest lake Baikal Lowest lake Dead Sea
Saltiest lake Van Meteoric Crater Lonar
lake (Maharashtra)

The largest Of Lakes(Continent wise)

Name Region Name Region
Caspian Sea Asia Superior N. America
Victoria Africa Titicaca S. America
Eyre Australia Tonie Sap S E Asia
Ladoga Europe Urmia S W Asia
Vostok Antarctica

Longest river (continent wise)

Name Rise & Fall Reg ion Name Rise & Fall Region
Chang Jiang Geladaindong Peak, in Asia Mississippi- Itasca State Park, N. America
(Yangtze) SW of Qinghai, China Missouri Clearwater County,
& East China Sea Minnesota, USA and
Gulf of Mexico
Nile White Nile - Lake Africa Amazon Nevado Mismi, S. America
Victoria in Tanzania, Arequipa, Peru and
Uganda Kenya Blue Atlantic Ocean
Nile Lake Tana in
Ethiopia &
Mediterranean Sea

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 Murray-Darling Mount Lofty Ranges Australia Mekong Mt.Guozongmucha, S E Asia
and Murray Mouth Zadoi, Yushu Tibetan
Autonomous
Prefecture, Qinghai,
China and Mekong
Delta

Volga Valdai Hills, Tver Europe Euphrates Murat Su, Turkey and S W Asia
Oblast, Russia and Al-Qurnah, Basra
Caspian Sea Governorate, Iraq

Ganga Gangotri Glacier India Ob-Irtysh Belukha Mountain, Russia

and Bay of Bengal Altai Republic and
Ob Delta, Yamalia

World’s longest rivers (descending order)

(I) Nile
(II) Amazon
(III) Chang Jiang (Yangtze)
(IV) Mississippi-Missouri
World Waterfalls
Name of the Falls Height (in m.) Location On the River
Angel Falls 979.00 Venezuela Feeds the Kerep River, which
flows into the Churun River, a
tributary of the Carrao River.
Browne Falls 837.00 New Zealand Minnehaha Creek is a tributary
of the Mississippi River
Yosemite Falls 739.00 California (USA) Merced River
Southerland Falls 579.34 New Zealand Arthur River,
Roraima Falls 457.20 British Guiana Mazaruni River
Kalambo Falls 426.72 South Africa Kalambo River
Gersoppa (Jog) Falls 253.00 Sharavati (Karnataka India) Sharavati
Multnomah Falls 250.85 Oregon (USA) River gorge
Bridalveil Falls 188.97 Yosemite, California (USA) MercedRiver:

Some IMP Indian Waterfalls

Name of the Falls Height (in metres)
Odda Falls 145
Chachai Falls 127
Suara Falls 120
Kevti Falls 98
Okharean Kund Falls 90
Durgawati Falls 80

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 Purwa or Tons Falls 70
Devadari Falls 58
Dhuan Kund Falls 30
Landlocked Countries (in the world)

Afghanistan Andorra Armenia Austria

Azerbaijan [a] Azawad [c] Belarus Bhautan
Bolivia Botswana Burking Faso Burundi
Central African Republic Chad Czech Republic Ethiopia
Hungary Kazakhstan [a] [b] Kosovo [c] Kyrgyzstan
Loas Lesotho [d] Liechtenstein Luxembourg
Macedonia Malawi Mali Moldova
Mongolia Nagorno-Karabakh [c] Nepal Niger
Paraguay Rwanda San Marino [d] Serbia
Slovakia South Ossetia [c] South Sudan Swaziland
Switzerland Tajikistan Transnistria [c] Turkmenistan [a]
Uquanda Uzbekistan [b] Vatican City [d] Zambia
Zimbabwe

Note : A. Has a coast on the saltwater Caspian Sea B. Has a coast on the saltwater Aral Sea
C. Disputed region with limited international recognition D. Completely landlocked by exactly one country

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