This article lists extreme locations on Earth that hold geographical records or are otherwise known for their geophysical or meteorological superlatives. All of these locations are Earth-wide extremes; extremes of individual continents or countries are not listed.
The southernmost island is considered to be
Deverall Island, near the
Shackleton Coast, surrounded by the Ross Ice Shelf although there is an island in
Lake Vostok but it is currently under ice. [3]
The meridian that crosses the greatest total distance on land (disregarding intervening bodies of water) is still to be determined. It is likely located in the vicinity of 22°E, which is the longest integer meridian that fits that criterion, crossing a total of 13,035 km (8,100 mi) of land through Europe (3,370 km or 2,090 mi), Africa (7,458 km or 4,634 mi), and Antarctica (2,207 km or 1,371 mi).[b] More than 65% of this meridian's length is located on land. The next six longest integer meridians by total distance over land are, in order:
23°E: 12,953 km (8,049 mi) through Europe (3,325 km or 2,066 mi), Africa (7,415 km or 4,607 mi), and Antarctica (2,214 km or 1,376 mi)
27°E: 12,943 km (8,042 mi) through Europe (3,254 km or 2,022 mi), Asia (246 km or 153 mi), Africa (7,223 km or 4,488 mi), and Antarctica (2,221 km or 1,380 mi)
25°E: 12,875 km (8,000 mi) through Europe (3,344 km or 2,078 mi), Africa (7,327 km or 4,553 mi), and Antarctica (2,204 km or 1,370 mi)
26°E: 12,858 km (7,990 mi) through Europe (3,404 km or 2,115 mi), Africa (7,258 km or 4,510 mi), and Antarctica (2,196 km or 1,365 mi)
24°E: 12,794 km (7,950 mi) through Europe (3,263 km or 2,028 mi), Africa (7,346 km or 4,565 mi), and Antarctica (2,185 km or 1,358 mi)
28°E: 12,778 km (7,940 mi) through Europe (3,039 km or 1,888 mi), Asia (388 km or 241 mi), and Africa (7,117 km or 4,422 mi)
Along any geodesic
These are the longest
straight lines[c] that can be drawn between any two points on the surface of the Earth and remain exclusively over land or water; the points need not lie on the same line of latitude or longitude.
There are several possible candidates for the longest continuous straight-line distance in any direction at sea, as there are many possible ways to travel along a great circle for more than the
antipodic length of 19,840 km (12,330 mi). Some examples of such routes would be:
Along any diameter (straight line passing through the centre of the Earth)
As distinct from geodesic lines, which appear straight only when projected onto the spheroidal surface of the Earth (i.e. arcs of great circles),
straight lines passing through the Earth's centre can be constructed through the interior of the Earth between almost any two points on the surface of the Earth (some extreme topographical situations such as overhanging cliffs being the rare exceptions[citation needed]). A line projected from the summit of
Cayambe in
Ecuador (see
highest points) through the axial centre of the Earth to its
antipode on the island of
Sumatra results in the longest
diameter that can be produced anywhere through the Earth. As the variable circumference of the Earth approaches 40,000 kilometres (25,000 mi), such a maximum "diameter" or "antipodal" line would be on the order of 13,000 kilometres (8,000 mi) long.[citation needed]
The highest point on Earth's surface measured from
sea level is the summit of
Mount Everest, on the border of
Nepal and
China. While
measurements of its height vary slightly, the elevation of its peak was most recently established in 2020 by the Nepali and Chinese authorities as 8,848.86 m (29,031.7 ft) above sea level.[10] The summit was first reached probably by Sir
Edmund Hillary of
New Zealand and
Tenzing Norgay Sherpa of Nepal in 1953.
The point farthest from Earth's centre is the summit of
Chimborazo[11] in
Ecuador, at 6,384.4 km (3,967.1 mi) from Earth's centre; the peak's elevation relative to sea level is 6,263.47 m (20,549 ft).[e] Because Earth is an
oblatespheroid rather than a perfect
sphere, it is
wider at the
equator and narrower toward each
pole. Therefore, the summit of Chimborazo, which is near the Equator, is farther away from Earth's centre than the summit of Mount Everest is; the latter is 2,168 m (7,112.9 ft) closer, at 6,382.3 km (3,965.8 mi) from Earth's centre.
Peru's
Huascarán (at 6,384.4 m or 20,946 ft) contends closely with Chimborazo, though the former is a mere 10 m (33 ft) closer to the Earth's centre.
The fastest point on Earth or, in other words, the point farthest from Earth's rotational axis is the summit of
Cayambe[13] in Ecuador, which rotates around Earth's axis at a speed of 1,675.89 km/h (1,041.35 mph) and is 6,383.95 km (3,966.80 mi) from the axis. Like Chimborazo, which is the fourth-fastest peak at 1,675.47 km/h (1,041.09 mph), Cayambe is close to the Equator and takes advantage of the oblate spheroid
figure of Earth. More important, however, Cayambe's proximity to the Equator means that the majority of its distance from the Earth's centre contributes to Cayambe's distance from the Earth's axis.
The highest natural lake is an unnamed crater lake on
Ojos del Salado at 6,390 m (20,965 ft),[14] on the Argentina side. Another candidate was
Lhagba Pool on the northeast slopes of
Mount Everest, Tibet, at an elevation of 6,368 m (20,892 ft), which has since dried up.[15]
The highest navigable lake is
Lake Titicaca, on the border of
Bolivia and
Peru in the
Andes, at 3,812 m (12,507 ft).
The highest glacier is the
Khumbu Glacier on the southwest slopes of Mount Everest in Nepal, beginning on the west side of
Lhotse at an elevation of 7,600 to 8,000 m (24,900 to 26,200 ft).[16]
The highest island is one of a number of islands in the
Orba Co lake in Tibet, at an elevation of 5,209 m (17,090 ft).[18]
Highest points attainable by transportation
The highest point accessible
by land vehicle is an elevation of 6,688 m (21,942 ft) on
Ojos del Salado in
Chile, which was reached by the Chilean duo of Gonzalo and Eduardo Canales Moya on 21 April 2007 with a modified
Suzuki Samurai, setting the high-altitude record for a four-wheeled vehicle.
by road (mountain pass) is disputed; there are a number of competing claims for this title due to the definition of "motorable pass" (i.e. a surfaced road or one simply passable by a vehicle):
The highest
asphalted road is the single-lane road to
Umling La, located 17 km (11 mi) west of
Demchok in
Ladakh,
India, which reaches 5,800 m (19,029 ft) ("19,300 feet" according to a
Border Roads Organisation sign there that recognizes it as the "World's Highest Motorable Pass").[20][21] Before the asphalting of the road over Umling La, the highest asphalted road was
Tibet's
Semo La pass at 5,565 m (18,258 ft). It is used by trucks and buses regularly.[22] The
Ticlio pass, on the Central Road of Peru, is the highest surfaced road in the Americas, at an elevation of 4,818 m (15,807 ft).
The highest unsurfaced road has several different claimants. All are unsurfaced or gravel roads including
Mana Pass, between India and
Tibet, which is crossed by a gravel road reaching 5,610 m (18,406 ft). The heavily trafficked
Khardung La in Ladakh lies at 5,359 m (17,582 ft). A possibly motorable gravel road crosses
Marsimik La in Ladakh at 5,582 m (18,314 ft).
by oceangoing vessel is a segment of the
Rhine–Main–Danube Canal between the
Hilpoltstein and
Bachhausen locks in
Bavaria, Germany. The locks artificially raise the surface level of the water in the canal to 406 m (1,332 ft) above mean sea level, higher than any other
lock system in the world, making it the highest point currently accessible by oceangoing commercial watercraft.
The highest helipad is Sonam,
Siachen Glacier, India, at a height of 6,400 m (20,997 ft) above sea level.[25]
The highest permanent human settlement is
La Rinconada, Peru, 5,100 m (16,732 ft), in the Peruvian
Andes.
The farthest road from the Earth's centre is the
Road to Carrel Hut in the Ecuadorian
Andes, at an elevation of 4,850 m (15,912 ft) above sea level and a distance of 6,382.9 km (3,966 mi) from the centre of the Earth.[26]
The lowest point underground is in the
Veryovkina Cave in
Georgia, where the altitude difference between the cave's entrance and the deepest explored point (the maximum depth) is 2,212 meters (7,257 ft), reached in 2019 by a Perovo-speleo team.[30]
The lowest point on land not covered by liquid water is the canyon under
Denman Glacier in
Antarctica, with the bedrock being 3,500 m (11,500 ft) below sea level.[31][32]
The lowest point on dry land is the shore of the
Dead Sea, shared by
Israel and
Jordan, 432.65 m (1,419 ft) below sea level. As the Dead Sea waters are receding, the water surface level drops more than 1 metre (3.3 ft) per year.[33]
The point on the atmospheric surface closest to the Earth's centre (interpreted as a natural surface of the land or sea that is accessible by a person) is the surface of the
Arctic Ocean at the
Geographic North Pole (6,356.77 km or 3,950 mi).
The point on the surface of Earth's crust closest to the Earth's centre (interpreted as a land surface or sea floor) is the bottom of
Litke Deep, in the
Arctic Ocean, at 6,351.7043 km (3,947 mi) from Earth's centre; the deep's depth relative to sea level is 5,449 m (17,877 ft). Because Earth is an
oblatespheroid rather than a perfect
sphere, it is
wider at the
equator and narrower toward each
pole. Therefore, the bottom of Litke Deep, which is near the North Pole, is closer to Earth's centre than the bottom of Challenger Deep is; the latter is 14.7268 km (48,316.3 ft) further, at 6,366.4311 km (3,955.9 mi) from Earth's centre.[34]Molloy Deep, also in Arctic Ocean (at 6,357.5178 km or 3,950 mi) from Earth's centre contends closely with Litke Deep, the difference from Earth's centre being just 389 m (1,276 ft).
The lowest point underground ever reached was 12,262 m (40,230 ft) deep (SG-3 at the
Kola Superdeep Borehole, which has since been enclosed).
The lowest human-sized point underground is 3,900 m (12,800 ft)[36] below ground at the
TauTona Mine,
Carletonville, South Africa.
The lowest (from sea level) artificially made point with open sky may be the
Hambach surface mine, Germany, which reaches a depth of 293 m (961 ft) below sea level.
The lowest (from surface) artificially made point with open sky may be the
Bingham Canyon Open Pit Copper Mine,
Utah, United States, at a depth of 1,200 m (3,900 ft) below surface level.
by road, excluding roads in mines, is any of the roads alongside the
Dead Sea in
Israel and
Jordan, which are the lowest on Earth at 418 m (1,371 ft) below sea level.
The lowest undersea highway tunnel is the
Ryfast tunnel in
Norway, at 292 m (958 ft) below sea level.
by train, excluding tracks in mines, is located in the
Seikan Tunnel in
Japan, at 240 m (787 ft) below sea level. For comparison, the undersea
Channel Tunnel between England and France reaches a depth of 115 m (377 ft) below sea level.
Some mines have roads accessible from outside or rail tracks, located more than two thousand metres below sea level, for example in some
South African gold mines.
The lowest major city is
Baku,
Azerbaijan, located 28 m (92 ft) below sea level, which makes it the lowest-lying national capital in the world and also the largest city in the world located below sea level.
Table of extreme elevations and air temperatures by continent
A.^ Height above sea level is the usual choice of definition for elevation. The point farthest away from the centre of the Earth, however, is
Chimborazo in
Ecuador (6,267 m (20,561 feet)). This is due to the Earth's
oblate spheroid shape, with points near the
Equator being farther out from the centre than those at the poles.
C.^ The former record of 57.7 °C (135.9 °F) recorded at
Al 'Aziziyah,
Libya on 13 September 1922 was ruled no longer valid by the WMO due to mistakes made in the recording process.[58] The 1913 reading is, however,
itself controversial, and a measurement of 54.0 °C (129.2 °F) at Furnace Creek on 30 June 2013 is undisputed, especially since the same or almost the same temperature has been recorded several times in the 21st century in the same and other places.
E.^ Temperatures greater than 50 °C (122 °F) in Spain and
Portugal were recorded in 1881, but the standard with which they were measured and the accuracy of the thermometers used are unknown; therefore, they are not considered official. Unconfirmed reports also indicate that a set of Spanish stations may have hit 48.0 °C (118.4 °F) during the
2003 heat wave.[59]
F.^ Greenland is considered by the World Meteorological Organization to be part of WMO region 6 (Europe).[60][61]
G.^ A temperature of 53.1 °C (127.6 °F) was recorded in
Cloncurry,
Queensland on 16 January 1889 under non-standard exposure conditions and is therefore not considered official.[62][63]
Humans and biogeography
In contrast to places with the highest density of life, like terrestrial[64] tropical regions, and beside local extreme conditions, which might only be overcome by
extremophiles, there are areas of extreme low amounts of life.
The oceanic pole of inaccessibility is also the
antipodal area of the human
center of population which lies today around southern
Central Asia. Similarly the
world's economic center of gravity has been drifting since
antiquity from Central Asia to Northern Europe and contemporarily back to Central Asia.[66] The related centre of gravity of the worlds
carbon emission has shifted from Britain during the
Industrial Revolution to the Atlantic, back again and contemporarily into Central Asia.[67]
Each continent has its own
continental pole of inaccessibility, defined as the place on the continent that is farthest from any ocean. Similarly, each ocean has its own
oceanic pole of inaccessibility, defined as the place in the ocean that is farthest from any land.
If adopted, this would place the final EPIA roughly 130 km (80 mi) closer to the ocean than the point that is currently agreed upon.[69] Coincidentally, EPIA1, or EPIA2, and the most remote of the
Oceanic Pole of Inaccessibility (specifically, the point in the
South Pacific Ocean that is farthest from land) are similarly remote; EPIA1 is less than 200 km (120 mi) closer to the ocean than the Oceanic Pole of Inaccessibility is to land.
The continental poles of inaccessibility for the other continents are as follows:
The title for most remote inhabited island or archipelago (the farthest away from any other permanently inhabited place) depends on how the question is interpreted. If the south Atlantic island
Tristan da Cunha (population about 300) and its dependency
Gough Island (with a small staffed research post), which are 399 km (248 mi) from each other, are considered part of the same archipelago, or if Gough Island is not counted because it has no permanent residents, then Tristan da Cunha is the world's most remote inhabited island/archipelago: the main island, also called Tristan da Cunha, is 2,434 km (1,512 mi) from the island
Saint Helena, 2,816 km (1,750 mi) from
South Africa, and 3,360 km (2,090 mi) from South America. It is 2,260 km (1,404 mi) away from uninhabited
Bouvet Island. However, if Gough and
Tristan da Cunha are considered separately, they disqualify each other, and the most remote inhabited island is
Easter Island in the South Pacific Ocean, which lies 2,075 km (1,289 mi) from
Pitcairn Island (about 50 residents in 2013), 2,606 km (1,619 mi) from
Rikitea on the island of
Mangareva (the nearest town with a population over 500), and 3,512 km (2,182 mi) from the coast of
Chile (the nearest continental point and the country of which Easter Island is part). The
Kerguelen Islands in the southern Indian Ocean are another contender, lying 1,340 km (830 mi) from the small
Alfred Faure scientific station in
Île de la Possession, but otherwise more than 3,300 km (2,100 mi) from the coast of
Madagascar (the nearest permanently inhabited place), 450 km (280 mi) northwest of the uninhabited
Heard Island and
McDonald Islands (both a part of
Australia), and 1,440 km (890 mi) from the non-permanent scientific station located in
Île Amsterdam.
Remote cities
The most remote city with a population in excess of one million from the nearest city with a population in excess of one million is
Auckland,
New Zealand. The nearest city of comparable size or greater is
Sydney,
Australia, 2,168.9 km (1,347.7 mi) away.[72]
The most remote city with a population in excess of one million from the nearest city with a population above 100,000 is
Perth, Australia, located 2,138 km (1,328 mi)[73] away from
Adelaide, Australia.
The most remote city with a population in excess of 100,000 from the nearest city with a population in excess of 100,000 is
Honolulu,
Hawaii, United States. The nearest city of comparable size or greater is
San Francisco, 3,850 km (2,390 mi) away.[74]
The most remote national capitals are
Wellington, New Zealand, and
Canberra, Australia, which are 2,326 km (1,445 mi) apart from each other and neither is closer to another capital.
Since the Earth is a
spheroid, its centre (the
core) is thousands of kilometres beneath its
crust. Still, there have been attempts to define various "centrepoints" on the Earth's surface.
The centre of the standard geographic model as viewed on a traditional world map is the point 0°, 0° (the
coordinates of zero degrees latitude by zero degrees longitude), which is located in the
Atlantic Ocean about 614 km (382 mi) south of
Accra,
Ghana, in the
Gulf of Guinea. It lies at the intersection of the
Equator and the
Prime Meridian, is marked with a buoy and sometimes called
Null Island. However, the selection of the Prime Meridian as the 0° longitude meridian depended on cultural and historical factors and is therefore geographically arbitrary (any of the Earth's meridians could, in principle, be defined as 0° longitude); consequently, the position of the "Null Island" centrepoint is also arbitrary.
The centre of population, the place to which there is the shortest average route for every individual human being in the world, could also be considered a "centre of the world". This point is located in the north of the
Indian subcontinent, although the precise location has never been calculated and is constantly shifting due to changes in the distribution of the human population across the planet.
Mauna Kea, tallest mountain from base-to-peak, with a dry
prominence of 9,330 m (30,610 ft) and a wet prominence above sea level of 4,207.3 m (13,803 ft).
Denali, tallest mountain from base-to-peak on land, measuring 5,500 m (18,000 ft).[88]
Dallol, Ethiopia (Amharic: ዳሎል), whose annual mean temperature was recorded from 1960 to 1966 as 34.4 °C (93.9 °F).[101] The average daily maximum temperature during the same period was 41.1 °C (106.0 °F).[102]
Coldest inhabited place
Oymyakon (Russian: Оймяко́н), a rural locality (selo) in Oymyakonsky District of the
Sakha Republic, the Russian Federation, has the coldest monthly mean, with −46.4 °C (−51.5 °F) the average temperature in January, the coldest month.
Eureka, Nunavut, Canada has the lowest annual mean temperature at −19.7 °C (−3.5 °F).[103]
The
South Pole and some other places in
Antarctica are colder and are populated year-round, but almost everyone stays less than a year and could be considered visitors, not inhabitants.
Ground temperatures
Temperatures measured directly on the ground may exceed air temperatures by 30 to 50 °C.[104] A ground temperature of 84 °C (183.2 °F) has been recorded in
Port Sudan,
Sudan.[105] A ground temperature of 93.9 °C (201 °F) was recorded in
Furnace Creek,
Death Valley,
California, United States on 15 July 1972; this may be the highest natural ground surface temperature ever recorded.[106] The theoretical maximum possible ground surface temperature has been estimated to be between 90 and 100 °C for dry, darkish soils of low thermal conductivity.[107]
Satellite measurements of ground temperature taken between 2003 and 2009, taken with the
MODISinfrared spectroradiometer on the
Aqua satellite, found a maximum temperature of 70.7 °C (159.3 °F), which was recorded in 2005 in the
Lut Desert,
Iran. The Lut Desert was also found to have the highest maximum temperature in 5 of the 7 years measured (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2009). These measurements reflect averages over a large region and so are lower than the maximum point surface temperature.[104]
Satellite measurements of the surface temperature of Antarctica, taken between 1982 and 2013, found a coldest temperature of −93.2 °C (−136 °F) on 10 August 2010, at 81°48′S59°18′E / 81.8°S 59.3°E / -81.8; 59.3. Although this is not comparable to an air temperature, it is believed that the air temperature at this location would have been lower than the official record lowest air temperature of −89.2 °C.[108][109]
^By comparison, the meridian that passes through the
Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt (31°08'3.69"E) is 855 km (531 mi) shorter.
^A geodesic is defined as the shortest route between any two points on the surface of the Earth, as measured along the surface of the Earth (rather than through the Earth's interior); they are "straight lines" only in the sense that they are plotted on an idealized two-dimensional surface of the three-dimensional Earth, neglecting changes in surface elevation. On an idealized spherical model of the Earth, geodesics are equivalent to
great-circle distances measured along the arcs of
great circles.
^The "longest continuous straight-line distance in any direction at sea" from Karachi to Kamchatka was
originally added to Wikipedia by user Muh1974 on 21 January 2010 and then confirmed by Chabukswar and Mukherjee in 2018.[6] The source of this discovery before 2010 is unknown as of August 2022[update].
^The elevation given here was established by a
GPS survey in February 2016. The survey was carried out by a team from the
French Research Institute for Development, working in cooperation with the
Ecuadorian Military Geographic Institute.[12]
^McIntyre, Loren (April 1987). "The High Andes". National Geographic. 171 (4). National Geographic Society: 422–460. (includes description and photos of
Aucanquilcha summit road and mine)
^Mathieu Morlighem; Eric Rignot; Tobias Binder; Donald Blankenship; Reinhard Drews; Graeme Eagles; Olaf Eisen; Fausto Ferraccioli; René Forsberg; Peter Fretwell; Vikram Goel; Jamin S. Greenbaum; Hilmar Gudmundsson; Jingxue Guo; Veit Helm; Coen Hofstede; Ian Howat; Angelika Humbert; Wilfried Jokat; Nanna B. Karlsson; Won Sang Lee; Kenichi Matsuoka; Romain Millan; Jeremie Mouginot; John Paden; Frank Pattyn; Jason Roberts; Sebastian Rosier; Antonia Ruppel; Helene Seroussi; Emma C. Smith; Daniel Steinhage; Bo Sun; Michiel R. van den Broeke; Tas D. van Ommen; Melchior van Wessem; Duncan A. Young (12 December 2019).
"Deep glacial troughs and stabilizing ridges unveiled beneath the margins of the Antarctic ice sheet". Nature Geoscience. 13 (2): 132–137.
doi:
10.1038/s41561-019-0510-8.
S2CID209331991. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
^
abSreejith, K.M.; Rajesh, S.; Majumdar, T.J.; Srinivasa Rao, G.; Radhakrishna, M.; Krishna, K.S.; Rajawat, A.S. (January 2013). "High-resolution residual geoid and gravity anomaly data of the northern Indian Ocean – An input to geological understanding". Journal of Asian Earth Sciences. 62: 616–626.
Bibcode:
2013JAESc..62..616S.
doi:
10.1016/j.jseaes.2012.11.010.
^Adam Helman (2005).
The Finest Peaks: Prominence and Other Mountain Measures. Trafford Publishing.
ISBN978-1-4120-5995-4.
Archived from the original on 31 October 2020. Retrieved 9 December 2012. On p. 20 of Helman (2005):"the base to peak rise of Mount McKinley is the largest of any mountain that lies entirely above sea level, some 18,000 ft (5,500 m)"
^p. 9, Weather Experiments, Muriel Mandell and Dave Garbot, Sterling Publishing Company, Inc., 2006,
ISBN1-4027-2157-9.
^Average of table on p. 26, Extreme Weather: A Guide & Record Book, Christopher C. Burt and Mark Stroud, New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2007,
ISBN0-393-33015-X.
^Table 9.2, p. 158, Dryland Climatology, Sharon E. Nicholson, Cambridge University Press, 2011,
ISBN1139500244.
^A possible world record maximum natural ground surface temperature, Paul Kubecka, Weather, 56, #7 (July 2001), Weather, pp. 218-221,
doi:
10.1002/j.1477-8696.2001.tb06577.x.
This article lists extreme locations on Earth that hold geographical records or are otherwise known for their geophysical or meteorological superlatives. All of these locations are Earth-wide extremes; extremes of individual continents or countries are not listed.
The southernmost island is considered to be
Deverall Island, near the
Shackleton Coast, surrounded by the Ross Ice Shelf although there is an island in
Lake Vostok but it is currently under ice. [3]
The meridian that crosses the greatest total distance on land (disregarding intervening bodies of water) is still to be determined. It is likely located in the vicinity of 22°E, which is the longest integer meridian that fits that criterion, crossing a total of 13,035 km (8,100 mi) of land through Europe (3,370 km or 2,090 mi), Africa (7,458 km or 4,634 mi), and Antarctica (2,207 km or 1,371 mi).[b] More than 65% of this meridian's length is located on land. The next six longest integer meridians by total distance over land are, in order:
23°E: 12,953 km (8,049 mi) through Europe (3,325 km or 2,066 mi), Africa (7,415 km or 4,607 mi), and Antarctica (2,214 km or 1,376 mi)
27°E: 12,943 km (8,042 mi) through Europe (3,254 km or 2,022 mi), Asia (246 km or 153 mi), Africa (7,223 km or 4,488 mi), and Antarctica (2,221 km or 1,380 mi)
25°E: 12,875 km (8,000 mi) through Europe (3,344 km or 2,078 mi), Africa (7,327 km or 4,553 mi), and Antarctica (2,204 km or 1,370 mi)
26°E: 12,858 km (7,990 mi) through Europe (3,404 km or 2,115 mi), Africa (7,258 km or 4,510 mi), and Antarctica (2,196 km or 1,365 mi)
24°E: 12,794 km (7,950 mi) through Europe (3,263 km or 2,028 mi), Africa (7,346 km or 4,565 mi), and Antarctica (2,185 km or 1,358 mi)
28°E: 12,778 km (7,940 mi) through Europe (3,039 km or 1,888 mi), Asia (388 km or 241 mi), and Africa (7,117 km or 4,422 mi)
Along any geodesic
These are the longest
straight lines[c] that can be drawn between any two points on the surface of the Earth and remain exclusively over land or water; the points need not lie on the same line of latitude or longitude.
There are several possible candidates for the longest continuous straight-line distance in any direction at sea, as there are many possible ways to travel along a great circle for more than the
antipodic length of 19,840 km (12,330 mi). Some examples of such routes would be:
Along any diameter (straight line passing through the centre of the Earth)
As distinct from geodesic lines, which appear straight only when projected onto the spheroidal surface of the Earth (i.e. arcs of great circles),
straight lines passing through the Earth's centre can be constructed through the interior of the Earth between almost any two points on the surface of the Earth (some extreme topographical situations such as overhanging cliffs being the rare exceptions[citation needed]). A line projected from the summit of
Cayambe in
Ecuador (see
highest points) through the axial centre of the Earth to its
antipode on the island of
Sumatra results in the longest
diameter that can be produced anywhere through the Earth. As the variable circumference of the Earth approaches 40,000 kilometres (25,000 mi), such a maximum "diameter" or "antipodal" line would be on the order of 13,000 kilometres (8,000 mi) long.[citation needed]
The highest point on Earth's surface measured from
sea level is the summit of
Mount Everest, on the border of
Nepal and
China. While
measurements of its height vary slightly, the elevation of its peak was most recently established in 2020 by the Nepali and Chinese authorities as 8,848.86 m (29,031.7 ft) above sea level.[10] The summit was first reached probably by Sir
Edmund Hillary of
New Zealand and
Tenzing Norgay Sherpa of Nepal in 1953.
The point farthest from Earth's centre is the summit of
Chimborazo[11] in
Ecuador, at 6,384.4 km (3,967.1 mi) from Earth's centre; the peak's elevation relative to sea level is 6,263.47 m (20,549 ft).[e] Because Earth is an
oblatespheroid rather than a perfect
sphere, it is
wider at the
equator and narrower toward each
pole. Therefore, the summit of Chimborazo, which is near the Equator, is farther away from Earth's centre than the summit of Mount Everest is; the latter is 2,168 m (7,112.9 ft) closer, at 6,382.3 km (3,965.8 mi) from Earth's centre.
Peru's
Huascarán (at 6,384.4 m or 20,946 ft) contends closely with Chimborazo, though the former is a mere 10 m (33 ft) closer to the Earth's centre.
The fastest point on Earth or, in other words, the point farthest from Earth's rotational axis is the summit of
Cayambe[13] in Ecuador, which rotates around Earth's axis at a speed of 1,675.89 km/h (1,041.35 mph) and is 6,383.95 km (3,966.80 mi) from the axis. Like Chimborazo, which is the fourth-fastest peak at 1,675.47 km/h (1,041.09 mph), Cayambe is close to the Equator and takes advantage of the oblate spheroid
figure of Earth. More important, however, Cayambe's proximity to the Equator means that the majority of its distance from the Earth's centre contributes to Cayambe's distance from the Earth's axis.
The highest natural lake is an unnamed crater lake on
Ojos del Salado at 6,390 m (20,965 ft),[14] on the Argentina side. Another candidate was
Lhagba Pool on the northeast slopes of
Mount Everest, Tibet, at an elevation of 6,368 m (20,892 ft), which has since dried up.[15]
The highest navigable lake is
Lake Titicaca, on the border of
Bolivia and
Peru in the
Andes, at 3,812 m (12,507 ft).
The highest glacier is the
Khumbu Glacier on the southwest slopes of Mount Everest in Nepal, beginning on the west side of
Lhotse at an elevation of 7,600 to 8,000 m (24,900 to 26,200 ft).[16]
The highest island is one of a number of islands in the
Orba Co lake in Tibet, at an elevation of 5,209 m (17,090 ft).[18]
Highest points attainable by transportation
The highest point accessible
by land vehicle is an elevation of 6,688 m (21,942 ft) on
Ojos del Salado in
Chile, which was reached by the Chilean duo of Gonzalo and Eduardo Canales Moya on 21 April 2007 with a modified
Suzuki Samurai, setting the high-altitude record for a four-wheeled vehicle.
by road (mountain pass) is disputed; there are a number of competing claims for this title due to the definition of "motorable pass" (i.e. a surfaced road or one simply passable by a vehicle):
The highest
asphalted road is the single-lane road to
Umling La, located 17 km (11 mi) west of
Demchok in
Ladakh,
India, which reaches 5,800 m (19,029 ft) ("19,300 feet" according to a
Border Roads Organisation sign there that recognizes it as the "World's Highest Motorable Pass").[20][21] Before the asphalting of the road over Umling La, the highest asphalted road was
Tibet's
Semo La pass at 5,565 m (18,258 ft). It is used by trucks and buses regularly.[22] The
Ticlio pass, on the Central Road of Peru, is the highest surfaced road in the Americas, at an elevation of 4,818 m (15,807 ft).
The highest unsurfaced road has several different claimants. All are unsurfaced or gravel roads including
Mana Pass, between India and
Tibet, which is crossed by a gravel road reaching 5,610 m (18,406 ft). The heavily trafficked
Khardung La in Ladakh lies at 5,359 m (17,582 ft). A possibly motorable gravel road crosses
Marsimik La in Ladakh at 5,582 m (18,314 ft).
by oceangoing vessel is a segment of the
Rhine–Main–Danube Canal between the
Hilpoltstein and
Bachhausen locks in
Bavaria, Germany. The locks artificially raise the surface level of the water in the canal to 406 m (1,332 ft) above mean sea level, higher than any other
lock system in the world, making it the highest point currently accessible by oceangoing commercial watercraft.
The highest helipad is Sonam,
Siachen Glacier, India, at a height of 6,400 m (20,997 ft) above sea level.[25]
The highest permanent human settlement is
La Rinconada, Peru, 5,100 m (16,732 ft), in the Peruvian
Andes.
The farthest road from the Earth's centre is the
Road to Carrel Hut in the Ecuadorian
Andes, at an elevation of 4,850 m (15,912 ft) above sea level and a distance of 6,382.9 km (3,966 mi) from the centre of the Earth.[26]
The lowest point underground is in the
Veryovkina Cave in
Georgia, where the altitude difference between the cave's entrance and the deepest explored point (the maximum depth) is 2,212 meters (7,257 ft), reached in 2019 by a Perovo-speleo team.[30]
The lowest point on land not covered by liquid water is the canyon under
Denman Glacier in
Antarctica, with the bedrock being 3,500 m (11,500 ft) below sea level.[31][32]
The lowest point on dry land is the shore of the
Dead Sea, shared by
Israel and
Jordan, 432.65 m (1,419 ft) below sea level. As the Dead Sea waters are receding, the water surface level drops more than 1 metre (3.3 ft) per year.[33]
The point on the atmospheric surface closest to the Earth's centre (interpreted as a natural surface of the land or sea that is accessible by a person) is the surface of the
Arctic Ocean at the
Geographic North Pole (6,356.77 km or 3,950 mi).
The point on the surface of Earth's crust closest to the Earth's centre (interpreted as a land surface or sea floor) is the bottom of
Litke Deep, in the
Arctic Ocean, at 6,351.7043 km (3,947 mi) from Earth's centre; the deep's depth relative to sea level is 5,449 m (17,877 ft). Because Earth is an
oblatespheroid rather than a perfect
sphere, it is
wider at the
equator and narrower toward each
pole. Therefore, the bottom of Litke Deep, which is near the North Pole, is closer to Earth's centre than the bottom of Challenger Deep is; the latter is 14.7268 km (48,316.3 ft) further, at 6,366.4311 km (3,955.9 mi) from Earth's centre.[34]Molloy Deep, also in Arctic Ocean (at 6,357.5178 km or 3,950 mi) from Earth's centre contends closely with Litke Deep, the difference from Earth's centre being just 389 m (1,276 ft).
The lowest point underground ever reached was 12,262 m (40,230 ft) deep (SG-3 at the
Kola Superdeep Borehole, which has since been enclosed).
The lowest human-sized point underground is 3,900 m (12,800 ft)[36] below ground at the
TauTona Mine,
Carletonville, South Africa.
The lowest (from sea level) artificially made point with open sky may be the
Hambach surface mine, Germany, which reaches a depth of 293 m (961 ft) below sea level.
The lowest (from surface) artificially made point with open sky may be the
Bingham Canyon Open Pit Copper Mine,
Utah, United States, at a depth of 1,200 m (3,900 ft) below surface level.
by road, excluding roads in mines, is any of the roads alongside the
Dead Sea in
Israel and
Jordan, which are the lowest on Earth at 418 m (1,371 ft) below sea level.
The lowest undersea highway tunnel is the
Ryfast tunnel in
Norway, at 292 m (958 ft) below sea level.
by train, excluding tracks in mines, is located in the
Seikan Tunnel in
Japan, at 240 m (787 ft) below sea level. For comparison, the undersea
Channel Tunnel between England and France reaches a depth of 115 m (377 ft) below sea level.
Some mines have roads accessible from outside or rail tracks, located more than two thousand metres below sea level, for example in some
South African gold mines.
The lowest major city is
Baku,
Azerbaijan, located 28 m (92 ft) below sea level, which makes it the lowest-lying national capital in the world and also the largest city in the world located below sea level.
Table of extreme elevations and air temperatures by continent
A.^ Height above sea level is the usual choice of definition for elevation. The point farthest away from the centre of the Earth, however, is
Chimborazo in
Ecuador (6,267 m (20,561 feet)). This is due to the Earth's
oblate spheroid shape, with points near the
Equator being farther out from the centre than those at the poles.
C.^ The former record of 57.7 °C (135.9 °F) recorded at
Al 'Aziziyah,
Libya on 13 September 1922 was ruled no longer valid by the WMO due to mistakes made in the recording process.[58] The 1913 reading is, however,
itself controversial, and a measurement of 54.0 °C (129.2 °F) at Furnace Creek on 30 June 2013 is undisputed, especially since the same or almost the same temperature has been recorded several times in the 21st century in the same and other places.
E.^ Temperatures greater than 50 °C (122 °F) in Spain and
Portugal were recorded in 1881, but the standard with which they were measured and the accuracy of the thermometers used are unknown; therefore, they are not considered official. Unconfirmed reports also indicate that a set of Spanish stations may have hit 48.0 °C (118.4 °F) during the
2003 heat wave.[59]
F.^ Greenland is considered by the World Meteorological Organization to be part of WMO region 6 (Europe).[60][61]
G.^ A temperature of 53.1 °C (127.6 °F) was recorded in
Cloncurry,
Queensland on 16 January 1889 under non-standard exposure conditions and is therefore not considered official.[62][63]
Humans and biogeography
In contrast to places with the highest density of life, like terrestrial[64] tropical regions, and beside local extreme conditions, which might only be overcome by
extremophiles, there are areas of extreme low amounts of life.
The oceanic pole of inaccessibility is also the
antipodal area of the human
center of population which lies today around southern
Central Asia. Similarly the
world's economic center of gravity has been drifting since
antiquity from Central Asia to Northern Europe and contemporarily back to Central Asia.[66] The related centre of gravity of the worlds
carbon emission has shifted from Britain during the
Industrial Revolution to the Atlantic, back again and contemporarily into Central Asia.[67]
Each continent has its own
continental pole of inaccessibility, defined as the place on the continent that is farthest from any ocean. Similarly, each ocean has its own
oceanic pole of inaccessibility, defined as the place in the ocean that is farthest from any land.
If adopted, this would place the final EPIA roughly 130 km (80 mi) closer to the ocean than the point that is currently agreed upon.[69] Coincidentally, EPIA1, or EPIA2, and the most remote of the
Oceanic Pole of Inaccessibility (specifically, the point in the
South Pacific Ocean that is farthest from land) are similarly remote; EPIA1 is less than 200 km (120 mi) closer to the ocean than the Oceanic Pole of Inaccessibility is to land.
The continental poles of inaccessibility for the other continents are as follows:
The title for most remote inhabited island or archipelago (the farthest away from any other permanently inhabited place) depends on how the question is interpreted. If the south Atlantic island
Tristan da Cunha (population about 300) and its dependency
Gough Island (with a small staffed research post), which are 399 km (248 mi) from each other, are considered part of the same archipelago, or if Gough Island is not counted because it has no permanent residents, then Tristan da Cunha is the world's most remote inhabited island/archipelago: the main island, also called Tristan da Cunha, is 2,434 km (1,512 mi) from the island
Saint Helena, 2,816 km (1,750 mi) from
South Africa, and 3,360 km (2,090 mi) from South America. It is 2,260 km (1,404 mi) away from uninhabited
Bouvet Island. However, if Gough and
Tristan da Cunha are considered separately, they disqualify each other, and the most remote inhabited island is
Easter Island in the South Pacific Ocean, which lies 2,075 km (1,289 mi) from
Pitcairn Island (about 50 residents in 2013), 2,606 km (1,619 mi) from
Rikitea on the island of
Mangareva (the nearest town with a population over 500), and 3,512 km (2,182 mi) from the coast of
Chile (the nearest continental point and the country of which Easter Island is part). The
Kerguelen Islands in the southern Indian Ocean are another contender, lying 1,340 km (830 mi) from the small
Alfred Faure scientific station in
Île de la Possession, but otherwise more than 3,300 km (2,100 mi) from the coast of
Madagascar (the nearest permanently inhabited place), 450 km (280 mi) northwest of the uninhabited
Heard Island and
McDonald Islands (both a part of
Australia), and 1,440 km (890 mi) from the non-permanent scientific station located in
Île Amsterdam.
Remote cities
The most remote city with a population in excess of one million from the nearest city with a population in excess of one million is
Auckland,
New Zealand. The nearest city of comparable size or greater is
Sydney,
Australia, 2,168.9 km (1,347.7 mi) away.[72]
The most remote city with a population in excess of one million from the nearest city with a population above 100,000 is
Perth, Australia, located 2,138 km (1,328 mi)[73] away from
Adelaide, Australia.
The most remote city with a population in excess of 100,000 from the nearest city with a population in excess of 100,000 is
Honolulu,
Hawaii, United States. The nearest city of comparable size or greater is
San Francisco, 3,850 km (2,390 mi) away.[74]
The most remote national capitals are
Wellington, New Zealand, and
Canberra, Australia, which are 2,326 km (1,445 mi) apart from each other and neither is closer to another capital.
Since the Earth is a
spheroid, its centre (the
core) is thousands of kilometres beneath its
crust. Still, there have been attempts to define various "centrepoints" on the Earth's surface.
The centre of the standard geographic model as viewed on a traditional world map is the point 0°, 0° (the
coordinates of zero degrees latitude by zero degrees longitude), which is located in the
Atlantic Ocean about 614 km (382 mi) south of
Accra,
Ghana, in the
Gulf of Guinea. It lies at the intersection of the
Equator and the
Prime Meridian, is marked with a buoy and sometimes called
Null Island. However, the selection of the Prime Meridian as the 0° longitude meridian depended on cultural and historical factors and is therefore geographically arbitrary (any of the Earth's meridians could, in principle, be defined as 0° longitude); consequently, the position of the "Null Island" centrepoint is also arbitrary.
The centre of population, the place to which there is the shortest average route for every individual human being in the world, could also be considered a "centre of the world". This point is located in the north of the
Indian subcontinent, although the precise location has never been calculated and is constantly shifting due to changes in the distribution of the human population across the planet.
Mauna Kea, tallest mountain from base-to-peak, with a dry
prominence of 9,330 m (30,610 ft) and a wet prominence above sea level of 4,207.3 m (13,803 ft).
Denali, tallest mountain from base-to-peak on land, measuring 5,500 m (18,000 ft).[88]
Dallol, Ethiopia (Amharic: ዳሎል), whose annual mean temperature was recorded from 1960 to 1966 as 34.4 °C (93.9 °F).[101] The average daily maximum temperature during the same period was 41.1 °C (106.0 °F).[102]
Coldest inhabited place
Oymyakon (Russian: Оймяко́н), a rural locality (selo) in Oymyakonsky District of the
Sakha Republic, the Russian Federation, has the coldest monthly mean, with −46.4 °C (−51.5 °F) the average temperature in January, the coldest month.
Eureka, Nunavut, Canada has the lowest annual mean temperature at −19.7 °C (−3.5 °F).[103]
The
South Pole and some other places in
Antarctica are colder and are populated year-round, but almost everyone stays less than a year and could be considered visitors, not inhabitants.
Ground temperatures
Temperatures measured directly on the ground may exceed air temperatures by 30 to 50 °C.[104] A ground temperature of 84 °C (183.2 °F) has been recorded in
Port Sudan,
Sudan.[105] A ground temperature of 93.9 °C (201 °F) was recorded in
Furnace Creek,
Death Valley,
California, United States on 15 July 1972; this may be the highest natural ground surface temperature ever recorded.[106] The theoretical maximum possible ground surface temperature has been estimated to be between 90 and 100 °C for dry, darkish soils of low thermal conductivity.[107]
Satellite measurements of ground temperature taken between 2003 and 2009, taken with the
MODISinfrared spectroradiometer on the
Aqua satellite, found a maximum temperature of 70.7 °C (159.3 °F), which was recorded in 2005 in the
Lut Desert,
Iran. The Lut Desert was also found to have the highest maximum temperature in 5 of the 7 years measured (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2009). These measurements reflect averages over a large region and so are lower than the maximum point surface temperature.[104]
Satellite measurements of the surface temperature of Antarctica, taken between 1982 and 2013, found a coldest temperature of −93.2 °C (−136 °F) on 10 August 2010, at 81°48′S59°18′E / 81.8°S 59.3°E / -81.8; 59.3. Although this is not comparable to an air temperature, it is believed that the air temperature at this location would have been lower than the official record lowest air temperature of −89.2 °C.[108][109]
^By comparison, the meridian that passes through the
Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt (31°08'3.69"E) is 855 km (531 mi) shorter.
^A geodesic is defined as the shortest route between any two points on the surface of the Earth, as measured along the surface of the Earth (rather than through the Earth's interior); they are "straight lines" only in the sense that they are plotted on an idealized two-dimensional surface of the three-dimensional Earth, neglecting changes in surface elevation. On an idealized spherical model of the Earth, geodesics are equivalent to
great-circle distances measured along the arcs of
great circles.
^The "longest continuous straight-line distance in any direction at sea" from Karachi to Kamchatka was
originally added to Wikipedia by user Muh1974 on 21 January 2010 and then confirmed by Chabukswar and Mukherjee in 2018.[6] The source of this discovery before 2010 is unknown as of August 2022[update].
^The elevation given here was established by a
GPS survey in February 2016. The survey was carried out by a team from the
French Research Institute for Development, working in cooperation with the
Ecuadorian Military Geographic Institute.[12]
^McIntyre, Loren (April 1987). "The High Andes". National Geographic. 171 (4). National Geographic Society: 422–460. (includes description and photos of
Aucanquilcha summit road and mine)
^Mathieu Morlighem; Eric Rignot; Tobias Binder; Donald Blankenship; Reinhard Drews; Graeme Eagles; Olaf Eisen; Fausto Ferraccioli; René Forsberg; Peter Fretwell; Vikram Goel; Jamin S. Greenbaum; Hilmar Gudmundsson; Jingxue Guo; Veit Helm; Coen Hofstede; Ian Howat; Angelika Humbert; Wilfried Jokat; Nanna B. Karlsson; Won Sang Lee; Kenichi Matsuoka; Romain Millan; Jeremie Mouginot; John Paden; Frank Pattyn; Jason Roberts; Sebastian Rosier; Antonia Ruppel; Helene Seroussi; Emma C. Smith; Daniel Steinhage; Bo Sun; Michiel R. van den Broeke; Tas D. van Ommen; Melchior van Wessem; Duncan A. Young (12 December 2019).
"Deep glacial troughs and stabilizing ridges unveiled beneath the margins of the Antarctic ice sheet". Nature Geoscience. 13 (2): 132–137.
doi:
10.1038/s41561-019-0510-8.
S2CID209331991. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
^
abSreejith, K.M.; Rajesh, S.; Majumdar, T.J.; Srinivasa Rao, G.; Radhakrishna, M.; Krishna, K.S.; Rajawat, A.S. (January 2013). "High-resolution residual geoid and gravity anomaly data of the northern Indian Ocean – An input to geological understanding". Journal of Asian Earth Sciences. 62: 616–626.
Bibcode:
2013JAESc..62..616S.
doi:
10.1016/j.jseaes.2012.11.010.
^Adam Helman (2005).
The Finest Peaks: Prominence and Other Mountain Measures. Trafford Publishing.
ISBN978-1-4120-5995-4.
Archived from the original on 31 October 2020. Retrieved 9 December 2012. On p. 20 of Helman (2005):"the base to peak rise of Mount McKinley is the largest of any mountain that lies entirely above sea level, some 18,000 ft (5,500 m)"
^p. 9, Weather Experiments, Muriel Mandell and Dave Garbot, Sterling Publishing Company, Inc., 2006,
ISBN1-4027-2157-9.
^Average of table on p. 26, Extreme Weather: A Guide & Record Book, Christopher C. Burt and Mark Stroud, New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2007,
ISBN0-393-33015-X.
^Table 9.2, p. 158, Dryland Climatology, Sharon E. Nicholson, Cambridge University Press, 2011,
ISBN1139500244.
^A possible world record maximum natural ground surface temperature, Paul Kubecka, Weather, 56, #7 (July 2001), Weather, pp. 218-221,
doi:
10.1002/j.1477-8696.2001.tb06577.x.