Interesting mainland world. Interesting facts about the continents. Fauna of Eurasia

Oddly enough, the continents do not occupy the most significant part of the surface of our planet, even though it is called the Earth. Water spaces are much more extensive, but the continents are still not fully understood. And if we still cannot thoroughly study even not the most remote, albeit hard-to-reach, corners of the land, then what is there to talk about at all? On every continent there are places that are still practically unexplored, despite the development of science and technology.

Facts about the continents

• The existence of the southern continent, Antarctica, was predicted by scientists centuries before its existence was confirmed by brave explorers.
• The largest continent is Eurasia, which is usually divided into two continents - Asia and Europe.
• On every continent there really are practically unexplored areas. For example, the deserts in the heart of Australia, the Asian mountainous regions or the impenetrable jungles of South America ().
• The highest continent in the world is Antarctica. Its average height reaches 2.2 kilometers above sea level, which is 2.5 times the average height of Asia.
• Due to special atmospheric conditions, the Sun in Antarctica appears green at sunset. Sometimes, under certain conditions.
• Scientists suggest that more than 100 million years ago, the hypothetical mainland Zeeland broke away from Australia, which went under water 22-23 million years ago. And the islands of New Zealand are, according to this theory, the peaks of its highest mountain ranges.
• Continents do not stop their movement in our time. So, the shores of the Pacific Ocean are moving away from each other by several centimeters per year ().
• Antarctica accounts for 90 percent of all ice on our planet.

• Among all the continents, Eurasia got the most oceans - its shores are washed by 4 of them.
• The most mountainous continent is Eurasia. In second place is South America.
• Australia is the smallest of the continents. For a long time it was even proposed to be considered an island.
• According to the calculations of polar explorers, in Antarctica, about 2 million tons of snow per year are transported by wind from each kilometer of the coastline to the sea by snowstorms and snowstorms.
• More than 10% of all continents are covered with permanent ice cover.
• For obvious reasons, Antarctica is still the least explored continent.
• Australia is considered the most dangerous continent. Since it broke away from the ancestral continent in ancient times, many relic life forms, sometimes very dangerous, have survived here.

The largest continent on the globe rightfully considered Eurasia. Its area occupies almost a third of the earth's land. In addition, it is on the Eurasian continent that a significant part of the world's population lives. In 1880, the first data about this amazing continent appeared. Every year, research is carried out to learn more about the features and benefits of the mainland. Next, we offer you to see more interesting and fascinating facts about Eurasia.

1. The ancient Greek scientist Kirensky created the first map depicting Eurasia.

2. The narrowest strait in the world is the Bosphorus.

3. The Sunda Islands are the world's largest archipelago.

4. Himalayas - the highest mountain system of Eurasia.

5. In 1953, the highest mountain, Chomolungma, was conquered for the first time.

6. Tibet is the highest point in the world, which is located in Eurasia.

7. The volcanoes of Kamchatka are the largest in Eurasia.

8. Iceland is considered a country of extinct and active volcanoes.

9. Turbines of power plants are set in motion with the help of Icelandic geysers.

10. One of the cleanest cities in the world is Reykjavik.

11. The world's largest platinum nugget was found on the territory of the Middle Urals.

12. The world's largest gem sapphire was found in Myanmar.

13. The Volga is the longest river in Eurasia.

14. The second longest river in Eurasia is the Danube.

15. The capitals of four states are located along the banks of the Danube.

16. Finland and Sweden rank first in terms of the number of lakes in Eurasia.

17. The Grand Canal in China is the longest canal in Eurasia.

18. The longest plant in the world grows in the forests of Asia. This is a liana-shaped rattan palm tree, its length reaches three hundred meters.

19. On the Taimyr Peninsula is the northernmost forest massif.

20. Birch Schmidt - the smallest plant in Eurasia.

21. The only birds in the world that breed chicks in winter live in the Asian taiga. They are called crosses.

22. Bamboo panda bear - emblem World Fund nature conservation.

23. Chomolungma is the highest mountain in Eurasia.

24. The Caspian Sea is the largest closed body of water that can be classified as a lake. Located at the crossroads of Europe and Asia.

25. Baikal is the deepest lake in Eurasia.

26. Arabian - the largest Eurasian peninsula.

27. Siberia is the largest geographic region of Eurasia.

28. The Dead Sea depression is the lowest point on land.

29. Great Britain is the largest island off the coast of Eurasia.

30. The absolute minimum temperature in the village of Oymyakon is 64.3°C. The climate is sharply continental, in summer the temperature is around 15°C.

31. The Mediterranean Sea is the largest sea in Eurasia by area.

32. Azov is the smallest sea in Eurasia.

33. Bengal - the largest bay of Eurasia.

34. "Colored seas" of Eurasia - white, yellow, red and black.

35. Eurasia is the birthplace of the largest civilizations.

36. The largest continent in the world is precisely Eurasia.

37. More than 4 billion people make up the population of Eurasia.

38. Most of Eurasia lives in the Southern Hemisphere.

39. The border line between Asia and Europe is drawn along the eastern slope of the Ural Mountains.

40. In terms of nature, there is no clear boundary between Asia and Europe.

41. Eurasia is washed by four oceans.

42. The Eurasia continent has several plates and platforms.

43. In the Cenozoic era, Eurasia was formed.

44. A huge number of cracks and faults exist on the continent.

45. A huge period of time covers the period of the creation of the mainland.

46. ​​Eurasia is much higher than other continents. The average height above sea level is 830 meters.

47. The highest mountains on Earth are located on this mainland.

48. Many regions of Eurasia are characterized by high seismicity.

49. On the islands of the Arctic, modern glaciers have been preserved.

50. All climatic zones are located on this mainland.

51. Almost forgotten are areas of the mainland such as Hyperborea and Tarkhtaria.

52. More than 50 million square kilometers is the total area of ​​Eurasia.

53. Cape Chelyuskin is the most northern point mainland sushi.

54. Cape Piai (Malaysia) - the southernmost point of Eurasia.

55. More than 875 meters - the average height above sea level.

56. More than 3800 meters - the average depth of the oceans.

57. Eurasia is considered one of the most developed continents in the world.

58. Eurasia includes part of Europe and Asia.

59. Two thirds of Eurasia is occupied by mountains.

60. The Himalayas are the main mountain system of the mainland.

62. On the mainland - the world's largest plains and lowlands.

63. Ancient platforms are the main parts of the mainland.

64. Himalayan and East Asian - the most mobile belts.

65. There are active volcanoes on many islands of the mainland.

66. The relief of the mountainous regions of Eurasia was significantly influenced by ancient glaciation.

67. Most of Siberia is occupied by glaciers.

68. The climate is quite diverse in all parts of the mainland.

69. The regions of Cherrapunji receive the highest average annual rainfall.

70. In the northern hemisphere is the continent of Eurasia.

71. All climatic zones presented on the mainland.

72. Typical tundra forests are common on the mainland.

73. Animals that live in taiga and tundra forests predominate here.

74. More than two thirds of the inhabitants of our planet live in Eurasia.

75. The science of geography was formed on this continent.

76. Over the entire period of its existence, the political map of the mainland has undergone many changes.

77. More than 80 states are located on the political map of the mainland.

78. In 1921, an ideological Eurasian movement arose.

79. More than a third of the planet's land surface is occupied by the Eurasian continent.

80. The countdown of world time begins on this continent. Passes through the Greenwich Observatory in London.

81. It is in Eurasia that the deepest depression and the highest point on Earth are located.

82. There are a large number of natural resources on this mainland.

83. The largest oil reserves are located in Eurasia.

84. Cyclones and anticyclones meet just above this continent.

85. The mainland is washed by the ocean from all sides.

86. The largest densely populated continent in the world is precisely Eurasia.

87. More than 80 countries of the world are located on this mainland.

88. Wanderers and geographers created modern natural ideas about the mainland.

89. At the time of ancient Herodotus, ancient information about Eurasia is found.

90. From the territory of Eurasia, the largest rivers flow into all the oceans of the world.

91. For several centuries, separate regions of the mainland were opened.

92. The mother was only fully explored in the 20th century.

93. The mainland of Eurasia was divided into two parts of the world.

94. In comparison with other continents, the nature of Eurasia is more diverse.

95. Almost entirely in the Northern Hemisphere is the mainland.

96. The length of the mainland is located in the Eastern Hemisphere.

97. Many seas and bays form the waters off the coast of the mainland.

98. Eurasia borders on many continents, which influence it.

99. The largest ports in the world are located on the cut shores of the mainland.

100. Eurasia maintains close ties with the North American continent.

A continent is a large landmass surrounded by seas and oceans. In tectonics, continents are characterized as sections of the lithosphere with a continental structure.

Mainland, continent or part of the world? What is the difference?

In geography, another term is often used, denoting the mainland - the continent. But the concepts of "mainland" and "continent" are not synonymous. AT different countries various points of view on the number of continents, called continental models, have been adopted.

There are several such models:

• In China, India, as well as in the English-speaking countries of Europe, it is customary to consider that continents 7 - Europe and Asia, they consider separately;
• In Spanish-speaking European countries, as well as in the countries of South America, they mean the division into 6 parts of the world - with a united America;
• in Greece and some countries of Eastern Europe a model with 5 continents was adopted - only those where people live, i.e. except for Antarctica;
• in Russia and the countries of Eurasia adjacent to it, they traditionally designate 4 - continents united into large groups.

(The figure clearly shows different representations of continental models on Earth, from 7 to 4)

Continents

There are 6 continents in total on Earth. We list them in descending order by area size:

1. - the largest continent on our planet (54.6 million sq. km)
2. (30.3 million sq. km)
3. (24.4 million sq. km)
4. (17.8 million sq. km)
5. (14.1 million sq. km)
6. (7.7 million sq. km)

All of them are separated by the waters of the seas and oceans. Four continents have a land border: Eurasia and Africa are separated by the Isthmus of Suez, North and South America - the Isthmus of Panama.

Continents

The difference is that the continents do not have a land border. Therefore, in this case, we can talk about 4 continents ( one of the continental models of the world), also in descending order by size:

1. AfroEurasia
2. America

Parts of the world

The terms "mainland" and "continent" have a scientific meaning, but the term "part of the world" divides the land on a historical and cultural basis. There are 6 parts of the world, only unlike the continents, Eurasia differs by Europe and Asia, but North and South America are defined together as one part of the world America:

1. Europe
2. Asia
3. America(both North and South), or New World
4. Australia and Oceania

Speaking of parts of the world, they mean the islands adjacent to them.

The difference between the mainland and the island

The definition of the mainland and the island is the same - a part of the land washed by the waters of the ocean or seas. But there are significant differences.

1. Size. Even the smallest continent, Australia, is much larger in area than the world's largest island, Greenland.

(Formation of the Earth's continents, a single continent of Pangea)

2. Education. All continents have a tiled origin. According to scientists, there was once a single continent - Pangea. Then, as a result of the split, 2 continents appeared - Gondwana and Laurasia, which later split into 6 more parts. The theory is confirmed both by geological surveys and by the shape of the continents. Many of them can be put together like a puzzle.

Islands are formed different ways. There are those that, like the continents, are located on the ruins of ancient lithospheric plates. Others are formed from volcanic lava. Still others - as a result of the activity of polyps (coral islands).

3. Habitability. All continents are inhabited, even Antarctica, which is harsh in terms of climatic conditions. Many islands are still uninhabited.

Characteristics of the continents

- the largest continent, occupying 1/3 of the land. Two parts of the world are located here at once: Europe and Asia. The border between them runs along the line of the Ural Mountains, the Black and Azov Seas, as well as the straits connecting the Black and Mediterranean Seas.

This is the only continent that is washed by all the oceans. The coastline is indented, it forms a large number of bays, peninsulas, islands. The mainland itself is located immediately on six tectonic platforms, and therefore the relief of Eurasia is incredibly diverse.

Here are the most extensive plains, the highest mountains (the Himalayas with Mount Everest), the deepest lake (Baikal). This is the only continent where all climatic zones (and, accordingly, all natural zones) are represented at once - from the arctic with its permafrost to the equatorial with its sultry deserts and jungles.

¾ of the world's population lives on the mainland, 108 states are located here, of which 94 have the status of independent.

- the hottest continent on Earth. It is located on an ancient platform, so most of the area is occupied by plains, mountains are formed along the edges of the mainland. Africa is home to the longest river in the world, the Nile, and the largest desert, the Sahara. Climate types presented on the mainland: equatorial, subequatorial, tropical and subtropical.

Africa is usually divided into five regions: North, South, West, East and Central. There are 62 countries on the mainland.

It is washed by the waters of the Pacific, Atlantic and Arctic oceans. The result of the movement of tectonic plates was a heavily indented coastline of the mainland, with a huge number of bays, straits, bays and islands. The largest island is in the north (Greenland).

The Cordillera Mountains stretch along the western coast, and the Appalachians along the eastern coast. The central part is occupied by a vast plain.

All climatic zones are represented here, except for the equatorial one, which determines the diversity of natural zones. Most rivers and lakes are located in the northern part. The largest river is the Mississippi.

The indigenous people are Indians and Eskimos. Currently, 23 states are located here, of which only three (Canada, the United States and Mexico) are on the mainland itself, the rest are on the islands.

It is washed by the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. Along the west coast stretches the world's longest mountain system - the Andes, or South American Cordillera. The rest of the mainland is occupied by plateaus, plains and lowlands.

This is the rainiest continent, since most of it is located in the equator zone. Here is the largest and most abundant river in the world - the Amazon.

The indigenous people are the Indians. Currently, there are 12 independent states on the territory of the mainland.

- the only continent on the territory of which there is only 1 state - the Commonwealth of Australia. Most of the mainland is occupied by plains, mountains are located only along the coast.

Australia is a unique continent with the largest number of endemic animals and plants. The indigenous people are Australian Aborigines, or Bushmen.

- the southernmost continent, completely covered with ice. The average thickness of the ice cover is 1600 m, the largest is 4000 m. If the ice in Antarctica melted, the level of the world's oceans would immediately rise by 60 meters!

Most of the mainland is occupied by an icy desert, life is glimmering only on the coasts. Antarctica is also the coldest continent. In winter, temperatures can drop below -80 ºC (record -89.2 ºC), in summer - up to -20 ºC.

The largest continent is Eurasia. Its area is 54,759,000 km² - this is approximately 36% of the land. On it are located as many as 2 parts of the world - Europe and Asia. There are 4 of them, including the largest - Russia, which occupies 30% of the territory of Eurasia. 75% of the world's population lives in Eurasia in 102 states. Here is located - Chomolungma (Everest)

Eurasia is the largest continent on planet Earth

Part of the world - regions of land, including the continents or large parts of them, along with nearby islands.

The second largest continent is Africa. Its area is 30,221,532 km² - this is approximately 20% of the land. There are 55 states on the territory of Africa, the largest of which, and one of the 10 largest, is Algeria. Africa has the largest number.

Africa is the second largest continent

The third largest continent is North America. Area - 24,250,000 km² (16% land). There are 23 states on the territory of North America, in which a little more than half a billion people live. 2 North American countries (Canada and USA) are in the top 10.

North America is the third largest continent

The fourth largest continent is South America. Area - 17,840,000 km² (slightly less than 12% of the land area). There are 12 countries on the territory of South America, in which almost 400 million people live. 2 countries in South America (Argentina and Brazil) are in the top ten.

South America is the fourth largest continent

Antarctica is the continent with the highest proportion of Russian citizens - from 4% in summer to 10% in winter, in Eurasia only - 3%

Antarctica is the fifth largest continent

The sixth and last largest continent is Australia. Area - 7,659,861 km² (5% of the land area). There is only one state on the mainland - Australia, whose population is only 23 million people.

There are six continents - Eurasia, North America, South America, Africa, Australia, Antarctica. The area of ​​all continents is 139 million square kilometers. The continents are separated by four oceans - the Atlantic, the Pacific, the Indian and the Arctic. We present interesting facts about the continents.

Eurasia

Eurasia, which consists of two parts of the world - Europe and Asia, is the largest continent, it accounts for a third of the land, 5 billion people live here, which is approximately two-thirds of the world's population.

In Asia, there are extinct volcanoes that erupted quite recently - Ararat erupted in 1840, a major eruption of Elbrus was 2000 years ago, a smaller one about 900 years ago. The largest number of volcanoes is in Kamchatka, where out of more than three hundred volcanoes 36 are active. 90% of all earthquakes in the world occur here.

Eurasia is washed by all the oceans - the Arctic, Atlantic, Pacific, Indian.

The deepest lake in the world is Baikal, its maximum depth is 1642 meters. Almost one-fifth of the world's fresh water is located here. 336 rivers and streams flow into Baikal, and only one river flows out - the Angara.

Here is the smallest, shallowest, most fishy sea (the most high concentration fish per volume) in the world - Azov.

The highest mountain in the world is Everest (Chomolungma), height - 8848 meters. There are 14 peaks in the Himalayas and Karakorum, the height of which exceeds eight kilometers.

The lowest place relative to sea level is the Dead Sea (below 430 meters from sea level). The Dead Sea is the saltiest body of water, about a third of the volume of water is salt.

It is home to the two most populous countries, China (1.4 billion people) and India (1.3 billion people).

The country with the smallest population density is Mongolia, with an average of less than two people per square kilometer. This is the second largest (after Kazakhstan) large country in the world, which has no access to the sea, but has a fleet, since the country's legislation is beneficial to ship owners who attribute their ships to Mongolia. In the 13th century, the Mongol Empire was the largest country in the world with an area of ​​33.2 million square kilometers. In history, only the British Empire was larger with an area of ​​33.6 million square kilometers.

Australia

Australia is the smallest continent and is located entirely in the Southern Hemisphere.

The first seafarers arrived in Australia around 1400 from China, they were collecting sea cucumbers. The first European to visit Australia was the Dutch navigator Willem Janszon, who reached the shores of the smallest continent in 1606. In the next hundred years, other Dutch navigators visited the continent several times and mapped part of the coast, the Dutch called the mainland New Holland. The English navigator James Cook landed in 1707. Two years later, the British founded a penal colony here. These lands were claimed by the French, but they reached the shores of the smallest mainland two years after the British raised the British flag.

About 80 percent of Australians live within 100 kilometers of the coast.

Of the 200 languages ​​and dialects, 45 are indigenous languages. The most common English language, besides him, residents communicate in Italian, Greek, Cantonese (the language of the inhabitants of the Chinese city of Guazhou), Chinese, Vietnamese, Arabic.

Migrants from 200 countries live in the country. About a quarter of the population are migrants, this is the highest proportion of migrants in countries with European civilization(and Australia, as a dominion of Great Britain, is a representative of Western European civilization).

Mount Uluru

The capital is the city of Canberra. It was built in the middle between Melbourne and Sydney after the two large cities could not agree on which of them would be the Australian capital.

The largest farm in the world is located in South Australia, it has an area of ​​​​more than 34 thousand square kilometers, which is larger than the area of ​​​​Belgium (30.5 thousand square kilometers).

Australia has the highest electricity prices in the world.

The Great Barrier Reef, which is located in the ocean off the northeast coast, is almost 3,000 kilometers long and consists of almost 3,000 individual reefs and almost 900 islands. This is the largest natural object on Earth, which was formed by living organisms. Its area is almost 350 thousand square kilometers, it is so large that it can be seen from space.

There is not a single active volcano here, earthquakes are rare.

The entire territory of Australia is occupied by the state of Australia, which is a dominion (self-governing colony) of Great Britain.

Some animals are found only here - koala, kangaroo, echidna, platypus. About 80 percent of the animals are endemic, they are found only on this continent.

The driest continent, large areas are occupied by deserts.

There are many dangerous animals in Australia - combed crocodiles live in northern swamps, poisonous box jellyfish, poisonous blue-ringed octopus are found in coastal waters. There are many types of dangerous spiders and snakes.

Antarctica

The highest continent with an average height of 2.2 kilometers. The average height of Eurasia is about one kilometer.

90% of all ice that is on Earth is concentrated here.

In 2017, a temperature record was recorded - at the Argentine research station, located in the far north, the temperature was plus 17.5 degrees Celsius.

The longest river is the Onyx, its length is about 30 kilometers. It flows only for two months - in February and March. It flows out of Lake Brownworth and flows into Lake Wanda. In 1984, New Zealand rafters floated down the river. There are no fish in the river, but there are microorganisms and algae. Lake Vanda, into which the river flows, is very salty, its salinity is ten times higher than the salinity of sea water.

The ice of Antarctica contains two-thirds of the planet's fresh water.

The climate is very dry, on average, 100 millimeters of precipitation falls annually, for comparison, about 600 millimeters of precipitation falls in Kyiv.

There are no permanent residents, no states, although different powers of the world claim the Antarctic territories. Scientists and tourists temporarily live in Antarctic stations.

The unofficial capital of Antarctica is the settlement of McMurdo, which is actually a full-fledged city. About 1,300 people live permanently in McMurdo. There are three airfields, a heliport and about a hundred buildings. On February 15, 2005, a demonstration against the war in Iraq was held at the station, 50 people took part in it.

In the past, the climate was warm, as evidenced by the finds of the remains of dinosaurs. So far, the remains of four dinosaurs have been discovered, but probably under the ice of the mainland, which occupy 98 percent of the area, there are many materials that will be of interest to geologists and paleontologists.

In 2000, an iceberg 295 kilometers long and 37 kilometers wide broke off from Antarctica.

Africa

Second largest continent.

The equator crosses Africa approximately in the middle, so the climate here is very warm.

African elephants are the largest land animals. The length of the body reaches eight meters, the height - four meters. The largest elephant was discovered in the Gambia in 1974. Its weight was 10.5 tons. There is evidence that an elephant weighing 12 tons lived in the 19th century.

The largest bird in the world is the African ostrich. Its height reaches 2.7 meters, weight - 175 kilograms.

The tallest animal is the giraffe. Its height reaches 5.5 meters.

Despite the fact that Africa is a very hot continent, it has its own glacier. It is located on the extinct volcano Kilimanjaro with a height of 5895 meters. A relatively well-equipped hiking trail leads to the mountain, but climbing is quite difficult.

Mount Kilimanjaro

Africa has the most tall people- in the Tutsi tribe, the average height of men is 193 centimeters, women - 175 centimeters. In this tribe, two-meter people are not uncommon. Other tribes live near the Tusi, whose representatives are tall - Dinka, Samburu, Masai, Luo.

The lowest people on Earth are the African tribe of pygmies, they are also called negrilli. Translated from Greek the name of these people means "people the size of a fist." They are mentioned in ancient Egyptian and ancient Greek sources. Adult men have a height of 124 to 150 centimeters. Despite their small stature, they are dangerous warriors, often hunting with bows and poisoned arrows.

In the recent past, it was believed that the Nile is the longest river on Earth. But scientists found the source of the Amazon, precisely measured the length of the river, and it turned out that the Amazon is 139 kilometers long. The Nile is the longest river in Africa, from source to mouth it stretches for 6853 kilometers.

North America

The third largest continent with an area of ​​24 million square kilometers.

There are 27 states in North America. The largest country by area is Canada. The largest country by population is the USA. The smallest country is Saint Christopher and Nevis, with 50 thousand people living on two islands with an area of ​​261 square kilometers. Citizenship can be bought by investing $250,000 in the economy. But living here is quite dangerous, since the capital Basseterre is one of the most dangerous cities in the world - despite a small population of 11 thousand people and a small area of ​​​​6 square kilometers, the crime rate is very high.

North America has the longest coastline, which is 75 thousand kilometers.

The Colorado River flows through the largest canyon, the Grand Canyon. Its length is 446 kilometers, width - from 6 to 29 kilometers, near the river the width is about one kilometer, the depth reaches 1800 meters. This natural monument is visited annually by more than 4 million people. Rafting on the Colorado River.

About half of the world's corn is grown in North America. Popcorn is made from this cereal, corn flakes, bread (tortillas), starch, corn syrup are used in confectionery, salads are made from young stems, stems after harvest are used to make animal feed, corn oil is used to make soap, paints , rubber substitutes. In Mexico, corn is the staple food.

two large tectonic plates collide along California, they form the San Andreas fault, along which strong earthquakes often occur. The 1906 earthquake in San Francisco destroyed most of the buildings of the city, out of the 400,000 population, 300,000 residents of the city were left without housing. Many buildings were destroyed not by an earthquake, but by fires that started after tremors.

Mexico City is the largest city in North America with a population of over 22 million. The city was built on the site of Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztec state, which was conquered by the Spanish conquistador Cortes in the 16th century.

The image in the pupils of Mary, the icon of Our Lady of Guadalupe

In Mexico City, in the suburbs of Guadeloupe, there is the main Christian shrine in North America - a cloak with a miraculous image of the Virgin Mary of Guadalupe. This icon has interesting properties - it has a constant temperature of 36.6 degrees, through a stethoscope you can listen to how the heart beats. The arrangement of the stars on the cloak of the Mother of God corresponds to the positions of the stars in the sky at the time the relic was discovered. On the small pupils of the eyes there are images of people who looked at the image of Mary, which appeared on an agave cloak (agave is a Mexican plant, from the fiber of which material was made in ancient times). Agave material usually becomes dilapidated after a few decades, and the cloak with the miraculous image of the Virgin looks like new, despite the fact that it was made five centuries ago.

Teotihuacan is located 50 kilometers from Mexico City - an ancient Mexican city, which at one time was one of the most big cities world with a population of 125 thousand people. The area of ​​the ruins is 28 square kilometers, the main attraction is the road along which many pyramids are built, the highest of the pyramids is 42 meters high.

The Mayan people had their own states before the arrival of the Spaniards. They resisted for quite a long time - the last city of Tayasal, which was located in the north of Guatemala, was captured by the Spaniards only in 1697, although the first attempt to capture it was made by Hernan Cortes back in 1541. The city was difficult to capture as it was built on an island and surrounded by fortified walls. Now on the site of Teiyasal is the city of Flores, archaeologists here are exploring the ruins of Indian buildings that have been preserved under the buildings erected by the Spaniards.

South America

The highest extinct volcano Aconcagua is the highest mountain in the southern and western hemisphere.

The Andes is the longest mountain range, stretching for 8,000 kilometers. These mountains are actively growing, their height is increasing by an average of 10 centimeters per year. In the Andes live humpless camels - llamas, alpacas and vicuñas. Condors also live in the Andes - large vultures, whose wingspan reaches three meters, the weight of this bird of prey reaches 15 kilograms.

The largest lowland in the world is the Amazon. South of the Amazon Basin and east of the Andes lies the largest swamp in the world, the Pantanal. Its area is up to 200 thousand square kilometers. In total, more than 300 species of fish live here. Local crocodiles - caimans, can reach a length of five meters. Up to 35 million caimans live in the Pantanal.

The largest pasture is the Pampas. Most of the population of Argentina lives on the territory of the Pampas, there are three large cities here - Rosario, La Plata, Santa Fe. Fast-running animals live here - pampas deer, pampas cat and rhea ostriches. You can meet armadillos.

Ruins of Machu Picchu

The highest mountain lake is Titicaca. It is located at an altitude of 3800 meters above sea level. The area is more than eight square kilometers, the maximum depth is 281 meters, the average depth is 100 meters, people walk on the lake big ships. The lake is fresh, the salinity of the water is only one percent. Invertebrate fish and sharks are found in the reservoir. On the banks live local Indians of the Aymara and Quechua peoples. Locals make houses and boats from reeds. There are even 40 floating reed islands where the local Uru tribe built their dwellings. There are many ruins of ancient cities on the shores and islands, in 1980 a city was discovered, the ruins of which were completely under the water of Lake Titicaca.

The deepest and longest river in the world is the Amazon. On the shores of the Amazon, tribes still live who have not met with civilization. The river dumps so much water into the ocean that sea ​​waters are lightly salted for 160 kilometers from the Amazon delta. Marajo Island in the river delta is approximately the same size as Switzerland.

Henry Ford built the city of Fordland in Brazil. The inhabitants had to grow rubber, which was used to make car tires at the beginning of the 20th century. Since the area proved unsuitable for rubber seedlings, the city was soon abandoned and visited by tourists traveling through the Amazon.

The highest active volcano is Lullaillaco. Its height is 6739 meters. Snow lies at an altitude of more than 6500 meters, this is the most high position snow line, usually permanent snow in mountainous areas lies at a lower altitude.