Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30,221,532 km² (11,668,545 mi²) including adjacent islands, it covers 6.0% of the Earth's total surface area, and 20.4% of the total land area. With more than 900,000,000 people (as of 2005)[1] in 61 territories, it accounts for about 14% of the world's human population. The continent is surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Suez Canal and the Red Sea to the northeast, the Indian Ocean to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. There are 46 countries including Madagascar, and 53 including all the island groups.
Africa, particularly central eastern Africa, is widely regarded within the scientific community to be the origin of humans and the ''Hominidae'' tree, as evidenced by the discovery of the earliest hominids, as well as later ones that have been dated to around 7 million years ago including ''Sahelanthropus tchadensis, Africanus, Homo Erectus'', with the earliest humans being dated to ca. 200,000 years ago, according to this view.
Africa straddles the equator and encompasses numerous climate areas; it is the only continent to stretch from the northern temperate to southern temperate zones. Because of the lack of natural regular precipitation and irrigation as well as glaciers or mountain aquifer systems, there is no natural moderating effect on the climate except near the coasts.
Alaska
Alaska ('Alyaska') is an exclave and a state of the United States of America located west of Canada in the extreme northwest portion of North America. A state of superlatives, it has the largest area, the highest mountain and greatest difference in elevation, the most extensive wilderness, and the most lakes, shoreline, and wetlands of any state, yet has the lowest population density.
The area that became Alaska was purchased from Russian interests on October 18 1867, for $7,200,000. The land went through several administrative changes before becoming an organized territory in 1912 and the 49th state of the U.S. on January 3, 1959. The name "Alaska" is derived from the Aleut ''alaxsxaq'', meaning "the mainland", or more literally "the object towards which the action of the sea is directed".
Asia
'East Asia' is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms. Geographically, it covers about 12,000,000 km², or about 28% of the Asian continent and about 15% bigger than the area of Europe. More than 1.5 billion people, about 40% of the population of Asia or a quarter of all the people in the world, live in geographic East Asia, which is about twice the population of Europe. The region is one of the world's most crowded places. The population density of East Asia, 130 per km², is about three times the world average.
The Bahamas
The 'Commonwealth of The Bahamas' is an English-speaking nation consisting of two thousand cays and seven hundred islands that form an archipelago. It is located in the Atlantic Ocean, east of Florida and the United States, north of Cuba and the Caribbean, and northwest of the British overseas territory of the Turks and Caicos Islands. Geographically The Bahamas are not part of the Caribbean archipelago which starts at Trinidad in the South East and ends at Cuba , but the islands are part of CARICOM.
Baja (Mexico)
'Baja California Sur' (English: ''South Lower California'') is one of the 31 States of Mexico, occupying the part of the Baja California Peninsula south of the 28th parallel. It is considered a portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the state of Baja California, to the west by the Pacific Ocean, and to the east by the Gulf of California, also known as the Sea of Cortés.
The state is known for its natural riches, and for its tourism. In the north is located the Vizcaíno Desert, as well as the small coastal lakes of San Ignacio and Ojo de Liebre, which are protected by the federal government. The state includes the Pacific islands of Natividad, Magdalena, and Santa Margarita, as well as the islands of San Marcos, Coronados, Carmen, Monserrat, Santa Catalina, Santa Cruz, San Diego, San José, San Francisco, Partida, Espíritu Santo, and Cerralvo, which are located in the Gulf of California. It also includes the offshore Rocas Alijos.
In 2005 census, its population was 512,170 people. The state is also home to the tourist resorts of Cabo San Lucas and San José del Cabo. Its biggest, most populated city and capital is La Paz, yet another tourist resort and historic landmark. It also includes Loreto, the historic first capital of all three Californias (Baja California Sur, Baja California, and California), the town of Santa Rosalía which is the site of a historic church designed by Gustave Eiffel.
Bermuda
Bermuda (officially, 'The Bermuda Islands' or 'The Somers Isles') is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, it is situated around 1770 km (1,100 mi) northeast of Miami, Florida and 1350 km (840 mi) south of Halifax, Nova Scotia. The nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about 1030 km (640 mi) west-northwest (see Geography section below). It is the oldest and most populous remaining British overseas territory, settled by England a century before the Acts of Union that created the Kingdom of Great Britain.
Although commonly referred to in the singular, the territory consists of approximately 138 islands, with a total area of 53.3 km² (20.6 sq. mi.). Compiling a list of these islands is often complicated, as many have more than one name (as does the entire archipelago, which, in addition to its two official names, has historically been known as "''La Garza''", "''Virgineola''", and the "Isle of Devils"). Despite the limited land mass, there has also been a tendency for place names to be repeated; there are, for instance, two islands named "Long Island", three bays known as "Long Bay" and the town of St. George is located within the parish of St. George on the island of St. George (each known as ''St. George's''), whereas Bermuda's capital, the City of Hamilton, lies in Pembroke Parish, not Hamilton Parish, on the largest island, "Main Island", which itself is sometimes called "Bermuda" (or "Great Bermuda").
Bermuda has a thriving economy, with a large financial sector and tourism industry giving it the world's highest GDP per capita in 2005. It has a sub-tropical climate, pink beaches, and cerulean blue oceans.
Caribbean
The 'Caribbean' ( or ''Caraïben'', or more commonly ''Antillen''; or more commonly ''Antilles''; ) is a region of the Americas consisting of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (most of which enclose the sea), and the surrounding coasts. The region is located southeast of North America, east of Central America, and to the north and west of South America.
Situated largely on the Caribbean Plate, the area comprises more than 7,000 islands, islets, reefs, and cays. The 'West Indies' consist of the Antilles, divided into the larger Greater Antilles which bound the sea on the north and the Lesser Antilles on the south and east (including the Leeward Antilles), and the Bahamas. Geopolitically, the West Indies are usually reckoned as a subregion of North America and are organised into 28 territories including sovereign states, overseas departments, and dependencies. At one time, there was a short-lived country called the Federation of the West Indies composed of ten English-speaking Caribbean territories.
The Caribbean islands are an island chain 2,500 miles long and no more than 160 miles wide at any given point. They enclose the Caribbean Sea.
Hawaii
Hawai'i (Hawaiian: 'Mokuāina o Hawaii' or 'Ka Pae Āina o Hawaii') is a volcanic archipelago in the mid-Pacific, and thus commonly included in Oceania. It lies southwest of the North American continent, south of Alaska, and north of Tahiti.
The Hawaiian Archipelago comprises hundreds of islands and atolls extending across a distance of 1,500 miles (2,400 km). Of these, the eight largest islands are considered the "main islands" and are located at the southeastern end of the archipelago. These islands are, in order from the northwest to southeast, 'Niihau', 'Kauai', 'Oahu', 'Molokai', 'Lanai', 'Kahoolawe', 'Maui', and 'Hawaii'. The latter is by far the largest, and is very often called the "Big Island" or "Big Isle" to avoid confusion with the state name.
The 'State of Hawaii' became the 50th state of the United States of America on August 21, 1959. The archipelagic state is situated in the North Pacific Ocean, 2,300 miles (3,700 km) from the Continental United States. In the 19th century, Hawaii was also known as the Sandwich Islands.
Europe
Europe is one of the seven traditional continents of the Earth. Physically and geologically, Europe is the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, west of Asia. Europe is bounded to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the west by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by the Mediterranean Sea, to the southeast by the Caucasus Mountains and the Black Sea and the waterways connecting the Black Sea to the Mediterranean. To the east, Europe is generally divided from Asia by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, and by the Caspian Sea.
Europe is the world's second-smallest continent in terms of area, covering about 10,180,000 square kilometres (3,930,000 sq mi) or 2.0% of the Earth's surface. The only continent smaller than Europe is Australia. It is the third most populous continent (after Asia and Africa) with a population of 710,000,000 or about 11% of the world's population. Europe's overall population density is one of the highest in the world. However, the term ''continent'' can refer to a cultural and political distinction or a physiographic one, leading to various perspectives about Europe's precise borders, area, and population. Of Europe's 48 countries, Russia is its largest by area and population, while the Vatican is the smallest. Europe is the birthplace of the European Union, a union founded in 1993 (but the roots of which date back to the 1950s) to enhance political, economic, and social co-operation and integration; currently, it comprises twenty-seven member states.
Mexico
The 'United Mexican States', or simply 'Mexico', is a country located in North America. It is bounded on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the North Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico. The United Mexican States comprise a constitutional republican federation of thirty-one states and a federal district, Mexico City, one of the most populous cities on Earth.
Covering almost 2 million square kilometers, Mexico is the fifth-largest country in the Americas by total area and 14th largest in the world. With a population of almost 109 million, it is the 11th most populous country and the most populous Spanish-speaking country in the world.
As the only Latin American member of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) since 1994, Mexico is firmly established as an upper middle-income country. Elections held in July 2000 marked the first time that an opposition party won the presidency to the Institutional Revolutionary Party (''Partido Revolucionario Institucional'': PRI), that held it since 1929, culminating a process of political alternation that had begun at the local level since the 1980s.
Panama
Panama, officially the 'Republic of Panama', is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on an isthmus, Panama is a transcontinental nation which connects North and South America. It borders Costa Rica to the north-west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. It is an international business center and is also a transit country. In Central America, it is the second most industrialized country, behind El Salvador.
South Pacific
The 'South Pacific' is an area in the southern Pacific Ocean. The term may refer to:
- Australasia, an area including Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea and other islands including the eastern part of Indonesia
- Oceania, a geographical (often geopolitical) region of many countries/territories (mostly islands) in the southern Pacific Ocean
Strictly taken, that part of the Pacific Ocean area south of the equator bordered by Indonesia, New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand, the 60th south latitude, the west coast of South America and the equator. South of the 60° latitude, it is part of the Southern Ocean.
Trans-Atlantic
'Transatlantic crossings' are passages of passengers and cargo between North America and Europe. Prior to the 19th century, transatlantic crossings were undertaken in sailing ships, which was a time of consuming and often perilous journey. Transatlantic crossings became faster, safer, and more reliable with the advent of steamships. Grand ocean liners began making regularly scheduled crossings, and soon it became a symbol of national and company status to build the largest, fastest, and most luxurious ocean liner for transatlantic crossings. Examples of some famous transatlantic liners are the RMS ''Titanic'', RMS ''Queen Mary'', SS ''Normandie'', RMS ''Queen Elizabeth 2'', and the RMS ''Queen Mary 2''.
Cruise the World
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and is the largest of the terrestrial planets in the Solar System, in both diameter and mass. It is also referred to as "the Earth", "Planet Earth", "Gaia", "Terra", and "the World".
Home to millions of species including humans, Earth is the only place in the universe known to harbor life.
The planet formed about 4.57 billion years[4] ago, and life appeared on its surface within a billion years. Since then, Earth's biosphere has significantly altered the atmosphere and other abiotic conditions on the planet.
Oxygenic photosynthesis evolved 2.7 billion years ago, forming the primarily nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere that exists today. This change enabled the proliferation of aerobic organisms as well as the formation of the ozone layer which, together with Earth's magnetic field, blocks harmful radiation, permitting life on land.
Earth's outer surface is divided into several rigid segments, or tectonic plates, that gradually migrate across the surface over periods of many millions of years. About 71% of the surface is covered with salt-water oceans, the remainder consisting of continents and islands.
