None

The canal has no locks because the terrain through which it passes is flat, and the minor difference in sea level at the ends is easily coped with through the length of the canal.

Sakha Republic in Russia

Sakha became the largest country subdivision in the world, when Nunavut separated from Canada's Northwest Territories in 1999.

The Great Bear Lake

It is also the fourth largest in North America, and the eighth largest in the world.

Guyana

Guyana achieved independence from the United Kingdom in 1966 and became a republic in 1970, remaining a member of the Commonwealth.

The Moskstraumen or Maelstrom

The Moskstraumen has featured in many historical accounts, generally exaggerated. It was first described more than 2000 years ago by the Greek historian Pytheas, and later, it was marked on many nautical maps with warnings and dramatic descriptions. Both Poe and Verne both portray it inaccurately as a single massive whirlpool.

Archipelago

In antiquity, the Archipelago was the proper name for the Aegean Sea and, later, usage shifted to refer to the Aegean Islands (since the sea is remarkable for its large number of islands). It is now used to generally refer to any island group or, sometimes, to a sea containing a large number of scattered islands like the Aegean.

Equador and Chile

Brazil borders Venezuela, Suriname, Guyana and the department of French Guiana to the north, Uruguay to the south, Argentina and Paraguay to the southwest, Bolivia and Peru to the west, and Colombia to the northwest.

North Carolina

Flemish Cap

The Flemish Cap is located within an area of transition between the cold waters of the Labrador Current and warmer waters influenced by the North Atlantic Current. It lies outside Canada's 200 nautical mile (370 km) Exclusive Economic Zone established in 1977, and is therefore in international fishing waters.

Namche Bazaar

Samarkand from Samara Khanda.

Present in modern day Uzbekistan, it is one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world, prospering from its location on the Silk Road trade route between China and Europe.

Georgia

The highest mountains of each of the seven continents.

Summiting all of them is regarded as a mountaineering challenge, first postulated as such in the 1980s by Richard Bass.

Monrovia, the capital of Liberia

Mt Aconcagua, in the Andes

To comprehend the enormous scale of Himalayan peaks, consider that Aconcagua is at 6,962 m, while the Himalayan system has over 100 separate mountains exceeding 7,200 meters

The White Nile and the Blue Nile

Blue Nile is the source of most of the Nile's water and fertile soil, but the White Nile is the longer of the two. The White Nile rises in the Great Lakes region of central Africa and flows north from there through Tanzania, Lake Victoria, Uganda and southern Sudan, while the Blue Nile starts at Lake Tana in Ethiopia, flowing into Sudan from the southeast. The two rivers meet near the Sudanese capital Khartoum. The Nile ends in a large delta that empties into the Mediterranean Sea.

Mount Everest

The Nepali name is Sagarmatha and the Tibetan name is Chomolungma or Qomolangma. In 1865, the mountain was given its English name by Andrew Waugh, the British surveyor-general of India who surveyed it and he chose to name the mountain after George Everest, the surveyor-general of India from 1830 to 1843, who was largely responsible for completing the section of the Great Trigonometric Survey of India.

Tikal

Now part of Guatemala's Tikal National Park, it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a popular tourist spot. Tikal was one of the major cultural and population centers of the Maya civilization. Though monumental architecture at the site dates to the 4th century BC, Tikal reached its apogee during the Classic Period, ca. 200 AD to 850 AD, during which time the site dominated the Maya region politically, economically, and militarily while interacting with areas throughout Mesoamerica, such as central Mexican center of Teotihuacan.

East Timor (Capital: Dili)

Colonized by Portugal in the sixteenth century, East Timor was known as Portuguese Timor for centuries. It was invaded and occupied by Indonesia in 1975 and declared the country's 27th province the following year. Alongside the Philippines, East Timor is one of only two predominantly Roman Catholic countries in Asia, and the only Portuguese-speaking sovereign state in Asia.

El Salvador

It is the only Central American country that does not have a Caribbean coastline.

The Bronx

If all five boroughs were independent cities, the Bronx would rank as the ninth most populous city in the United States.

Burkina Faso

Formerly it called the Republic of Upper Volta.

Bangladesh

Bangladesh has at least 58 major rivers that enter that nation from India or Myanmar. The hydrologic and political effects of rivers that cross significant boundaries are enormous. Rivers have positive effects in that they carry a significant amount of sediment which aids in building land in estuarine regions. However this sediment raises the h eighth of riverbed thereby causing flooding. International conventions governing water sharing lead to complex political disputes.

In the Bamyan valley and were called 'Buddhas of Bamyan'

Built during the 6th century, the statues represented the classic blended style of Greco-Buddhist art.

Iran and Iraq

Also called Arvandrud, it is a river of some 200 km in length, formed by the confluence of the Euphrates and the Tigris. The the southern end of the river constitutes the border between Iraq and Iran down to the mouth of the river as it discharges into the Persian Gulf. Conflicting territorial claims and disputes over navigation rights between Iran and Iraq were among the main factors for the Iraq-Iran War that lasted from 1980 to 1988, when the pre-1980 status quo was restored.

Chile

Easter Island was annexed by Chile on September 9, 1888 by Policarpo Toro, by means of the "Treaty of Annexation of the island" (Tratado de Anexión de la isla), that the government of Chile signed with the native people of the island.

Lake Titicaca

These islands have become a major tourist attraction for Peru, drawing excursions from the lakeside city of Puno. Their original purpose was defensive, and they could be moved if a threat arose. One of the islands retains a watchtower largely constructed of reeds.

The Arctic Ocean

It is also the smallest.

Nunavat

Nunavut means 'our land' in Inuktitut, the language of the Inuit. If Nunavut were a sovereign nation, it would be the least densely populated in the world: Nearby Greenland, for example, has almost the same area and twice the population.

Tajikistan

The glacier is long and narrow, currently extending for 77 km (47 miles) and covering over 700 km² (270 mi²).

Kathmandu, Nepal

It is the sole international airport in Nepal. Austrian Airlines is the only European airline to serve the airport, although it is only a seasonal service to cater for the tourist season.

Sicily

It is an autonomous region of Italy.

New Zealand

It lies between the North and South Islands of New Zealand. On its north side stands the city of Wellington; on the south side lie the Marlborough Sounds and Cloudy Bay. The strait takes its name from Captain James Cook, the first European commander to sail through it, in January - February 1770. In Mâori it has the name Raukawa or Raukawa Moana. Raukawa may mean "bitter leaves".

Meaning 'The Sleeve', it refers to the English channel

It that separates the island of Great Britain from northern France and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about 563 km (350 mi) long and at its widest is 240 km (150 mi). The Strait of Dover is the narrowest part of the channel being only 34 km (21 mi).

San Marino and Vatican City, in Italy

Cape Farewell

An Eon

An eon is composed of several geologic eras, which in turn are composed of geologic periods, which are composed of geologic epochs. We are currently in the Phanerozoic Eon, the Cenozoic Era, the Quaternary Period, and the Holocene epoch. Formerly, only one eon existed besides the Phanerozoic: the Precambrian. More recently, the Hadean, Archean, and Proterozoic "eras" of Precambrian time have been considered eons.

The Patagonian Desert

It is the 5th largest desert in the world by area, occupying 260,000 square miles (673,000 km²). It is located primarily in Argentina with small parts in Chile and is bounded by the Andes, to its west, and the Atlantic Ocean to its east, in the region of Patagonia, southern Argentina.

7

The seven countries that were once part of Yugoslavia are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovenia and Kosovo.

Crete

Crete is a popular tourist destination; its attractions include the Minoan sites of Knossos and Phaistos, the classical site of Gortys, the Venetian castle in Rethymno, and the Samaria Gorge, as well as many other natural sites, monuments, and beaches.

Angel Falls, the world's highest free-falling waterfall.

Although sighted in the early 20th century by the explorer Ernesto Sanchez La Cruz, the waterfall was not known to the Western world until it was visited in 1935 by American aviator James Crawford Angel on a flight while he was searching for a valuable ore bed. In 1936, Angel returned and landed his plane at the top of the waterfall. The falls are currently named after him.

About 46% (about 32% of earth's total surface area)

At 169.2 million square kilometres (65.3 million square miles) in area, it is larger than all of the Earth's land area combined. The equator subdivides it into the North Pacific Ocean and South Pacific Ocean.

Mount Kilimanjaro

Furtwängler Glacier is a small remnant of an enormous icecap which once crowned the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro. This icecap has retreated significantly over the past century and between 1912 and the 2000, 82 percent of the glacial ice on the mountain has disappeared. The retreat of glacial ice on the summit is expected to continue and by the year 2020, all the glaciers on top of the mountain may be gone.

Klondike

Gold was discovered in tributaries of the Klondike River in 1896 and is still being mined today. Its name comes from the Hän word Tr'ondëk meaning "hammerstone", which were used to hammer down stakes used to set salmon nets.

Kazakhstan

It is the 9th largest country in the world.

Pangea, the supercontinent

It existed during the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras before the process of plate tectonics separated each of the component continents into their current configuration.

Botany Bay

In modern times the Bay is chiefly notable for being the site of Kingsford Smith International Airport, Australia's largest.

The Olduvai Gorge

It is one of the most important prehistoric sites in the world and has been instrumental in furthering understanding of early human evolution. Excavation work there was pioneered by Louis Leakey in the 1950s and is continued today by his family.

Brasilia

Inaugurated on the 21st of April, 1960, it was the result of a modern urban project designed by Lúcio Costa. When seen from above, the city resembles the shape of an airplane or a butterfly.

Lotus Eaters

Djerba is a popular tourist destination, particularly for French, German, Italian and Czech tourists. It is one of the few remaining places in Tunisia where a Berber language is still spoken. Another factor drawing some tourists to Djerba is the 1977 location of the Mos Eisley exterior scenes in the first Star Wars movie, filmed in the town of Ajim.

New Zealand

It consists of three tropical coral atolls in the South Pacific Ocean. The UN maintains a list of territories that do not govern themselves. The list was initially prepared in 1946 pursuant to Article XI of the United Nations Charter, and has been updated since then by the General Assembly on recommendation of the Special Committee on Decolonization and its predecessors. Only permanently inhabited territories are considered for inclusion in this list.

Liechtenstein

It is in Western-Central Europe, bordered by Switzerland to its west and by Austria to its east. Uzbekistan in Central Asia (if the Caspian Sea is considered as a lake) is the only other 'double-landlocked' country in the world.

Luxor

It was called Thebes in ancient times. Luxor today represents an excellent base for touring Upper Egypt, and is a popular holiday destination, both in its own right and as a starting or finishing point for Nile cruises.

The Antilles

Geographically, the Antilles are generally considered part of North America. Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico – due to the prevalence of Spanish – are included in Latin America. The Bahamas, though part of the West Indies, are generally not included among the Antillean islands.

The Iguazu Falls in South America

The waterfall system consists of about 270 falls along 2.7 kilometres (1.67 miles) of the Iguazu River. Vastly larger than North America's Niagara Falls, Iguazu is rivalled only by Southern Africa's Victoria Falls. The Garganta del Diablo or Devil's Throat is the most impressive of all, and marks the border between Argentina and Brazil.

Boyoma Falls, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

They consists of seven cataracts extending over 100 km on the Lualaba River near Kisangani (formerly Stanleyville). At the bottom of the falls the Lualaba becomes the Congo River.

Cusco in Peru

The bridge name, given by Lord Byron in the 19th century, comes from the suggestion that prisoners would sigh at their final view of beautiful Venice out the window before being taken down to their cells.

In reality, the days of inquisitions and summary executions were over by the time the bridge was built, and the cells under the palace roof were occupied mostly by small-time criminals. A local legend says that lovers will be assured eternal love if they kiss on a gondola at sunset under the bridge.

The island of New Guinea - the second largest island in the world.

Almost all of the smaller islands of the Pacific lie between 30°N and 30°S, extending from South-east Asia to Easter Island; the rest of the Pacific Basin is almost entirely submerged.

Andorra, Liechtenstein, Malta, Monaco, San Marino and Vatican City.

Owing to their small size, which limits their natural resources and population, most of the microstates have adopted special economic measures in order to prosper — usually by lowering taxes and encouraging financial investment. Many of the microstates have also entered into a Customs Union with their larger neighbours to improve their economic situation (Vatican City and San Marino with Italy, Liechtenstein with Switzerland, and Monaco with France). The microstates also have particular relations with the European Union, of which Malta is a full member.

St Basil's Cathedral

The misconception has inadvertently been reinforced by Western television journalists, who have often stood in front of St. Basil's during their reports.

The Yangtze River

It is the longest river in Asia and the third longest in the world, after the Nile in Africa, and the Amazon in South America.

The Golden Crescent

Canada - with Baffin (5th largest), Victoria (9th largest) and Ellesmere (10th largest)

Greenland is the largest island. Australia is widely considered as a continental landmass, not an island, though it is much larger than Greenland.

Saudi Arabia

Nullarbor Plain

It is the world's largest single piece of limestone, and occupies an area of about 200,000 km² (77,200 sq miles). The Nullarbor Plain is thought to be a former seabed. About 20-25 million years ago, the whole area was uplifted by crustal movements, and since then, erosion by wind and rain has smoothed out most topographic features, resulting in the extremely flat terrain across the plain today.

The Netherlands (X). Y is 'Dutch'.

The Dutch have a long history of reclamation of marshes and fenland, not only within their country but also abroad. About half of all polderland within northwest Europa is located within the Netherlands. The first embankments in Europe were constructed in Roman times. The first polders were constructed in the 11th century. This also leads to the expression used to describe Dutch decision making - the Polder Model.

Lombard Street

The crooked section of the street is reserved for one-way traffic traveling east (downhill), and is paved with bricks. The section was built in 1923 to accommodate the steepness of the slope.

Northeast Greenland National Park

It is also the only national park in Greenland. The park encompasses the entire northeastern coastline and interior sections of Greenland.

Theory of Continental Drift

The hypothesis of continental drift became part of the larger theory of plate tectonics.

USA and Canada

The terrestrial boundary (including small portions of maritime boundaries on the Atlantic, Pacific, and Arctic coasts as well as the Great Lakes) is 8,891 kilometres (5,522 mi) long, including 2,477 kilometres (1,539 mi) shared with Alaska. Officially known as the International Boundary, it is generally unmilitarized.

4 (Lincoln-Nebraska, Jackson-Mississippi, Madison-Wisconsin and Jefferson City-Missouri).

Bolivia and Paraguay

South America

San Pedro in Chile is the highest at 20,161 feet or 6145 metres.

Steamboat Geyser

During major eruptions, water may be thrown more than 300 feet (90 m) into the air. Steamboat's major eruptions last from 3 to 40 minutes in length, and are followed by powerful jets of steam. Steamboat does not erupt on a predictable schedule with recorded intervals between major eruptions ranging from four days to fifty years.

Romandy

The term Romandy does not formally exist in the political system but is used to distinguish and unify the French-speaking population of Switzerland. About 1.5 million people (or 20% of the Swiss population) live in Romandy.

Strait of Malacca

The Strait forms the main ship passageway between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, linking three of the world's most populous nations: India, Indonesia and China. At Phillips Channel near Singapore, the Strait narrows to 2.8 km (1.5 nautical miles) wide, creating one of the world's most significant traffic bottlenecks.

Lesotho

The name Lesotho roughly translates into "the land of the people who speak Sotho." The most notable geographic fact about Lesotho, apart from its status as an enclave, is that it is the only independent state in the world that lies entirely above 1,000 meters (3,300 ft) in elevation.

Yemen

In the sixteenth century and again in the nineteenth century, north Yemen was part of the Ottoman Empire, and in some periods its Imams exerted control over south Yemen. North Yemen became independent of the Ottoman Empire in 1918 and became a republic in 1962. In 1839, the British occupied the port of Aden and established it as a colony in September of that year. They also set up a zone of loose alliances (known as protectorates) around Aden to act as a protective buffer. In 1967, the British withdrew and gave back Aden to Yemen due to extreme pressure of battles with the North and Egyptian allies. After the British withdrawal, this area became known as South Yemen.

A large area in the Middle East south of the Taurus Mountains, bounded by the Mediterranean Sea on the west, and by the northern Arabian Desert and Upper Mesopotamia to the east

The term Levant is first attested in English in 1497, originally used in the wider sense of "Mediterranean lands east of Venetia". Today "Levant" is typically used by archaeologists and historians with reference to the prehistory and the ancient and medieval history of the region, as when discussing the Crusades. The term is also occasionally employed to refer to modern or contemporary events, peoples, states, or parts of states in the same region, namely Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and the Palestinian territories.

The South China Sea

It is a part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from Singapore to the Strait of Taiwan of around 3,500,000 km². The sea and its mostly uninhabited islands are subject to several competing claims of sovereignty by neighboring nations. These competing claims are also reflected in the variety of names used for the islands and the sea.

Volgograd

It was formerly called Tsaritsyn (1598–1925) and is today the administrative center of Volgograd Oblast, Russia. It is situated on the west bank of the Volga River.

Utah with Arches, Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef, Canyonlands and Zion.

Fleet street

Even though the last major British news office, Reuters, left in 2005, the street's name continues to be used as a metonymy for the British national press. Fleet Street is now more associated with the Law and its courts and barristers' chambers.

A watershed from which there is no outflow of water

Any rain (or other precipitation) that falls inside an endorheic basin may only leave the system by evaporation. Although endorheic basins can occur in any climate, in practice they are most commonly found in hot desert locations.

The Decade Volcanoes

A volcano may be designated a Decade Volcano if it exhibits more than one volcanic hazard; shows recent geological activity; is located in a populated area (eruptions at any of the Decade Volcanoes may threaten tens or hundreds of thousands of people, and therefore mitigating eruption hazards at these volcanoes is crucial); is politically and physically accessible for study; and there is local support for the work.

A Dune

In physical geography, a dune is a hill of sand built by wind activity. The world's highest dunes are found in Algerian Sahara, where they can reach more than 1.5 kms.

China