The average person probably only knows the locations of countries that they have been on holiday to or near, countries that are regularly on the news or are required to know as part of their work.
I managed a website that sells slide shows for Digital Photo frames. After a conversation with my kids about geography and realising that they were not taught about the locations of the countries in secondary school, I decided to make a geography slide show. Though I have some knowledge of world geography mainly gleamed from documentaries, what I didn't realise until I started work on the project was how many countries I thought were in different locations than they actually are. Once I completed the slide show I displayed them on our digital picture frame to see how well it all worked.
I was pleased to see how interested the kids were in finding out where the countries are considering they don't enjoy their Geography lessons. They play games quizzing each other which involves asking the one not look at the slide show where the country is on the slide. I would say that they have a better knowledge of world geography now than they would ever get from their current school education.
When i started working on the slide show i knew that Russia is the largest country but it wasn't until i looked at it in relation to other countries that i realise just how massive Russia is. The same goes for Canada, Greenland and Brazil all of which have a low population for a large land mass.
The countries are on the move!
Highlighting my ignorance I though Belize was in Europe when in fact it is in South America, though in my defense I may have mixed it up with Belarus.
Papua New Guinea has also moved from Africa to Australasia. Madagascar is next to Africa and not Thailand. Being a Formula 1 fan I knew that Monaco is a separate country within France with a population of around 30,500 people, but I had not heard of Andorra on the French Spanish border with a population of around 84,800. The same for San Marino in Italy with a population of around 31,800, again a Formula 1 location. I never knew why Italy use to have two races a year. Now it makes sense. Just for comparison the population of France is about 65,102,700, Italy is around 61,016,800 and China is around 1,336,718,000. The country with the lowest population is Vatican City in Rome Italy with a population of around 800 people.
You are welcome to visit my website at www.digislides.co.uk where you can download a sample pack of slide shows which contains some slides from the Countries of the World slides show.
Here are more facts about the geography of the earth that you may not know.
Q: How old is the Earth?
A: The Earth is about 4.6 billion years old.
Q: What is the distance around the earth?
A: The distance around the equator is about 40,076 km (24, 902 miles) and from pole to pole is 40,008 km (24,860 miles).
Q: What are Tectonic plates?
A: The Earth's crust is floating on a sea of molten rock called the asthenosphere, just one of several layers making up the inner levels of the Earth. The Earths crust is broken into several sections referred to as the tectonic plates on the outer layer called the lithosphere. These plates move about upon the asthenosphere layer at different speeds from 2.5cm to 15cm per year.
Q: What can happen where two tectonic plates collide?
A: Mountains can be created when two tectonic plates push together forcing the land to crumple up.
The Himalayas where created like this when India collided with Asia around 40-50 million years ago. The result is the highest mountain range in the world which contains Mount Everest.
Most of the volcanoes in the world are located on the boarders of the tectonic plates.
Q: Have the continents always been separated?
A: All of the continents use to be part of one super continent called Pangaea until about 235 million years ago when tectonic movement broke Pangaea apart into the current Continents. They have since been moving to their current locations. There has been many layouts of the land throughout Earths 4.6 billion year history but Pangea is believed to be one of the few times that all the land mass was together.
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| Pangaea |
Image from Wikipedia user Kieff
Q: What is the highest mountain on each Continent?
A: The highest mountains on each continent are:
Asia- Everest 8850 m 29035 ft
Located in Nepal, China
Africa- Kilimanjaro 5895m 19340ft Located in Tanzania
Australia- Kosciusko 2228m 7310 ft
Europe- Elbrus 5642m 18510ft
Russia
West Europe- Mont Blanc
Located on the French Italian boarder 4807m 15771ft
North America- 6194m 20320ft
Located in McKinley - Alaska
South America- Aconcagua 22834ft 6960 m
Located in Argentina
The tallest mountain in the world is Mauna Kea in Hawaii at 10314m 33480 ft base to peak. But only 4205m 13769ft is above sea level.
Q: How deep are the Oceans?
A: The deepest part of the oceans is the Mariana Trench near Guam in the west pacific which is 35798ft 10911m deep.
Deep enough to submerge Mount Mauna Kea.
Q: Why is Antarctica (South Pole) a continent but not the Arctic (North Pole)?
A: There is no land at the North Pole. The water depth is about 4261 m (13980 ft)
Q: What was the first official country?
A: Mesopotamia is widely considered the first major civilisation possibly dating back to 4000 BCE. This region is now known as Iraq in the Middle East.
Q: How many countries have no coast?
A: There are 43 countries that have no sea or ocean coast so are landlocked.
Details here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Landlocked_countries
Q: What country boarders the most other countries?
A: China and Russia both boarder 14 countries including each other. Russia would have 12 if the separate region of Kaliningrad Oblast next to Poland was not included.
Q: Where do the names of the Continents come from?
A: Africa's name came from the Roman term Africa Terra which may have came from the Phoenician term for colony, Afyqah.
America was first used by the Cartographer Martin Waldseemuller in 1507 after the Italian navigator Amerigo Vespucci who first realised that America was not part of Asia but a new Continent.
Asia has Latin and Greek origins meaning the Eastern Land. Possibly a translation of the word Asu loosly meaning the land of Sunrise.
Australia is from the Latin name Terra Australis Incognita meaning the Unknown Southern Land.
Europe has Latin and Greek origins from the word Europa. Explained as meaning Broad Face. Some references have a Sumerian origin from the term erebu meaning “darkness” and “to go down” in refernce to the sunset.
Antartica is from Old French, Modern Latin and Greek meaning Opposite North.
Digislides.co.uk
