Knowledge Base
Places, boundaries, distances, and surprising details about the shape of our world.
Little Diomede Island and Big Diomede Island are only about 2.4 miles apart, but they sit on opposite sides of the International Date Line. That means they can be nearly a full calendar day apart despite being close enough to see across the water.
Alaska is the northernmost U.S. state and, because parts of its Aleutian Islands cross the 180th meridian, it can also be described as both the westernmost and easternmost state in the country.
Mount Everest reaches the highest elevation above mean sea level, but Mauna Kea in Hawaii is taller when measured from its base on the ocean floor to its summit. Mauna Kea rises more than 33,500 feet from base to peak.
Because Earth bulges slightly at the equator, the summit of Mount Chimborazo in Ecuador is farther from Earth’s center than the summit of Mount Everest. This makes Chimborazo’s summit the point on Earth closest to the stars.
The Pacific Ocean covers more than 155 million square kilometers, or about 60 million square miles. Its surface area is greater than the combined land area of all Earth's continents.
The Sargasso Sea is the only sea without a land boundary. Located within the North Atlantic Ocean, its boundaries are formed by surrounding ocean currents rather than coastlines.