World Geography

Seven continents, one size ladder

There are seven continents. By area, from largest to smallest: Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, Australia. Asia holds about 30% of the world's land and most of its people; Australia is the smallest and flattest, and with no land borders it is a 'continental country'.

Superlatives the exam repeats

Feature	Answer
Highest peak	Mount Everest 8,848.86 m (Nepal-China border; jointly re-measured in 2020)
Highest by continent	Kilimanjaro (Africa), Aconcagua (S. America), Denali (N. America), Elbrus (Europe), Vinson Massif (Antarctica), Kosciuszko (Australia)
Longest mountain range	The Andes (about 7,000 km) - longest in the world; the Himalaya-Karakoram has the highest peaks
Longest rivers	Nile (about 6,650 km) usually quoted as longest; Amazon carries the largest volume of water
Largest desert	Sahara (hot desert, North Africa); the coldest desert is Antarctica itself
Largest island	Greenland (the largest island - Australia, being a continent, does not count)
Largest lake	Caspian Sea (salt lake); largest freshwater lake by area - Lake Superior (N. America)
Deepest lake	Lake Baikal (Russia) - deepest freshwater lake
Highest waterfall	Angel Falls (Venezuela, about 979 m)
Lowest land point	Dead Sea shore (about 430 m below sea level)
Highest plateau	Tibet; the meeting of ranges at the Pamir Knot is the 'roof of the world'

Continent by continent - the one-liners

• Asia: Everest; the Dead Sea depression; Baikal (deepest) and the Caspian (largest lake); the Yangtze; the Sundarbans, the world's largest delta; Mesopotamia (Tigris-Euphrates); the equator crosses its islands (Indonesia).
• Africa: the 'Dark Continent'; 54 countries, the most; the Sahara; the Nile (White and Blue Niles meet at Khartoum); Kilimanjaro; Lake Victoria; the Great Rift Valley; it straddles the equator.
• North America: Denali; the Rockies and Appalachians; the Mississippi-Missouri system; the five Great Lakes (Superior, Michigan - the only one wholly in the USA - Huron, Erie, Ontario) with Niagara Falls between Erie and Ontario; the Grand Canyon on the Colorado; Death Valley; Greenland, the largest island.
• South America: the Andes; Aconcagua; the Amazon and its rainforest, the world's largest; Angel Falls; the Atacama, driest non-polar desert; the Pampas; Lake Titicaca, the highest large navigable lake; La Paz, the world's highest capital city.
• Europe: Vatican City, the smallest country; the Alps; Elbrus; the Volga (longest) and the Danube (most countries crossed); Norwegian fjords; no true desert.
• Australia/Oceania: the Great Barrier Reef; Uluru (Ayers Rock) monolith; Mount Kosciuszko; the Murray-Darling rivers; kangaroo and emu; the Great Dividing Range.
• Antarctica: coldest, driest, windiest (-89.2 degrees C at Vostok); about 98% ice sheet; no permanent population - only research stations (India: Dakshin Gangotri, Maitri, Bharati); highest peak Vinson Massif; run under the Antarctic Treaty (1959).

Grasslands of the world - by name

Type	Region	Name
Tropical	East Africa	Savanna
Tropical	Venezuela (Orinoco)	Llanos
Tropical	Brazil	Campos
Temperate	North America	Prairies (wheat basket)
Temperate	Russia-Central Asia	Steppes
Temperate	Argentina-Uruguay	Pampas (cattle, wheat)
Temperate	South Africa	Veld
Temperate	Australia	Downs
Temperate	New Zealand	Canterbury

Peoples of the world - tribe by region

Pygmies - Congo rainforest; Bushmen (San) - Kalahari; Masai - Kenya-Tanzania savanna; Bedouins - Arabia; Tuaregs and Berbers - Sahara; Inuit (Eskimo) - Arctic Canada, Greenland, Alaska; Lapps (Sami) - northern Scandinavia; Kirghiz - Central Asian steppes; Aborigines - Australia; Red Indians (Amerindians) - the Americas; Fuegians - Tierra del Fuego; Ainus - Hokkaido, Japan; Gonds and Bhils - central India.

Quick revision

• Size: Asia > Africa > N. America > S. America > Antarctica > Europe > Australia.
• Everest 8,848.86 m (2020); Kilimanjaro-Africa, Aconcagua-SA, Denali-NA, Elbrus-Europe, Vinson-Antarctica.
• Nile longest, Amazon biggest volume; Sahara largest hot desert; Greenland largest island.
• Caspian largest lake, Superior largest freshwater, Baikal deepest; Angel Falls highest waterfall.
• Grasslands: Prairies-Steppes-Pampas-Veld-Downs; tropical Savanna-Llanos-Campos.
• Antarctica: coldest/driest/windiest, no permanent people; Indian stations Maitri and Bharati.