Top 10: Extreme Places on Earth
We’ve covered choppers and animals, but what about places on Earth that you might not want to build a home? What about the most extreme settings on the planet? Here are ten places on Earth that would test a person’s meddle.
Coldest Place on Earth
No, it’s not Oshkosh after a fight at the bar, it’s Antarctica. Vostok Station saw a temperature of −89.2 °C (−129 °F) on 21 July 1983. How cold is that? To put it into context the average refrigerator is something like 130 times warmer. Ongoing research at the south pole includes upper-atmosphere physics, meteorology, earth sciences, geophysics, glaciology, and astrophysics…. oh, and how not to freeze your nards off.
Hottest Places on Earth
The hottest temperature ever recorded on Earth was in Al ‘Aziziyah, Libya. In 1922 an official high of 57.8 °C (136.0 °F) was recorded. This isn’t the hottest average temperature on the planet though, and no, it’s not Death Valley either. Dallol, Ethiopia currently holds the record for the highest average temperature for an inhabited location on Earth. The average annual temperature is 34°C (94°F) was recorded between the years 1960 and 1966.
Driest Place on Earth
This is going to sound so completely off I’m sure someone in a retainer is going to freak out and leave a message. The driest place on Earth is also the coldest; Antarctica. The average precipitation (check the link before you start furiously typing away Sparkie) is zero. Dry Valley in Antarctica has not seen any rain in 2 million years. This sounds a lot like my bedroom.
Wettest Place on Earth (Rain)
Mount Waialeale on the island of Kauaʻi in the Hawaiian Islands averages more than 11,680 ml (460 inches) of rain over the last 32 years, with a record 17,340 ml (isn’t that like .017 liters or something? Metric is gay!) or 683 inches in 1982. Its summit is considered one of the rainiest spots on earth.
Highest Peak
The highest peak from sea level is Mount Everest at just over 29,000 FEET (F**K YOU Metric). However because of the shape of the Earth, Mount Chimborazo in the Andes is closer to space, it sits on a bulge just south of the equator. Though Everest is further from sea level, Chimborazo is actually a mile and a half closer to outer space… and slightly easier to climb. To keep the narrow minded’s heads from exploding, I’ll stick with measurements from sea level from now on. But I’m no longer using metric measurements… we’ll call it a compromise.
Lowest Spot on Earth
It’s the Dead Sea on the border of Jordan and Israel. The Dead Sea lies at 1,312 feet below sea level. To put that into perspective that is nearly 250 feet taller (shorter?) than the Eiffel Tower which stands at 1,063 feet tall. Believe it or not, it’s not the saltiest place on Earth though, Africa’s Lake Assal is ten times saltier than the ocean and saltier than the Dead Sea.
Most Volcanoes
The country with the most volcanoes is Indonesia which contains over 130 active volcanoes. Most of these volcanoes lie between the island paradises of Java and Sumatra. Among them is the infamous Krakatua that exploded in 1883 causing tsunamis and a 1.2 degree drop in global temperature. Skeletons were found floating on pumice a year after and thousands of miles away from the volcano.
Most Earthquakes- Country
This is a subjective question, seriously. If you’re looking for a per unit of land (size to number or earthquakes- or per capita) this would be Japan. However Indonesia is in a very active seismic area (remember Krakatua?) also. By virtue of its larger size it has more total earthquakes. The of population density of both China and Iran make them the forerunners for most total fatalities from earthquakes though the recent Haiti earthquake ranks in the top 10 disasters in written history with around 250,000 dead.
Worst Weather on Earth
Far to the north on the Bering Sea between Alaska and Russia lie the Aleutian Islands. These Arctic islands see generally about 8 days of sun a year. According to one source a missionary priest once spent seven years on Unalaska, and kept track of the weather every day. In seven years, there were only 53 days of sunshine. Everyday has the possibility of producing hurricane force winds, and some sort of precipitation falls 8 months out of the year total.
Most Tornadoes in The World
That would be hands down the United States. The US has nearly four times the annual tornado rate of Europe. Owning a trailer park in Kansas is a risky proposition when you think about the fact that there are an average of 55 per year.. and Kansas is third on the list.
I share your pain about metric: when I started school in Scotland we were introduced to metric which nobody understodd, because at home everybody was using pounds, feet etc. Great facts, and stunning pics – thank you!
hey…why f***k metric? it’s much more easyer then your system..and it is very easy to understand
cool info btw
I only like centimeters when they’re expressed in inches.
Thanks for the comments guys… I’m asking LeTune to let me or Geiger do a part 2. It was interesting and a lot of extremes still exist. Suggestions anyone?
17,340 ml = 17.34 LITERS (4.58074 gallons). Metric is too logical, right? 100 = 10 = 1 = 10 = 100. Meaning 100 of one unit is 10 of the next unit is 1 of the next unit or vice versa. Instead of 12 = 1 = 0.33 = 1 = 12. And that’s just for length/height. You also have mass, pressure, weight, temperature, speed and volume which ALL have their own quirks in imperial measure. Metric is always 100 = 10 = 1 = 10 = 100. And thanks for f***ing up the Hubble because you don’t know how to use the most prevalent and logical measure in the entire world.
What’s easier? Whole numbers or fractions? 12 millimeter wrench as opposed to 1/7th inch wrench. Shorthand in metrich? 12. Shorthand in imperial? 1/7th. Saying 7th, and being an assbag about it, I would count from left to right and give you the 7th wrench I came to. OK, I can even see my own fallacy here. But imagine this: “What do you need?” “A 12.” (Metrich) “What do you need?” “A 7th.” (Imperial) You can see how it is clearer to use metric here. A 12 is marked with 12. A 7th isn’t marked 7th, it’s marked 1/7.
Yes, correct my imperial math because I care so much about it. I just realised it’s quite wrong. My example is still valid, but my math is all f***ed up. I just didn’t bother correcting it when I realised that dividing 2.54 centimeters (1 inch) into small enough portions to be fractions that would actually line up with 12 millimeters would be a hassle I don’t care enough about to do.