Geography Facts Most People Get Wrong

If you're reading this, you are likely interested in geography, which means that you may already be familiar with many of the facts we'll be discussing. However, for the average person who is not particularly interested in geography, they may not know these facts. Hello, everyone! I hope you're having a wonderful week, no matter where you are in the world. So, sit back, relax, make sure to like and subscribe, and we hope to teach you something new. Let's begin with the first fact.

1. It is incorrect to use the terms United Kingdom and Great Britain interchangeably because Great Britain only refers to England, Scotland, Wales, and associated islands, while the UK includes Northern Ireland.
2. Holland and the Netherlands are not synonymous, as the Netherlands comprises 12 provinces while Holland only encompasses North and South Holland.
3. Ottawa, not Toronto, is the capital of Canada.
4. Iceland's landscape is shaped by natural forces and is not entirely composed of ice. It features a variety of geographical features, including fjords, deserts, mountains, and waterfalls.
5. Despite its location, Iran can experience low temperatures in the winter months, with temperatures dropping to as low as four degrees Celsius in January and February.
6. Greenland appears larger on traditional maps due to distortion, but it is still a considerable country.
7. Rio is not Brazil's capital city; Brasilia holds that title.
8. Although often assumed to be the largest state in the US, Texas is not as big as Alaska, which is twice its size.
9. While Mount Everest is the tallest mountain in terms of height above sea level, Ecuador's Mount Chimborazo protrudes further due to its proximity to the equator.
10. South Africa has three capital cities: Bloemfontein, Pretoria, and Cape Town; Johannesburg is not one of them.
11. Antarctica is the driest continent on Earth, making it the largest desert on the planet.
12. Although the United States is the fourth largest country in the world, Brazil is larger, despite having US territories.
13. Canberra, not Sydney, is the capital of Australia.
14. The Pyramids of Giza are not located in the middle of a desert and are relatively easy to access from Cairo city center.
15. Ankara, not Istanbul, is the capital of Turkey.
16. The Pacific Ocean, rather than the Atlantic Ocean, is the largest body of water on Earth.
17. Norway has the second-longest coastline in the world, surpassing countries such as Australia, the US, and Russia.
18. Java, home to Indonesia's capital city Jakarta, is the most populous island globally, with a population of around 150 million, making it by far the most populated island in the world.
19. Great Britain, despite its small size, is the third most populated island worldwide, with around 66 million inhabitants.
20. Australia, technically a continent, cannot be considered the world's largest island since an island is a landmass entirely surrounded by water and smaller than a continent. By that definition, Greenland is the largest island globally.
21. Dutch is Suriname's official language, not Spanish or Portuguese.
22. California's population is greater than that of the entire country of Canada.
23. Spanish is the second most spoken native language worldwide, following Mandarin, not English.
24. Although China is the world's most populous country, it does not have a city in the top five most populated cities globally.
25. North Korea and Finland share a border with Russia, which is the only country that separates them.
26. Greenland is an autonomous constituent country within the Kingdom of Denmark, with a considerable amount of self-governance, but it is not an independent nation.
27. Florida is not the state closest to Africa. Quoddy Head, a small peninsula off the coast of Maine, is the closest point in the US to Africa, located only 3150 miles away from Morocco. Florida's closest point to Africa is 1000 miles further away.
28. Despite what may seem counterintuitive, Mexico is not technically south of the US. Surprisingly, there are 11 US states that have land extending further south than the northernmost point of Mexico. In certain parts of Texas, for instance, the US-Mexico border is better described as being situated to the west
29. Geographically speaking, Afghanistan is more a part of South Asia than the Middle East and is closer to cities such as Mumbai than countries like Iraq or Yemen.
30. Egypt is not solely located in Africa. Even though it is part of the African continent, it is classified as a transcontinental country. The Suez Canal divides Asia and Africa, but there is a small peninsula in Egypt that extends beyond the canal and straddles the boundary between the two continents.

We've just shared 30 geography facts that many people get wrong. While some of these may be basic knowledge to those who love geography, they might be brand new to the average person who doesn't study or enjoy geography. Thank you for reading, and we hope you enjoyed learning something new.