Some Facts and Figures on World Geography

Our Earth is a sphere whose total surface area is about 51 crore sq. km. Its main divisions are land and water. Land occupies about 29 per cent and water 71 per cent of the globe, the ratio being 2: 5. In the northern hemisphere land and water areas are almost equal but in the southern hemisphere, water is about 15 times as much as land.

Continents

The whole land mass is divided into six great land masses or Continents: (1) Asia, (2) Europe, (3) Africa, (4) North America, (5) South America, and (6) Australia. Of these, Asia is the largest and Australia the smallest. Europe lies wholly in the temperate zone. Africa: 29,800,000 sq. km. (approx.) Europe: 9,699,550 sq. km. (approx.) North America: 21,510,000 sq. km. (approx.) South America: 17,599,000 sq. km. (approx.) Australia: 7,699,000 sq. km. (approx.) Asia: 43,998,000 sq. km. (approx.) Africa

It is second largest continent. It is bounded on the north by the

Mediterranean Sea, in the east by the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean and in the west by the Atlantic Ocean. It is roughly triangular in shape.

The highest mountain of this continent is Kilimanjaro: its height is 5,895 metres.

Main Rivers: Nile, Congo (Zaire), Niger, Zambesi. The largest lake is Victoria.

Main Minerals: Gold, diamond, copper.

Main Products: Cocoa, palm oil, groundnut, coffee, cotton, wheat, maize and wool.

Important Countries: Egypt, Libya, Somalia, Congo, Zambia, South Africa, Nigeria, Ethiopia and Angola.

Main Cities: Cairo, Lusaka, Cape Town, Mombasa, Nairobi, Adis Ababa, Harare, Pretoria, etc.

Europe

In area it is larger than Australia but is smaller than all other continents. Chief Mountains: Alps, Pyrannes, Apennines, Urals and Caucasus. Main Rivers: Volga, Danube, Rhine, Dnieper, Don, Ural. Main Lakes: Ladoga, Onega, Peipus, Vaitern. Main Minerals: Petroleum, iron, coal.

Main Products: Paper, fish, dairy products, sugar beet, potatoes, fruits, wheat, rice, maize.

Important Countries : England, France, Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Norway, Sweden, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Switzerland, Russia, Austria, Romania.

Main Cities : London, Bonn, Veinna, Moscow, Munich, Prague, Paris, Berne, Berlin, Warsaw, Rone, Budapest, Stockholm, Belgrade, Oslo, Madrid.

North America

It comprises Mexico, USA, Canada, Greenland, Central American States and the West Indies. On the west are chains of high mountains. Climate varies considerably owing to wide range of latitude and altitude. Climate: Temperate and tropical.

Main Products: Cereals, tobacco, sugar beet, potatoes, etc., lumbering, rich in minerals, coal, petroleum, iron, manganese, etc. General Industry: Ship-building.

Important Cities: New York, Washington, San Francisco, Boston, Chicago, Mexico, Montreal, Ottawa.

South America

It contains Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Columbia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela and Guyana. Its climate is diverse varying with latitude and altitude equatorial, hot and wet. Atacama, a rainless desert in the middle west coast in the south is temperate.

Chief Industries: Tropical agriculture: Cocoa, coffee, sugarcane, rubber, cereals.

Minerals: Gold, silver, copper, tin, diamonds, nitrates. Factories and industries are developing gradually.

Important Cities: Rio de Janeiro, San Salvador, Trinidad, Buenos Aires, La Paz, Bogota.

Australia

Australia is an island continent. It comprises the following States: New South Wales {Cap. Sydney); Queensland (Cap. Brisbane); South Australia (Cap. Adelaide); Western Australia (Cap. Perth); Victoria (Cap. Melbourne); Tasmania (Cap. Hobart). All capital cities are ports though Perth is served by the port of Fremantle. An area largely uninhabited is the Northern Territory. Its capital is Darwin. The territory does not yet govern itself in the way other States do. The federal capital is Canberra.

Australia produces more wool than any other country in the world. The country also has rich supplies of gold, iron ore, lead and zinc and has a new growing steel industry. One of the most important rivers is the snowy in New South Wales and Victoria.

Asia

It is the largest continent and it extends over nearly one-third of the land surface of earth.

Chief Mountain Ranges: Himalayas, Kunlun, Tien Shah, Altai, Tibetan Plateau.

Chief Rivers: Brahamaputra, Ganga, Yang-tze, Yamuna, Yenisei, Amur, Hwang-ho, Mekong.

Climate: Very varied, extreme in north, monsoonal in south and east.

Minerals: Gold, coal, oil, iron, manganese.

Principal Countries : India, Israel, Jordan, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan, Bangladesh, Mongolia, North and South Korea, Taiwan.

Important Cities: New Delhi, Islamabad, Baghdad, Kabul, Tokyo, Beijing, Rangoon (now Yangon), Bangkok, Colombo, Hanoi, Singapore, Dhaka.