Geography Fun Facts

Question: In which country were bananas first grown?

Answer: Bananas have been grown in India for at least 4,000 years. Arabs took them to Africa and Palestine; they are mentioned in early Greek, Latin, and Arabic writings.

Question: What country has the most wild bears?

Answer: At the last census, Russia had some 100,000 wild bears, about 30,000 more than the United States, Canada, and the rest of Europe combined.

Question: Where is the world’s highest annual average rainfall?

Answer: The world’s record for average annual rainfall belongs to Mt. Waialeale, Hawaii, where it averages about 450 inches (1,140 centimeters) per year.

Question: On which continent did our upright-walking ancestors originate?

Answer: Most scientists now believe our early human relatives migrated from Africa to Asia, Europe, and beyond.

Question: What was the name of the supercontinent of 200 million years ago?

Answer: The seven continents of today were once joined together as a supercontinent called Pangaea. It began to break apart about 200 million years ago.

Question: Where was the greatest difference between annual high and low temperatures recorded?

Answer: Verkhoyansk, a Siberian city, has the greatest recorded difference between July high and January low temperatures—193 °F or 107 °C!

Question: Where, as of 2009, did the world’s heaviest annual rainfall on record fall?

Answer: The world’s heaviest rainfall in a single year was recorded at Cherrapunji, India, where it rained 905 inches (2,300 centimeters) in 1861.