Recent from talks
Extremes on Earth
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Extremes on Earth
This article lists extreme locations on Earth that hold geographical records or are otherwise known for their geophysical or meteorological superlatives. All of these locations are Earth-wide extremes; extremes of individual continents or countries are not listed.
These are the longest straight lines that can be drawn between any two points on the surface of the Earth and remain exclusively over land or water; the points need not lie on the same line of latitude or longitude.
As distinct from geodesic lines, which appear straight only when projected onto the spheroidal surface of the Earth (i.e. arcs of great circles), straight lines passing through the Earth's centre can be constructed through the interior of the Earth between almost any two points on the surface of the Earth (some extreme topographical situations such as overhanging cliffs being the rare exceptions[citation needed]). A line projected from the summit of Cayambe in Ecuador (see highest points) through the axial centre of the Earth to its antipode on the island of Sumatra results in the longest diameter that can be produced anywhere through the Earth. As the variable circumference of the Earth approaches 40,000 kilometres (25,000 mi), such a maximum "diameter" or "antipodal" line would be on the order of 13,000 kilometres (8,000 mi) long.[citation needed]
In contrast to places with the highest density of life, like terrestrial tropical regions, and beside local extreme conditions, which might only be overcome by extremophiles, there are areas of extreme low amounts of life.
Next to terrestrial lifeless areas like the Antarctic desert's McMurdo Dry Valleys and its Don Juan Pond, the most lifeless area in the ocean studied (other than the more general dead zones) is the South Pacific Gyre, corresponding to the oceanic pole of inaccessibility.
The oceanic pole of inaccessibility is also the antipodal area of the human center of population which lies today around southern Central Asia. Similarly the world's economic center of gravity has been drifting since antiquity from Central Asia to Northern Europe and contemporarily back to Central Asia. The related centre of gravity of the worlds carbon emission has shifted from Britain during the Industrial Revolution to the Atlantic, back again and contemporarily into Central Asia.
Each continent has its own continental pole of inaccessibility, defined as the place on the continent that is farthest from any ocean. Similarly, each ocean has its own oceanic pole of inaccessibility, defined as the place in the ocean that is farthest from any land.
Since the Earth is a spheroid, its centre (the core) is thousands of kilometres beneath its crust. Still, there have been attempts to define various "centrepoints" on the Earth's surface.
Hub AI
Extremes on Earth AI simulator
(@Extremes on Earth_simulator)
Extremes on Earth
This article lists extreme locations on Earth that hold geographical records or are otherwise known for their geophysical or meteorological superlatives. All of these locations are Earth-wide extremes; extremes of individual continents or countries are not listed.
These are the longest straight lines that can be drawn between any two points on the surface of the Earth and remain exclusively over land or water; the points need not lie on the same line of latitude or longitude.
As distinct from geodesic lines, which appear straight only when projected onto the spheroidal surface of the Earth (i.e. arcs of great circles), straight lines passing through the Earth's centre can be constructed through the interior of the Earth between almost any two points on the surface of the Earth (some extreme topographical situations such as overhanging cliffs being the rare exceptions[citation needed]). A line projected from the summit of Cayambe in Ecuador (see highest points) through the axial centre of the Earth to its antipode on the island of Sumatra results in the longest diameter that can be produced anywhere through the Earth. As the variable circumference of the Earth approaches 40,000 kilometres (25,000 mi), such a maximum "diameter" or "antipodal" line would be on the order of 13,000 kilometres (8,000 mi) long.[citation needed]
In contrast to places with the highest density of life, like terrestrial tropical regions, and beside local extreme conditions, which might only be overcome by extremophiles, there are areas of extreme low amounts of life.
Next to terrestrial lifeless areas like the Antarctic desert's McMurdo Dry Valleys and its Don Juan Pond, the most lifeless area in the ocean studied (other than the more general dead zones) is the South Pacific Gyre, corresponding to the oceanic pole of inaccessibility.
The oceanic pole of inaccessibility is also the antipodal area of the human center of population which lies today around southern Central Asia. Similarly the world's economic center of gravity has been drifting since antiquity from Central Asia to Northern Europe and contemporarily back to Central Asia. The related centre of gravity of the worlds carbon emission has shifted from Britain during the Industrial Revolution to the Atlantic, back again and contemporarily into Central Asia.
Each continent has its own continental pole of inaccessibility, defined as the place on the continent that is farthest from any ocean. Similarly, each ocean has its own oceanic pole of inaccessibility, defined as the place in the ocean that is farthest from any land.
Since the Earth is a spheroid, its centre (the core) is thousands of kilometres beneath its crust. Still, there have been attempts to define various "centrepoints" on the Earth's surface.