Hawaii

It was under the influence of the British Empire during the 19th century.

Haiti and Dominican Republic

On the island of Hispaniola. The fact that the countries border only each other is a strong pointer to an island.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_that_border_only_one_other_country)

Nepal

Followed by India and Mauritius.

Germany (9)

Denmark, Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria, Switzerland, France, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands

the Pillars of Hercules

It was the phrase that was applied in Antiquity to the promontories that flank the entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pillars_of_Hercules)

2 of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and India

According to the U.S. Geological Survey a total of 227,898 people died.

Albania

In some parts of the country, the Kanun resembles the Italian vendetta.

Egypt and Israel

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_bordering_on_two_or_more_oceans)

Karbala

It commemorates the martyrdom of Hussein bin Ali, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad. It is one of the largest pilgrimage gatherings on Earth, in which over 15 million people go to the city of Karbala in Iraq. Observance of Arba'een in Karbala was banned for many years when Saddam Hussein, was president of Iraq.

Saint Kitts and Nevis, Suriname, Vatican City, ..., Maldives and Nauru

Seychelles (smallest countries in their continents)

Caribbean countries are usually considered part of North America and South Pacific island countries part of Oceania.

Goa

It is India's smallest as well as the richest state. Goa is a former Portuguese colony, the Portuguese overseas territory of Portuguese India existed for about 450 years until it was annexed by India in 1961.

the moon

They are used to describe any of the long, narrow depressions in the lunar surface that resemble channels. Typically a rille can be up to several kilometers wide and hundreds of kilometers in length.

Saudi Arabia

Named after Muhammad bin Saud (d. 1765), considered the founder of the First Saudi State and the Saud dynasty.

Ibn Battuta (1304 – 1368 or 1369)

He was a Muslim Moroccan explorer who journeyed more than 75,000 miles (121,000 km), a distance surpassing threefold his near-contemporary Marco Polo. Over a period of thirty years, he visited most of the known Islamic world as well as many non-Muslim lands.

a favela

the Pan-American Highway

Except for an 159 kilometres (99 mi) rainforest break, called the Darién Gap, the road links the mainland nations of the Americas in a connected highway system. According to Guinness World Records, the Pan-American Highway is the world's longest 'motorable road'. However, because of the Darién Gap, it is not possible to cross between South America and Central America by traditional motor vehicle.

Casbah

The Casbah played a central role during the Algerian struggle for independence (1954–1962). In 1982 The Clash released the single "Rock the Casbah" about Iran's outlawing of music.

Rhodes

The valley is home to thousands of the Rhodes subspecies of the Jersey Tiger Moth that cover the entire landscape after the wet season (late May) due to the high humidity in the area. Rhodes is the largest of the Dodecanese islands in terms of both land area and population. Historically, Rhodes was famous worldwide for the Colossus of Rhodes, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhodes)

Prague

Its construction started in 1357 under King Charles IV, and finished in the beginning of the 15th century. As the only means of crossing the river Vltava (Moldau) until 1841, it was the most important connection between Prague Castle and the city's Old Town and adjacent areas. This connection made Prague important as a trade route between Eastern and Western Europe.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_bridge)

Machu Picchu

It runs from Cusco to Machu Picchu in Peru and was named after the explorer who told the world about the site in 1911.

the Philippines

It is commonly thought that the terraces were built with minimal equipment, largely by hand. They are fed by an ancient irrigation system from the rain-forests above the terraces.

Jordan

Stonehenge

Auschwitz

Auschwitz had for a long time been a German name for Oświęcim, the town by and around which the camps were located; the name was made the official name again by the Germans after they invaded Poland in September 1939.

the Riesenrad or the Wiener Riesenrad

It is also featured in the 1987 James Bond film The Living Daylights and Richard Linklater's Before Sunrise, among several other movies.

Athens (Timon of Athens)

The other plays with place names in their titles are The Merchant of Venice, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, 'Pericles, Prince of Tyre' and The Merry Wives of Windsor.

New England

It consists of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. New England is the only one of the United States Census Bureau's nine regional divisions whose name does not derive from its geography, and it is the only multi-state region with clear, consistent boundaries.

Hindi

According to a 2009 press release from its Ministry of External Affairs, the government of India has been “working actively” to have Hindi recognized as an official language of the UN. In 2007, it was reported that the government would “make immediate diplomatic moves to see the status of an official language for Hindi at the United Nations”. However, there has been opposition to this from southern India, where Hindi is not widely spoken.

the Reichenbach Falls, site of Holmes' final fight with Moriarty

The town also contains a museum dedicated to Holmes.

Vatican City

The world's smallest country also happens to be land-locked.

to find the South Pole

On those particular voyages, they were captained by Ernest Shackleton and Roald Amundsen respectively.

The Philippines

The list starts off with Mexico, Spain, Colombia, Argentina and the United States.

Chile

It is 4,300 kilometres (2,700 mi) long and on average 175 kilometres (109 mi) wide.

Iberia, Scandinavia, Labrador, Alaska, Southern India, ...

Arabia (largest peninsulas of the world)

(http://www.onlinegkguide.com/2008/09/01/major-peninsulas-of-the-world/)

Baghdad

It opened in January 2009 and at 440,000 square meters it is nearly as large as Vatican City.

Qatar

The distinctive Qatari flag emerged in the 1930s (official adoption of the maroon color came about 1949). Bahrain's flag as we know it now was formally adopted in 1932 and the Qatari differences in size and color seem to be largely an effort to make the Qatar flag different from the Bahraini banner.
(http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/qa.html)

Lop Nur

Until 1996, 45 nuclear tests were conducted here.

climbing Mount Kilimanjaro

Armenian, ___, ___, ___.

Christian, Jewish and Muslim (the four quarters of Jerusalem)

In 1538, Jerusalem's walls were built around Jerusalem under Suleiman the Magnificent. Today those walls define the Old City, which has been traditionally divided into four quarters. The Old City became a World Heritage site in 1981.

the Acropolis in Athens

Lesbos

One meaning of the word lesbian derives from her poems.

Johannesburg

The city is the source of a large-scale gold and diamond trade, due to its location on the mineral-rich Witwatersrand range of hills.
(http://www.southafrica.to/provinces/Gauteng/towns/Johannesburg/Johannesburg.htm)

Italy (with 47 sites)

As of 2011, 936 sites are listed.

Baffin Island (named after William Baffin)

It is the largest island in Canada and the fifth largest island in the world. The first four largest are Greenland, New Guinea, Borneo and Madagascar.

sherpa

Today, the term is often used casually - and incorrectly - by foreigners to refer to almost any guide or porter hired for mountaineering expeditions in the Himalayas. Sherpas are renowned in the international climbing and mountaineering community for their hardiness, expertise, and experience at high altitudes.

Macau

Portuguese traders first settled in Macau in the 16th century and subsequently administered the region until the handover on 20 December 1999. The Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration and the Basic Law of Macau stipulate that Macau operates with a high degree of autonomy until at least 2049, fifty years after the transfer.

Modern Standard Arabic (based on the language of the Qur'an)

The written language is distinct from and more conservative than all of the spoken varieties and some of the spoken varieties are mutually unintelligible.

Schengen

The Schengen Area operates like a single state for international travel with border controls for those travelling in and out of the area, but with no internal border controls.

Potosí

Founded in 1546 as a mining town, it soon produced fabulous wealth, becoming one of the largest cities in the Americas and the world, with a population exceeding 200,000 people.

Mecca (metro)

A series of ritual acts that must be performed in the Hajj like the Stoning of the Devil take place at these sites.

the Amazon

Since the bulk of the river flows through tropical rainforest, where there are few roads or cities, there is little need for for crossings. The Amazon is also currently undammed but it may change if the Belo Monte dam is constructed.

the Serengeti

It is most famous for its annual migration of over one and a half million wildebeest and 250,000 zebra.

Komodo Island (known for its dragon, of course)

The island has a surface area of 390 km² and over 2000 inhabitants.

Ethiopia

India and Pakistan

Wagah itself is a village through which the controversial Radcliffe Line was drawn. The village was divided by independence in 1947. Today, the eastern half of the village remains in the Republic of India while the western half is in Pakistan.

"here be dragons"

Seoul

Joseon dynasty ruled Korea for five centuries and left a substantial legacy on the modern face of Korea.

Lusophone (from Lusitania)

Lusophone countries include Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, East Timor, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal, São Tomé and Príncipe, and the Chinese Special Administrative Region (SAR) of Macau.

Angkor Wat

It has become a symbol of Cambodia, appearing on its national flag, and it is the country's prime attraction for visitors. The design represents Mount Meru.

Saudi Arabia

The text on the flag is the shahada or Islamic declaration of faith that translates as "There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah".

Iceland

It is a founding member of NATO and joined on the condition that it would not be expected to establish an army.

that of the Greek god Atlas

He is remembered for the Mercator projection world map, which is named after him. This proved very useful to many later navigators who could (using his map) sail across the entire ocean on a straight path (called a rhumb line).

Algeria

Followed by Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan.

Peru (13%)

The forest region includes territory belonging to nine nations with minor amounts in Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname and France (French Guiana).

Lake Victoria

During the Rwandan Genocide of 1994, the Kagera was used to dispose of corpses as thousands of Tutsis and Hutu political moderates were murdered on the river banks. The river brought the massacred bodies into Lake Victoria, creating a serious health hazard in Uganda.

polar bears

The name Wapusk itself comes from the Cree word for polar bear.

Aachen (the place of coronation)

For 600 years, from 936 to 1531, Aachen Cathedral was the church of coronation for 30 German kings and 12 queens.

..., Ponte degli Scalzi, Ponte dell'Accademia, Ponte della Costituzione

the Rialto (in Venice)

Because most of the city's traffic goes along the Grand Canal rather than across it, only the Rialto crossed the canal until the 19th century.

Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen

Tivoli is currently the most visited theme park in Scandinavia and the 3rd most visited in Europe.

the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC)

Most OIC member countries are non-democratic. There are no OIC countries which are rated as a 'Full Democracy' under the Democracy Index guidelines, and only 3 of the 57 members are rated as high as a 'Flawed Democracy'.

Oman, Qatar and Yemen

Samoa

This move is anticipated to help the nation boost its economy by doing business with Australia and New Zealand. Before this change, Samoa was 21 hours behind Sydney, but the change means they are now three hours ahead. Meanwhile, American Samoa will become the last place on Earth to see the sun set.

South Africa

Maldives

It is also the country with the lowest highest point in the world, at 2.3 meters and rising sea levels are a great concern for the Maldives.

New Zealand

It is acclaimed as New Zealand's most famous tourist destination.

Easter (and thus the name Easter Island)

Easter Island is claimed to be "the most remote inhabited island in the world."

the Indus river

The total length of the river is 3,180 kilometers (1,976 miles) and it is Pakistan's longest river.

Notre Dame cathedral

Lascaux caves

The Paleolithic paintings are estimated to be 17,300 years old.

the Appalachian Trail

It is famous for its many hikers, some of whom, called thru-hikers, attempt to hike it in its entirety in a single season. Many books, memoirs, web sites and fan organizations are dedicated to this pursuit.

Canada

The prerequisite for admission to the Francophonie is not the degree of French usage in the member countries, but a prevalent presence of French culture and language in the member country's identity, usually stemming from France's colonial ambitions with other nations in its history.

the Panama Canal

The lake is important as a reservoir of water for the operation of the canal locks. Each time a ship transits the canal 53,400,000 gallons of water is passed from the lake into the sea; with over 14,000 vessel transits per year, this represents a very large demand for water. Since rainfall is seasonal in Panama, the lake acts as a water store, allowing the canal to continue operation through the dry season.

Cairo, Egypt

It was the focal point of the 2011 Egyptian Revolution against former president Hosni Mubarak. After the Egyptian Revolution of 1919 the square became widely known as Tahrir (Liberation) Square, but the square was not officially renamed until the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, which changed Egypt from a constitutional monarchy into a republic.

a tornado

A funnel cloud that touches down on, or moves over water is a waterspout.

Hong Kong

Odessa

The steps were made famous in Sergei Eisenstein's 1925 silent film The Battleship Potemkin; according to the fictionalized account in that film, soldiers opened fire on the people on the stairs on June 14, 1905. After the Soviet revolution, in 1955 the Primorsky Stairs were renamed Potemkin Stairs to honor the 50th anniversary of the Battleship Potemkin uprising. After Ukrainian independence, the Potemkin Stairs, like many streets in Odessa, were given back their original name, the Primorsky Stairs.

the Nazca Lines

They were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994. Scholars believe the Nazca Lines were created by the Nazca culture between 400 and 650 CE. Due to the dry, windless and stable climate of the plateau and its isolation, for the most part the lines have been preserved.

South Sudan

A referendum on independence for Southern Sudan was held on 9–15 January 2011. Preliminary results released by the Southern Sudan Referendum Commission on 30 January 2011 indicate that 98% of voters selected the "separation" option, with 1% selecting "unity".

..., Ajman, ..., Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah and Umm al-Quwain.

Abu Dhabi and Dubai (the emirates of The United Arab Emirates)

The capital and second-largest city is Abu Dhabi, which is also the country's center of political, industrial and cultural activities.

Turkey

The name Cappadocia is from the Persian for "Land of Beautiful Horses".

the tepuis

Tepuis tend to be found as isolated entities rather than in connected ranges, which makes them the host of a unique array of endemic plant and animal species. They rise abruptly from the jungle, giving rise to spectacular natural scenery. Auyantepui is the source of Angel Falls, the world's tallest waterfall.

Matthew Flinders (1774-1814)

In a career that spanned just over twenty years, he sailed with Captain William Bligh, circumnavigated Australia and encouraged the use of that name for the continent, which had previously been known as New Holland. Australia holds a large collection of statues erected in Flinders' honour, second only in number to statues of Queen Victoria.

the New World (novi orbis)

Ceylon

In ancient times, it was called by a variety of names — with Greek geographers calling it Taprobane and Arabs referring to it as Serendib. The Portuguese, the island's first European colonial rulers, called it Ceilao. Ceylon is a transliteration of Ceilao made by the British when they took over control of the island in 1815.

Delft

Mount Athos

Though land-linked, Mount Athos is accessible only by boat. The daily number of visitors entering Mount Athos is restricted and all are required to obtain a special entrance permit valid for a limited period. Only males are allowed entrance into Mount Athos, which is called 'Garden of the Virgin' by monks, and Orthodox Christians take precedence in the permit issuance procedure. Only males over the age of 18 who are members of the Eastern Orthodox Church are allowed to live on Athos, either as monks or as workers.

Kazan

It is the sixth largest city of Russia as well as the capital city of the Republic of Tatarstan.

Tristan da Cunha

It is a remote volcanic group of islands in the south Atlantic Ocean, and also the name of the main island of that group.

the Mercalli intensity scale

The values will differ based on the distance to the earthquake, with the highest intensities being around the epicentral area. Data are gathered from individuals who have experienced the quake, and an intensity value will be given to their location.

Hokkaido

Nunavut

Alert was reported to have five permanent inhabitants according to the 2006 census.

Canada

Brazil

Potala Palace

The Potala Palace was inscribed to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1994.

Singapore

The fish body comes from Singapore's ancient name back when it was a fishing village — Temasek — meaning "sea town" in Javanese. The lion head represents Singapore's original name — Singapura — meaning "lion city" or "kota singa".

it became a net importer of oil

As of 2010, OPEC is a cartel of twelve countries made up of Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela.

the Sinai

It is the only part of Egyptian territory located in Asia as opposed to Africa.

Brussels

The Treaty of Brussels, signed on 17 March 1948 by Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France and the United Kingdom is considered the precursor to the NATO agreement.

Harar

For centuries, Harar has been a major commercial centre, linked by the trade routes with the rest of Ethiopia, the entire Horn of Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and, through its ports, the outside world.

Bolivia

Somalia

Common indicators include a state whose central government is so weak or ineffective that it has little practical control over much of its territory; non-provision of public services; widespread corruption and criminality; refugees and involuntary movement of populations; sharp economic decline.

The Philippines and East Timor

San Marino

The constitution of San Marino, enacted in 1600, is the world's oldest constitution still in effect.

Great Britain (3rd) and Hispaniola (10th)

The most populous are Java (Indonesia) and Honshu (Japan).

the Eiffel Tower

More than 200,000,000 people have visited the tower since its construction in 1889.

the Delmarva peninsula

It is a portmanteau word formed from the names of the states that occupy it: Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia (abbreviated VA).

China

Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square

Djibouti and Yemen

Laos

Since its initial establishment suggested to be in the 3rd century, the stupa has undergone several reconstructions until the 1930s due to foreign invasions to the area.

Nauru

National Park of American Samoa

Avignon

Swahili

The other five are Arabic, English, French, Spanish and Portuguese.

The Gambia

Its borders roughly correspond to the path of the Gambia River, the nation's namesake, which flows through the country's center and empties into the Atlantic Ocean.

the Tunguska event

Although the cause of the explosion is the subject of debate, it is commonly believed to have been caused by the air burst of a large meteoroid or comet fragment at an altitude of 5–10 kilometres (3.1–6.2 mi) above the Earth's surface.

Saint Martin

The southern Dutch half comprises the Island Territory of St. Martin and is part of the Netherlands Antilles. The northern French half comprises the Collectivity of St. Martin and is an overseas collectivity of France. Collectively, the two territories are known as "St-Martin/St Maarten". Sometimes SXM, the IATA identifier for Princess Juliana International Airport (the island's main airport), is used to refer to the island.

Casablanca

It is considered the economic and business center of Morocco, while the political capital city of Morocco is Rabat.
(Thanks to Matt Budhiarta for sending in a correction.)

Patagonia (from Patagon)

the Peloponnesian peninsula

It saves the 400 kilometres long journey around the Peloponnesus for smaller ships, but since it is only 21 metres wide it is too narrow for modern ocean freighters. The Roman Emperor Nero (r. 54–68 A.D.) launched an excavation, personally breaking the ground with a pickaxe and removing the first basket-load of soil, but the project was abandoned when he died shortly afterwards.

Bantustan

The term was first used in the late 1940s, and was coined from 'Bantu' (meaning 'people' in some of the Bantu languages) and '-stan' (a suffix meaning 'land of' in Persian). The word 'bantustan', today, is often used in a pejorative sense when describing a country or region that lacks any real legitimacy or power, consists of several unconnected enclaves, and/or emerges from national or international gerrymandering.

Kilimanjaro

It is in north-eastern Tanzania and is the highest peak in Africa at 5,895 metres.

Isle of Man

The island is not part of the United Kingdom but foreign relations, defence, and ultimate good governance of the Isle of Man are the responsibility of the government of the United Kingdom.

Paris

The Haussmann Renovations was a work commissioned by Napoléon III between 1852 and 1870, though work continued well after the Second Empire's demise in 1870. The project encompassed all aspects of urban planning, both in the centre of Paris and in the surrounding districts: streets and boulevards, regulations imposed on facades of buildings, public parks, sewers and water works, city facilities and public monuments.

Australia

Port Royal

The disaster caused two thirds of the city to sink into the Caribbean Sea.

South Africa

Córdoba

Today a moderately-sized modern city, the old town contains many impressive architectural reminders of when it was the thriving capital of the Caliphate of Córdoba, and when it governed almost all of the Iberian peninsula.

China and North Korea

the Mackenzie

It originates in Great Slave Lake, in the Northwest Territories, and flows north into the Arctic Ocean. It is the longest river in Canada at 1,738 kilometres (1,080 mi).

the St. Lawrence Seaway

The flooding was expected and planned for. In the weeks and months leading up to the inundation, families and businesses in the affected communities were moved to the new planned communities of Long Sault and Ingleside. These negotiations were controversial, however, as many residents of the communities felt that market value compensation was insufficient since the Seaway plan had already depressed property values in the region.

a meridian

The same Latin stem gives rise to the terms A.M. (Ante Meridian) and P.M. (Post Meridian) used to disambiguate hours of the day when using the 12-hour clock.

the Gulf of Mexico

The Sigsbee Deep is a trough that extends more than 300 miles and is often called the "Grand Canyon under the sea."Its closest point to the American coast is 200 miles southeast of Brownsville, Texas.

Somalia

Punta Arenas

It is the most prominent settlement on the Strait of Magellan.

New Caledonia

It is located in the region of Melanesia in the southwest Pacific. It comprises a main island (Grande Terre), the Loyalty Islands, and several smaller islands. It is approximately half the size of Taiwan and the capital and largest city of the territory is Nouméa.

Kiribati

It is also the only country in the world through which both the Equator and the International Date Line passes.

Hiroshima-Honshu, Nagasaki-Kyushu

the French Riviera

It is the Mediterranean coastline of the south eastern corner of France, extending from Menton near the Italian border in the east to either Hyères or Cassis in the west. ts largest city is Nice, which is home to Nice Côte d'Azur Airport, France's second-busiest airport (after Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport).

Lübeck

Tongass National Forest

Brunei

Tel Aviv

Tel Aviv was founded in 1909 on the outskirts of the ancient port city of Jaffa. The growth of Tel Aviv soon outpaced Jaffa, which was largely Arab at the time. Tel Aviv and Jaffa were merged into a single municipality in 1950, two years after the establishment of the State of Israel. Tel Aviv's White City, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2003, comprises the world's largest concentration of Modernist-style buildings.

Egypt

The eagle as a symbol of Saladin is disputed by archeologists.

Antarctica

Located on the southern tip of Ross Island on the shore of McMurdo Sound, 2,200 miles (3,500 km) due south of New Zealand, it is operated by the United States through the United States Antarctic Program, a branch of the National Science Foundation. It is also featured in many popular sci-fi novels and movies.

Bab-el-Mandeb

The strait derives its name from the dangers attending its navigation, or, according to an Arab legend, from the numbers who were drowned by the earthquake which separated Asia and Africa.

the Loreley (also written as Lorelei)

The name comes from the old German words "lureln" (Rhine dialect for "murmuring") and the Celtic term "ley" (rock). Loreley is also the name of one of the beautiful Rhine Maidens who lured navigators of this river to their dooms with their alluring singing, much as the ancient Greek Sirens did.

Indonesia

Comprising 17,508 islands, it is the world's largest archipelagic state.

Réunion

It is located in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, about 200 km (130 miles) south west of Mauritius, the nearest island. Administratively, Réunion is one of the overseas départements of France.

Kansas

the Skeleton Coast

More than a thousand vessels of various sizes and areas litter the coast. The Bushmen of the Namibian interior called the region "The Land God Made in Anger", while Portuguese sailors once referred to it as "The Gates of Hell".

Tierra del Fuego

It is separated from the southernmost tip of the South American mainland by the Strait of Magellan. Cape Horn is the most southerly of the great capes, and marks the northern boundary of the Drake Passage; for many years it was a major milestone on the clipper route, by which sailing ships carried trade around the world. The need for ships to round the horn was greatly reduced by the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914.

Monaco

Monaco is a Constitutional Monarchy and Principality with Prince Albert II as head of state. The Grimaldi family has ruled over Monaco since 1292 and the state's sovereignty was officially recognized by the Franco-Monegasque Treaty of 1861. Despite being independent, Monaco’s defense is still the responsibility of France. To the east it is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea.

the Altai range

Denmark

Borneo

Indonesia's region of Borneo is called "Kalimantan" (although Indonesians use the term for the whole island), while Malaysia's region of Borneo is called East Malaysia or Malaysian Borneo. The independent nation of Brunei occupies the remainder of the island.

the Prime/Greenwich Meridian

The Prime Meridian and the opposite 180th meridian (at 180° longitude), which the International Date Line generally follows, form a great circle that divides the Earth into he Eastern and Western Hemispheres.

Commonwealths

This designation, which has no constitutional impact, emphasizes that they have a "government based on the common consent of the people" as opposed to one legitimized through their earlier Royal Colony status that was derived from the King of Great Britain. The word commonwealth is of English derivation and refers to the common "wealth" or welfare of the public. In common parlance, people do not make the distinction between state or commonwealth. Two U.S. territories — Puerto Rico and the Northern Marianas — are also referred to as commonwealths, and do have a legal status different from the states (both are unincorporated territories).

New Zealand

This is because the US flies its resupply missions ("Operation Deep Freeze") out of Christchurch, New Zealand. Given the continuing and constant US presence in Antarctica since 1955-56, "Operation Deep Freeze" has come to be used as a general term for US operations in that continent, and in particular for the regular missions to resupply US Antarctic bases, coordinated by the US military.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Pole)

a katabatic wind

The buildup of high density cold air over the ice sheets and the elevation of the ice sheets brings into play enormous gravitational energy, propelling the winds well over hurricane force. In Greenland these winds are called Pitaraq and are most intense whenever a low pressure area approaches the coast. Not all downslope winds are katabatic. For instance, winds such as the Föhn, Chinook or Bergwind, are rain shadow winds where air driven upslope on the windward side of a mountain range drops its moisture and descends leeward drier and warmer.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katabatic)

Macaronesia (not to be confused with Micronesia in Oceania)

Macaronesia consists of five archipelagos: (1) Azores (Portugal) (2) Madeira (Portugal) (3) Savage Islands (Portugal) (4) Canary Islands (Spain) and (5) Cape Verde (Cape Verde)
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macaronesia)

the Kaliningrad oblast

It has no land connection to the rest of Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. Borderless travel to the main part of Russia is only possible by sea or air. Its largest city and the administrative center is Kaliningrad, which has historical significance as both a major city of Prussia and the capital of the former German province East Prussia, of which the region remains the northern core remnant.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaliningrad_Oblast)

the Yangtze

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 river is about 6,300 km long and flows from its source in Qinghai Province, eastwards into the East China Sea at Shanghai. It has traditionally been considered a dividing line between North and South China.

a billabong

The word is derived from two Indigenous Australian words: "billa" meaning "creek" and "bong" meaning "dead". Billabongs appear relatively often in Australian literature. One of the most well-known references is in the opening line of Banjo Paterson's famous poem "Waltzing Matilda".

Russia

The Bering Strait separates eastern Russia from Alaska at a distance of approximately 90 kilometers. The next closest country is Bahamas, with Grand Bahama Island resting approximately 100 kilometers off the east coast of Florida.

the Sea of Galilee

One of Jesus' famous teaching episodes, the Sermon on the Mount, was given on a hill overlooking the lake whilst many of his miracles were also recorded to occur here including his walking on water, calming a storm, and his feeding five thousand people (in Tabgha). In the time of the Byzantine Empire, the lake's significance in Jesus' life made it a major destination for Christian pilgrims.

the Maghreb

In older Arabic usage, the word pertained only to the area of the three countries between the high ranges of the Atlas Mountains and the Mediterranean Sea. Historically some writers also included Spain — especially during its period of Muslim domination — in the definition. The region was united as a single political entity only during the first years of Arab rule (early 8th century), and again for several decades under the Almohads (1159–1229). The Arab states of North Africa established the Arab Maghreb Union in 1989 to promote cooperation and economic integration. Its members are Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Mauritania.

Richard Feynman

In the 1920s and 1930s, postage stamps from Tuva were issued. Many philatelists, including Feynman, have been fascinated with this far-away and obscure land because of them.

The Philippines

Luzon is the largest and most economically and politically important island.

Chimborazo

It is also Ecuador's highest summit. The summit measures 20,946,232 ft (6,384,412 m) from the Earth's core. The summit of Mount Everest reaches a higher elevation above sea level, but the summit of Chimborazo is widely reported to be the farthest point from Earth's center, despite a possible challenge from Huascarán (in Peru). Chimborazo is just one degree south of the equator and the earth's diameter at the equator is greater than at Everest's latitude, with sea level also being elevated. So, despite being 2,581 m (8,568 ft) lower in elevation above sea level, it is 6,384.4 km (3,968 mi) from the Earth's center, 2.1 km farther than the summit of Everest.

Honduras and Nicaragua

The Mosquito Coast was incorporated into Nicaragua in 1894, however, in 1960 the northern part was granted to Honduras by the International Court of Justice. It is so called from its principal inhabitants, the Miskito Indians, whose name was corrupted into Mosquito by European settlers.

Belize

What were they seeking?

El Dorado

El Dorado (Spanish for 'the gilded one') is a legend that began with the story of a South American tribal chief who covered himself with gold dust and would dive into a lake of pure mountain water. The legend began in the 1530s, in the Andes of present-day Colombia, where conquistador Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada first found the Muisca, a nation in the modern day Cundinamarca and Boyacá highlands of Colombia, in 1537. The story of the Muisca rituals was brought to Quito by Sebastian de Belalcazar’s men; mixed with other rumors, there arose the legend of 'El Dorado'. Imagined as a place, El Dorado became a kingdom, an empire, the city of this legendary golden king.

Ukraine

the Andean range

The Andes mountain range is the highest mountain range outside Asia, with the highest peak, Aconcagua, rising to 6,962 m (22,841 ft) above sea level. The summit of Mount Chimborazo in the Ecuadorean Andes is the point on the Earth's surface most distant from its center, because of the equatorial bulge. The Andes cannot match the Himalayas in height but do so in width and are more than twice as long. It is over 7,000 km (4,400 miles) long, 500 km (300 miles) wide in some parts and of an average height of about 4,000 m (13,000 ft).

Haifa

The Bahá'í World Centre is recognizable by the gardens that dominate the area of Mount Carmel directly above the sea port. The Bahá'í World Centre is also the current destination for Bahá'í pilgrimage.

Basra

The city is located along the Shatt al-Arab waterway near the Persian Gulf, 55 kilometers (34 mi) from the Persian Gulf and 545 kilometers (339 mi) from Baghdad. A network of canals flowed through the city, giving it the nickname "The Venice of the Middle East" at least at high tide.

the 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.
(Thanks to George A for clarifying the meaning of Nullarbor.)

Djibouti

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.

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.

the Ituri

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.

Bangladesh

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.

the Bronx

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

South America

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

the Golden Crescent

Botany Bay

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

China

Lebanon

Posts in government and seats in the legislature are apportioned amongst different groups according to the relative demographic composition of those groups in a society, which is seen as a way of formally recognizing the communal political rights of indigenous groups. Currently, the political system of Lebanon is modeled in such a way, and the term is usually associated with Lebanon.

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.

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".

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.

Crete

It is also Greece's largest island. 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.

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.

Sicily

It is an autonomous region of Italy.

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.

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.

in the Bamyan valley (they were called as 'Buddhas of Bamyan')

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

Ecuador 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.

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.

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.

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.

the Okavango

The area was once part of Lake Makgadikgadi, an ancient lake that dried up some 10,000 years ago. Today, the Okavango River has no outlet to the sea and it empties onto the sands of the Kalahari Desert, irrigating 15,000 km² of the desert.

the Arctic Ocean

It is also the smallest.

7

Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovenia and Kosovo.

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.

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.

an eon (eon > era > period > epoch)

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.

Lourdes

Today Lourdes has a population of around 1,000 inhabitants but is able to take in some 5,000,000 pilgrims and tourists every season.

Utah

With Arches, Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef, Canyonlands and Zion.

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.

Saint 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.

Guyana

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

the Eastern Mediterranean at large but can also denote a large area in Western Asia

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 Perfect Storm

The waters of the Flemish Cap are noted as excellent fishing waters. Halibut, swordfish, shrimp, scallop and other marine species may be found in abundance there.

the Gulf of Saint Lawrence

It is the outlet of North America's Great Lakes via the Saint Lawrence River into the Atlantic Ocean.

barbed wire

The first patent in the United States for barbed wire was issued in 1867 to Lucien B. Smith of Kent, Ohio, who is regarded as the inventor. Joseph F. Glidden of DeKalb, Illinois, received a patent for the modern invention in 1874 after he made his own modifications to previous versions.

Nunavut

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.

Edmund Hillary, on returning from Everest's summit

While stressing team work, Tenzing Norgay disclosed that Hillary was the first to put his foot on the summit and concluded: "If it is a shame to be the second man on Mount Everest, then I will have to live with this shame."

it is the largest subnational governing body in the world by area

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

Tajikistan

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

the 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.

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.

only people to have reached the Challenger Deep, the deepest surveyed point in the oceans (the Hollywood mogul is James Cameroon who did it in 2012)

Piccard and Walsh were aboard the bathyscaphe Trieste when it made a record-breaking descent into the Challenger Deep in 1960. The depth was measured at 35,813 ft (10,916 m), but later and more accurate measurements have put it at 35,798 ft (10,911 m).

Kazakhstan

It is the 9th largest country in the world.

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.

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

Anatolia, also known as Asia Minor

The name comes from the Greek for "east". The Byzantine theme of "Anatolikon" ("eastern one") signified the lands to the east of Europe and Constantinople.

the 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.

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.

Cusco

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.

Brasilia

The city was planned and developed in 1956 with Lúcio Costa as the principal urban planner and Oscar Niemeyer as the principal architect. In 1960, it formally became Brazil's national capital. When seen from above, the main planned part of the city's shape resembles an airplane or a butterfly.

Machu Picchu

Sometimes called the "Lost City of the Incas", it is a well-preserved pre-Columbian Inca ruin located at 2,430 m (7,970 ft) on a mountain ridge. Machu Picchu is located above the Urubamba Valley in Peru, about 70 km (44 mi) northwest of Cusco.

Georgia

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.

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.

Saudi Arabia

mangroves

The Sundarbans in India and Bangladesh is the largest mangrove forest in the world.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

East Timor

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.

Venice

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.

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.

El Salvador

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

Bolivia and Paraguay

The Netherlands

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.

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.

the Amazon

Marajo is located at the mouth of the Amazon in Brazil and has a land area of 15,500 sq mi. Although its northeast coastline faces the Atlantic Ocean, the outflow from the Amazon is so great that the sea at the mouth is quite unbriny for some distance from shore. The island sits almost directly on the equator.

Cape Farewell

a sand 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.

Greenland

It is a self-governed Danish territory.

Northern Ireland

Great Britian = England + Scotland + Wales; United Kingdom = Great Britian + Northern Ireland.

the Black Forest

The Black Forest (German Schwarzwald) is a wooded mountain range in southwestern Germany. It was also the setting for many fairy tales popularized by the Brothers Grimm.

the land of the 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.

San Marino and Vatican City, in Italy

the theory of continental drift

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

Russia

Japan also has disputes with South Korea over Dokdo (Takeshima), with China and Taiwan over the Senkaku Islands (Diaoyutai Islands), and with China over the status of Okinotorishima. These disputes are in part about the control of marine and natural resources, such as possible reserves of crude oil and natural gas.

Burkina Faso

It is a landlocked country in West Africa and is surrounded by six countries: Mali to the north, Niger to the east, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Côte d'Ivoire to the southwest.

Namche Bazaar

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.

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.

Iguazu Falls

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.

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.

Samarkand

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.

Mount 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

Monrovia, the capital of Liberia