Geographie 2

1. California California is a state in the western United States. It is the third largest state in size and largest state in terms of population. Its largest cities are Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, and San Francisco. The capital is Sacramento. It became a state on September 9, 1850. It is bordered by Arizona to the southeast, Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east and the Mexican state of Baja California to the south. California produces the most walnuts in the United States. California produces artichokes, avocados, broccoli, cauliflower, celery, dates, figs, grapes, strawberries, lemons, lettuce and plums. California’s major cash products are cattle, milk, cotton, and grapes. California has the largest Latino population in the country. Many are of Mexican descent. California is known for it’s palm trees, beaches and Mediterranean-like weather.

3. Riyadh Riyadh is the capital and most populous city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of Riyadh Province, and belongs to the historical regions of Nejd and Al-Yamama. It is in the center of the Arabian Peninsula on a large plateau, and is home to 6.5 million people. The city is divided into 15 municipal districts, managed by Riyadh Municipality headed by the mayor of Riyadh, and the Riyadh Development Authority, chaired by the governor of Riyadh Province, Faisal bin Bandar Al Saud. The current mayor of Riyadh is Ibrahim Mohammed Al Sultan. He was appointed mayor in 2015. It has been designated a global city.

2. Helsinki Helsinki is the capital city of Finland. Helsinki is the largest city in Finland. 604,380(31.12.2012) people live in Helsinki, and 1,360,000 live in the Helsinki metropolitan area. Helsinki is in the south of Finland, on the coast of the Gulf of Finland. City is in the Uusimaa region. When one looks from Helsinki, Tallinn is on the opposite side of the sea, but it is too far away to see. A poetic name for Helsinki is "the daughter of the Baltic Sea". Helsinki spreads around several bays and over several islands. Some famous islands include Seurasaari, Lauttasaari and Korkeasaari - which is also the country's biggest zoo - as well as the fortress island of Suomenlinna.

19. The Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the world's second largest ocean. It covers a total area of about 106,400,000 square kilometres (41,100,000 square miles). It covers about 20 percent of the Earth's surface. It is named after the god Atlas from Greek mythology. Its name means "Sea of Atlas”. The Atlantic formed when the Americas moved west from Eurasia and Africa. This began sometime in the Cretaceous period, roughly 135 million years ago. It was part of the break-up of the supercontinent Pangaea. The east coast of South America is shaped somewhat like the west coast of Africa, and this gave a clue that continents moved over long periods of time (continental drift). The Atlantic Ocean is still growing now, because of sea-floor spreading from the mid-Atlantic Ridge, while the Pacific Ocean is said to be shrinking because the sea floor is folding under itself or subducting into the mantle.

4. Moscow Moscow is the capital city of Russia. 11.5 million people live there (1 October 2010), so it is Europe's biggest city. It is also the seventh biggest city in the world. It sits on the Moskva River. Moscow is an important political, cultural, economic, religious, financial and transportation center. It is a global city, important in the economic infrastructure of the region. Moscow was founded by Prince Yuri Dolgoruki in 1147. The middle of the city is an ancient walled city called the Kremlin. There are important government buildings, museums and churches in the Kremlin. Many of the buildings in Moscow, like St. Basil's Cathedral and Spasskaya Tower, are very beautiful and famous. There are also modern buildings. The many art galleries have big collections.

5. The Amazon The Amazon River is the largest river in the world by the amount or volume of water it carries. It flows through the tropical forests of South America, mainly in Brazil. Its headwaters are in the Andes Mountains in Peru, on the western edge of South America and flows eastward into the Atlantic Ocean near the equator. The Amazon River moves more water than the next eight largest rivers of the world combined and has the largest drainage basin in the world. It accounts for about one fifth of the world's total river flow. During the wet season, parts of the Amazon exceed 120 miles (190 km) in width. Because of its size, it is sometimes called The Sea, but it is not the world's longest river system. The world's longest river is the Nile River, with the Amazon being second-longest.

6. Bhutan Bhutan (officially called Kingdom of Bhutan) is a small country in the Himalaya mountains of South Asia. It is ruled by King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, who has been king since 2006. Bhutan was founded in 1644 by Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyel. The Bhutanese people are proud that they have always been an independent country. Bhutan's capital city is Thimphu. The official language is Dzongkha. About 700,000 people live in Bhutan. The people and government of Bhutan are proud of their culture which is based on Tibetan Buddhism. 97% of Bhutan's people are Buddhist.

7. The Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka The Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a tropical island nation off the southeast coast of the Indian subcontinent. The capital of the country is Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte while the largest city is Colombo. It was known as Ceylon before 1972, and Serendib and Sinhale, among other names, before that. It was South Asia's oldest democracy. Sri Lanka has three main ethnic groups. They differ in their religions and origins, and there has often been difficulties between the groups. The total population of the island is over 20 million people, and rapidly expanding. The Sri Lanka flag is also known as the Lion flag because of the Lion on it. The Lion is holding a sword in its right paw. There is a crimson background with four leaves in each corner. There is a yellow border. On the left of the flag there are the colors green and saffron.

8. The Andes The Andes are a mountain range along the western coast of South America. They stretch over 7,000 km / 4,400 miles from the south of Argentina and Chile to the north of Colombia. They are also found in Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador. The Amazon river system has its sources in the eastern flanks of the Andes. The Andes are the longest exposed mountain range of the world, and the second-highest after the Himalayas. The Andes mountain range is the highest mountain range outside Asia. Aconcagua, the highest peak, rises to 6,962 m (22,841 ft) above sea level. The top of Mount Chimborazo in the Ecuadorean Andes is the point on the Earth's surface most distant from its center. Mount Chimborazo is an inactive volcano in Ecuador, which last erupted over a thousand years ago.

9. Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro is the second largest city in Brazil. It is the capital of the state of Rio de Janeiro. Until April 21, 1960 it was the capital city of Brazil. According to the 2000 Census, the city had 5,473,909 people, and an area of over 1,000 km2. In 2008 Eduardo Paes became Mayor. The city was started in 1565. Copacabana Beach, Ipanema Beach, Sugar Loaf Mountain (in Portuguese, Pão de Açúcar), the statue of Christ the Redeemer (in Portuguese, Cristo Redentor), a harbor on Guanabara Bay, and Tom Jobim Airport are located in Rio de Janeiro. It has much commerce and many industries, especially textiles, food, chemicals, and metallurgy. Most of these industries are located in the northern and western suburbs of the city. Rio de Janeiro also has a small rural area, near the suburb of Campo Grande, where fruits and vegetables are grown.

10. Bangkok Bangkok is the most populated capital city of Thailand. In 2010, the city had a population of 9,100,000 people. Since Bangkok has more than 55 times as many people as the second largest city, Nonthaburi, it is a primate city. In Thailand Bangkok is known as Krung Thep. Nicknames for Bangkok are the City of Angels and the Big Mango. Bangkok has a tropical savanna climate. The main airport is Suvarnabhumi, located 30 kilometers east of Bangkok.

11. The Republic of the Congo The Republic of the Congo is a country in Africa. Its capital city is Brazzaville. The country was a former colony of France; it became independent on 15 August 1960. The north of the country has very large areas of rainforest, but in the south are many farms that grow cash-crops like bananas, peanuts. Congo is in the central-western part of sub-Saharan Africa. It is along the Equator. To the south and east of it is the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is also bordered by Gabon to the west, Cameroon and the Central African Republic to the north, and Cabinda (Angola) to the southwest. It has a short Atlantic coast. The capital, Brazzaville, is on the Congo River, directly across from Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

12. Canberra Canberra is the capital city of Australia. There are 403,468 people who live there. It doesn’t belong to a state but it is in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). Canberra was started in 1913 and in the middle of the city is Lake Burley-Griffin . This lake was created especially for the city. There was a competition to design the new capital city of Australia. The competition was won by an architect from Chicago in the United States of America. His name was Walter Burley Griffin. Griffin designed his triangular town as a garden town, so its size expanded over a big area. But as Canberra grew larger and larger, the lake was no longer in the middle of the town, but the people who are in charge of planning the city make sure Canberra is as close to Griffin's original plan as possible. Canberra has a size in area nearly as big as Berlin, but the number of people who live there is much smaller. Before Canberra was founded, Australia’s two most important cities, Sydney and Melbourne, were arguing which city should be the capital of the continent. First Melbourne was elected the capital, but in 1908 there was a vote. The result: an area of 2400 square kilometers was given to the country by New South Wales to build Canberra in. This was the place, 300 kilometers away from Sydney and with a distance of 650 kilometers to Melbourne, where a few years later Canberra was built.

13. Seoul Seoul is the biggest city of the Republic of Korea, and its capital. Its official name is Seoul Special City. It has a population of 10 million which is about 1/5 of the Korean population and 1/7 of Korea peninsula, and covers an area of 610 km² that is only 0.6% of South Korea. It is the 6th most populated city in the world, and 7th most crowded. Seoul is the center of politics, economy, culture, transportation, and education for South Korea. Seoul is in the middle of the Korean Peninsula. Han River is a major river in South Korea and the fourth longest river on the Korean peninsula. This river goes across Central Seoul. Seoul hosted the 1986 Asian Games and the 1988 Olympic Games. It also hosted the 2007 World Schools Debating Championships.

14. Micronesia Micronesia is an area in Oceania. Many islands in southwest Pacific Ocean are part of it. Micronesia means small islands in ancient Greek language. Philippines is to the west of Micronesia. Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and Melanesia are to the south of Micronesia. Polynesia is to the east of Micronesia.

15. Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea is an island country located on the Pacific Ocean. It is the east half of New Guinea island, plus some nearby islands. The capital city of Papua New Guinea is Port Moresby. The population of Papua New Guinea are mostly the Indigenous peoples of the island. The island is in both Australasia and Oceania, which are two different terms for the continent of islands in the Pacific area. It borders Indonesia to the west and near Australia to the south.

16. Jakarta Jakarta is the largest and the capital city of Indonesia. It is on the northwest coast of the island of Java, it has an area of 661.52 km² and a population of 10,187,595 as of November 2011. Jakarta has been established for more than 490 years and now is the ninth most dense city in the world with 15,400 people per km². Jakarta's first name was Sunda Kelapa. Before the Dutch came, it was renamed the city Jayakarta, starting in 1527. In 1619 the Dutch renamed the city Batavia. It was called Jakarta by the Japanese during World War 2. Jakarta has a tropical monsoon climate.

17. London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, and is the largest urban area in Greater London. The River Thames travels through the city. London is the biggest city in western Europe, and the world's largest financial centre. London is about 2,000 years old. London was founded by the Romans. For a long time, London was a small city. All its people lived inside the walls that were built by the Romans. This area is still called the City of London. There were many villages around the city. Gradually, more people came to live there. Then, step by step, the villages joined together into one huge city. London is one of the world's most important cities for business, finance and politics. It is also important for culture, media, entertainment, fashion and art.

18. Hanoi Hanoi is the capital of Vietnam. It is also the second most populated city in the country. In 2004, about 3,083,800 people lived in the city. It has been the capital of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) since 1945 and the capital of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (all of Vietnam) since 1976. Before that, it was the capital of the country now called Vietnam for most of the time from at least the 11th century until 1802. The city is on the right of the Red River, and the city's name translates to English as "inside the river". Things made there include machine tools, plywood, textiles, chemicals and handicrafts.

20. The Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the ocean surrounded by Asia to the north, Australia and the Pacific Ocean to the east, the Southern Ocean to the south, and Africa and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. It is named for the river Indus and Ancient India on its north shore. The Bay of Bengal, the Arabian Sea, the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea are all parts of this ocean. The deepest point in the Indian Ocean is in the Java Trench near the Sunda Islands in the east, 7500 m (25,344 feet) deep. The average depth is 3,890 m (12,762 ft). The Indian Ocean is the third largest ocean, 28,350,000 square miles in size. The majority is in the southern hemisphere.

21. The Dead Sea The Dead Sea is a lake between the West Bank and Jordan. It is 418 metres (1,371 feet) below sea level. It is the lowest point on the surface of the Earth. The Dead Sea is almost nine times as salty as the ocean. That makes it impossible for most life to exist in it. This is the reason for its name. However, it is not completely dead, because some types of bacteria are able to live in the water. Because the water is so salty, it weighs more than fresh water. That lets people float in the Dead Sea without any effort. Tourists come from around the world to float in the water.

22. The Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the body of water between Asia and Australia in the west, the Americas in the east, the Southern Ocean to the south, and the Arctic Ocean to the north. It is the largest named ocean and it covers one-third of the surface of the entire world. It joins the Atlantic Ocean at a line drawn south from Cape Horn, Chile/Argentina to Antarctica, and joins the Indian Ocean at a line drawn south from Tasmania, Australia to Antarctica.

23. Antarctica Antarctica is the Earth's southernmost continent. It is on the South Pole. It is almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle. Around Antarctica is the Southern Ocean. It is the fifth-largest continent in area after Asia, Africa, North America, and South America. About 99% of Antarctica is covered by ice. This ice averages at least 1.6 kilometers (1.0 miles) thick. Antarctica is the coldest, driest and windiest continent. It is also, on average, the highest of all the continents. Antarctica is considered a desert. It has yearly precipitation of only 200 mm (8 inches) near the sea and far less inland. No humans live in Antarctica permanently. However, about 1,000 to 5,000 people live through the year at the science stations in Antarctica. Only plants and animals that can live in cold live there. The animals include penguins, seals, nematodes, tardigrades and mites. Plant life includes some grass and shrubs, algae, lichen, fungi, and bacteria.

24. Dhaulagiri Dhaulagiri is a group of mountains in Nepal. It is 120 km (70 mi) long and lies between Kaligandaki river and Bheri river. Dhaulagiri I which is the seventh highest mountain in the world whose height is 8,167 metres (26,795 ft) lies in this group. The name Dhaulagiri comes from sanskrit in which dhawala means white, beautiful and giri means mountain.

25. The Himalayas The Himalayas are a mountain range in South Asia. The west end is in Pakistan. They run through Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh,Uttaranchal, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh states in India, Nepal, and Bhutan. The east end is in the south of Tibet. They are divided into 3 parts Himadri, Himachal and Shiwaliks. The 15 highest mountains in the world are in the Himalayas. The main ones are Mount Everest, K2, Annapurna, and Nanga Parbat. Mount Everest is the highest mountain on Earth, at 8,849 meters. Of the fifteen highest mountain peaks in the World, nine are in the Nepali Himalayas.

26. Mount Everest Mount Everest is the highest mountain on Earth. Mount Everest is in the Himalayas, the highest mountain range in the world. It is about 8,848.00 metres (29,028.87 ft) high. Its peak is on the border of Nepal and China. It is above the Death Zone where the air is too thin for a human being to live, so usually compressed gas tanks with different gas mixes for different altitudes are used when climbing. The Death Zone refers to the parts of Mount Everest that are above 7,600 metres (24,900 ft) above sea level.

27. Japan Japan is a country in East Asia. It is a group of many islands close to the east coast of Korea, China and Russia. The Pacific Ocean is to the east of Japan and the Sea of Japan is to the west. Most people in Japan live on one of four of the islands. The biggest of these islands, Honshu, has the most people. Honshu is the 7th largest island in the world. Tokyo is the capital of Japan and its biggest city.

28. Mauna Loa Mauna Loa is an active volcano in the Hawaiian Islands of the United States. “Mauna Loa” is Hawaiian for “long mountain”. The world's biggest volcano is named Mauna Loa in Hawaii. Mauna Loa is part of the five volcanoes on Hawaii's 'Big Island'. The most recent time this volcano erupted was in 1984. It erupted 33 times in the last 170 years. Like all the other Hawaiian volcanoes, Mauna Loa was created by the movement of the Pacific tectonic plate which moved over the Hawaii hotspot in the Earth's mantle. It is a shield volcano. The largest recent eruption from Mauna Loa left a lava trail 51 kilometres (32 miles) long.